Performing Artists

Leon Damasco

Dancer

Leandro Glory Damasco, Jr. is a dancer, choreographer, photographer, and filmmaker from Sacramento, CA. He started his professional dance career with Nicholas Leichter in New York City. He trained with Bay Area companies such as Joe Goode Performance, Axis Dance, Project Bandaloop, and Pauvfe Dance. Leandro later joined the LA based company, DIAVOLO, in 2012 and became the company’s first resident choreographer with his choreography highlighted in the trilogy L’espace Du Temps, which first premiered at the Movimentos Festival in Wulfsburg Germany.

Leandro’s teaching residencies include CSU Sacramento, Marin Academy, Scottsdale Community College, Utah Valley University, CSU Los Angeles, CALArts, University of Central Oklahoma, and UC Irvine. After completing DIAVOLO’s latest repertoire L.O.S.T. and appearing in America’s Got Talent Leandro earned his MFA in Dance from the UC Irvine where he developed his movement philosophy and technique called Ebb and Floorwork, a movement methodology aimed to harmonize the body with the floor by entering a flow state through mental and physical challenges. Leandro currently teaches contemporary/modern dance at Santa Clara University and is a sought after Director of Photography in dance film, with recent works appearing internationally in the Nabla Festivals in Italy.

Lauren Baines

Dancer

Lauren Baines is a choreographer, performer, and curator. She received her MFA in Dance/Choreography from Mills College, and BA and BS degrees from Santa Clara University where she triple majored in Theatre Arts (Dance Emphasis), Art History, and Psychology. She is passionate about interdisciplinary and collaborative projects, and strives to bring dance into conversations around community engagement and creative placemaking. She was named an inaugural recipient of the Leigh Weimers Emerging Artists Awards and her work has been recognized by Content Magazine among other publications. She has shown her choreography throughout the Bay Area including Dance Mission Theatre, Montalvo Arts Center, Theatre on San Pedro Square, and Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, and has presented at several national and international dance conferences. Currently, Baines is the Artistic Director of Lauren Baines Dance/Theatre, the Assistant Director of the de Saisset Museum, and in the process of launching Convergence Arts Center.

Emma Rutter

Dancer

Emma grew up in the Denver area receiving her 10+ years of dance training from Littleton Ballet Academy. During her time at Littleton Ballet Academy, she had the opportunity of performing the roles of Clara in The Nutcracker, the Mad Hatter in Alice and Wonderland, and Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. She has studied ballet extensively and trained in modern, jazz, and tap. Emma has received additional training from Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and Ballet Austin. She has studied under Marcia Dale Weary, Darla Hoover, Devon Carney, and Stephan Mills. She now continues her dance education and professional development at Santa Clara University as a full-time student studying Neuroscience and Theater Arts with Emphasis on Dance.