As a dancer, choreographer and artistic director, Manuelito Biag has been very active in Bay Area dance since founding the contemporary dance company SHIFT>>>Physical Theater in 1998. Through SHIFT>>>, Manuelito pursues the ongoing evolution of an ensemble company whose members share equally in developing choreography, narrative and structure for each project. Under his direction, company members are encouraged to draw upon their personal experience in using dance to examine the relationships among people in contemporary culture—touching upon very real and personal levels of identity and struggle.

The company has received critical acclaim and has performed to sold-out crowds in the Bay Area, as well as in various festivals and shared programs in California. In 2004, the company was nominated by the Isadora Duncan Awards Committee for Best Ensemble Performance for the project Giving Strength to this Fragile Tongue . SHIFT>>> has been awarded grants from the American Composers Forum (2003, 2005), Zellerbach Family Foundation (2003, 2005), William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (2005), and Theater Bay Area-CA$H (2006). The company has also received a three year Artist Residency at ODC Theater in San Francisco.

Born in the Philippines, Manuelito has worked with such artists as Jean Isaacs, Russell Maliphant and DV8 Physical Theatre, and has appeared in works of Bay Area choreographers Nancy Karp, Joe Goode, Robert Moses, and Margaret Jenkins, among others.

Norma Fong (collaborator/performer) began her studies at Pacific Ballet Academy in Mountain View, CA. She also studied classical Chinese folk dance and was a soloist for the Chinese Performing Artists of America. She graduated from California Institute of the Arts in May of 2005 with a BFA in dance, performance, and choreography and went on to dance with Pasadena Dance Theater. In October of 2006, Norma moved to San Francisco, where she has recently worked with Mark Foehringer Dance Project/SF and apprenticed with Janice Garrett and Dancers. She is also currently a member of Robert Moses’ Kin.

Miguele de Quadros is originally from Seattle, Washington, who trained under Magali Messac. She went on to attend the North Carolina School of the Arts for two years and performed in such ballets as “Symphony Concertante,” “Coppelia,” and “Peter and the Wolf.” She also spent two summers at the Hungarian National Ballet School in Budapest. Miguele is currently studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance where she has performed works by William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Alex Ketley, Robert Moses, and Summer Lee Rhatigan.

Malinda LaVelle (collaborator/performer), originally from Colorado, has studied at the Academy of Colorado Ballet, the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and is currently pursuing a BFA in dance from the University of Arizona. She has studied the techniques of Jiri Kylian, William Forsythe, Paul Sanasardo, and Charles Moulton. Malinda has also performed with Alex Ketley's company The Foundry and recently participated in a choreographic residency at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance.

Kelly Del Rosario (collaborator/performer) was born and raised in Mililani, Hawaii. He began his studies in dance in 2001 at the University of Hawaii and received his B.F.A. in Dance in 2005. Del Rosario has also studied Capoeira in Hawaii, California, and Brazil since 1998. Upon graduation, he moved to San Francisco where he has worked with Kara Davis of Project Agora and Robert Moses' Kin. He is also currently dancing with the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company.

Jess Rowland (composer) has been SHIFT>>> Physical Theater's composer since 2002, having showcased full evening performances featuring her music at Dance Mission Theater and ODC Theater in San Francisco. In 2004, she received a Subito Grant from The American Composers Forum for her multimedia experimental work, and a double-disc set of these multi-media pieces has recently been released on Pax Recordings.

Pablo Santiago (lighting designer) is originally from Chiapas, Mexico and has worked extensively throughout L.A. and San Diego collaborating with a variety of choreographers as both lighting designer and videographer, in venues such as CalArts, SDSU, Electric Lodge and The Unknown Theater. Currently, he works as a Best Boy Grip in the film industry, and his credits include films such as David Fincher’s Panic Room, David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, the TV show Monk, Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry with Adam Sandler. Last year he shot his first feature-length film as a cinematographer called Desert of Blood, a low budget, genre-bending horror flick. He holds a BFA in Visual Arts from UC San Diego.

The Director gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support of the following individuals.

CO-FOUNDERS:
Rebecca Bryant
Beth Calarco
Adrienne Haufler
Cynthia Yang

CONSULTING:
Nancy Karp
Eric Kupers
Tanya Calamoneri
Gary Masters

MANAGEMENT:
Megan Bradley
Kathy Edwards
Robert Johnson
Wendy Snider

PERFORMERS:
Ken Datugan
Rande Dorn
Vanessa Jue
Grace Shinhae Jun
Sam Mitchell
Margaret Paek
Cameron Thrash

PUBLICITY:
Mona Baroudi
Jose Comoda
Mark Crow
Seth Goldstein
Gabriel Harber
E.D. Haun
Adrienne Nishina
Daniel Penfold
Marty Sohl
Weiferd Watts

TECHNICAL:
David Barron
Brian Grannan
James Jhun
LoFi Productions
Jess Rowland - Website
Matthew Sarena
Tiffani Snow
Joe Williams