The Company
Founded in 2004 by Brittany Brown Ceres, dance ceres, is an ensemble of dancers who devour the performance arena with weighted fluidity, extensions that reach through time, and a dynamically expressive commitment. Described by critics as, "swift and irresistible" (Allan Ulrich, Voiceofdance.com, 7/06) and "lucid and voluptuous" (Rita Felciano, SFBG, 12/07), the core inspiration of the work examines crisis and resilience through intricate and energetic dance. Ceres has produced in the San Francisco Bay Area at West Wave Dance & numerous Bay Area Theater venues and educational facilities, as well as Portland, San Diego, New York, New Zealand & at the American College Dance Festival.
It is the mission of dance ceres is to realize subtlety through action, individuality through community, immediacy through timelessness, and equality through art.
  Kristin Damrow grew up in central Wisconsin and secured a BA in Dance from Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois. Mentored by Liz Burritt, Darrell Jones and Dardi McGinnley-Gallivan, she performed in the works of Margi Cole of The Dance Collective, Miguel Mancillas of Antares Dance Theater and Brock Clawson, among others. Damrow is currently honing work to make her San Francisco choreographic debut. A new member of dance ceres, as well as Strong Current Dance Company, she continues her exploration of dance through deep breaths, honorable bruises and the joy of being upside down.
 
Anna Greenberg began her dance training at the Pasadena Dance Theater and attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts where she was introduced to modern dance. With a BA in Dance, Choreography, and Children's Book Illustration from Hampshire College, she studied and performed with many inspirational and life changing teachers including Summer Lee Rhatigan, Cristian Burns, Cathy Nicoli, Cynthia Young, Francisco Martinez, Rudy Perez, and Ruth Botchan. This is her first season with dance ceres.
  Miranda Mallard recently moved to Marin County from the great state of Iowa. She grew up in Fairfield, Iowa and started dancing at the age of 4. Throughout her education, Miranda has performed in many dance concerts, musicals, opera productions, and in a vocal trio Rock, Paper, Scissors. She received her BA in Dance and BM in Voice in ‘09 from the University of Iowa, under the mentorship of Jennifer Kayle, Charlotte Adams, Armando Duarte, and many Axis Syllabus teachers. Mallard is currently an assistant band teacher with the San Rafael public elementary schools and she teaches private voice and piano lessons. When not dancing, singing, or learning a new instrument, she likes to read Sanskrit, practice yoga, and give the Oneness Blessing (or deeksha). In the Bay Area, she has danced with Jessica Damon and is in her first season with dance ceres.
  Becca Rozell was born and raised in Juneau, Alaska where she first started dancing. She continued her studies at Skidmore College where she graduated with honors in dance. Rozell's teaching and choreographic career spans both coasts; having worked in Boston with Nicola Hawkins Dance Company, Deborah Abel Dance Company, Weber Dance, she was also a Stomp Dancer. In New York she taught at Peridance and had the opportunity to work with Choreographers like Andrew Janetti, Vanessa Paige and others. Rozell's choreography has been presented in NYC, Saratoga Springs, D.C., Boston and in the Bay Area at Works in the Works. Becca moved to SF in 2008 and continues to work with Weber Dance during the summers. She currently teaches at Roco Dance in Marin and is an artist with Performing Arts Workshop. In addition to dancing with Jennifer Meek, she joined dance ceres in 2010.
 Jenny Ward is the CEO of Playward, Inc. and speaks across the globe on the essential of enjoying this thing called life. She digs writing, singing out really loud, learning, and of course being a mama of a four year old. Jenny received her Masters in dance at NYU Tisch, and is a Licensed Life Coach & Yoga Teacher. As a performer, Ward has appeared on, Sex in the City, As the World Turns, Law and Order and numerous Off Broadway productions in New York City. Having published several books and articles, her one-woman show "Who Said So? about Beauty" continues to be seen all over the country in colleges and high schools. Currently, Ward is looking forward to learning how to surf with her daughter Leela and is in her second season with dance ceres.
  Hailed by dance critic Allan Ulrich as a choreographer with 'genuine craft & individual sensibility,' Brittany Brown Ceres is the founder of Dance Ceres and was associate director of the WestWave Dance Festival from 2003- 2007. She grew up in Portland, Oregon and received her first professional choreographic gig at the age of fifteen. She attended UC, San Diego and secured a BA in Theater, with a double minor in Dance and Biology (’95) in three years, under the mentorship of Jean Isaacs, Nina Martin, Kathryn Irey & Margaret Marshall. In San Diego, she studied extensively with Lower Left Dance, Isaacs/McCaleb & Dancers and performed and choreographed her own work for Synaptic Alternative Dance Project. In 1997 she moved to New Zealand to choreograph and perform with Christchurch's Dance Core, under the direction of Sheryl Robinson and Fleur DeTheir. While in NZ she choreographed for St. Margaret's College and taught modern dance at Hadley College.
Ceres was drawn to the Bay Area after working with Joe Goode in 1998 and over the last decade has produced her own work all over the West Coast. In addition to Goode, Ceres has trained with Janice Garrett, Robert Moses, Mary Carbonara, Diane Frank and Kim Epifano. Ceres was one of the first graduate students to complete an MFA in Choreography from SUNY, Purchase College (2000). She went on to finish her studies with an MA in Dance Education at Stanford (2001). A multi-year winner of the Mary Edith Clifford Award for Alumni Choreography, Ceres is regularly commissioned by the Dance Division for new work, in conjunction with Stanford Lively Arts. She has previously danced with Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Black Label Dance, Dance Elixir, Davalos Dance Company, and managed ODC Theater from ‘03-‘06.
Additionally, she teaches choreography at SF School of the Arts & hatha yoga at City College. Ceres is currently the office manager and controller for the San Francisco based start-up: Widgetbox, Inc.
  Cari Ann Bellinghausen (littlecari.com) is a Chicagoland native who has been dancing for the better part of her 29 years. She majored in dance at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and graduated with honors in 2002. Within the past year Cari has performed in El Salvador, Costa Rica, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco. She has recently been dancing with Dance Ceres, Kate Mitchell & Dancers, Maxine Moerman Dancetheatre, Right Brain Performancelab, and Capactior. When she isn’t performing, Cari operates the dog walking/pet care service Four Legged Fitness . She also enjoys gently twisting herself and others into interesting shapes as a certified Ashtanga Yoga instructor.
 
Rebecca Gilbert began dancing in a small hometown studio studying ballet, jazz and lyrical but once she discovered modern dance with the Isaacs McCaleb summer workshops in San Diego she never went back. She studied under Jean Isaacs, Peter Czerner, Bill de Young and many other wonderful teachers during the workshops. She went on to receive her BA in dance from Mills College and has performed with SF Dance Repertory, Dance Elixir, Kate Mitchell and Dancers, Group A, Artface and others. Rebecca has co-produced three shows with fellow Mills alum under the name of Barely Complete Productions. On her off time Rebecca is a full time massage therapist in San Francisco. She is currently a member of Ahdanco and Katie Faulkner's little seismic dance company.
  Sarah Sandoval began dancing in San Diego, performing works by Debi Toth and Teena Diggs. She moved to San Francisco to attend SFSU where she danced the choreography of Ben Levy and Annie Rosenthal Parr. Since receiving her BA in Dance with a Certificate in Outstanding Performance and Choreography, Sarah has been a member of Paco Gomes and Dancers and Maxine Moerman Dancetheatre.
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