Erik Stern  holds a B.A. in Biology from UC Santa Cruz and an M.F.A. in Dance from Cal Arts.  His professional work as a musician, composer and actor is interwoven in his dances, and has led to collaborations with educational organizations, mathematicians, choirs, civic organizations, school systems, and dozens of artists.  Erik toured with Tandy Beal and Company over a period of ten years and has performed with Patri Nader’s Ballet de España. Professor of Dance at Weber State University, Stern was ‘Endowed Artist’ for the College of Arts and Humanities from 1999-2002. In 2002, his duet, Table of Content, was selected and performed at the Kennedy Center as part of the National American College Dance Festival.   In 1985 Stern created with Karl Schaffer the Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble.  The ensemble has created eleven evening-length concerts, received over thirty grants, including five from the National Endowment for the Arts and toured throughout North America. On the roster of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Partners In Education program, they tour nationally to share their expertise on how to bring dance into the classrooms and connect it with mathematics curriculum. In 2003, he produced Muscle Memories as part of RDT’s LINK Series, and in 2006 Stern staged, directed and performed in Navigating Lake Bonneville, an original work by Utah Poet Laureate Ken Brewer and composer/guitarist Brad Richter. During summer 2006, Stern was at Appelboom, a resident artists’  program in rural France, during which he finalized aspects of Demolition Derby and worked on other projects with Brad Richter.  

Elizabeth Cranney received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Dance from the University of Utah. She has performed at the Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Psychological Association Conference, the American College Dance Festival, and in works by Donna White, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, and Lisa Race.  She has been influenced by her master classes with Naomi Jackson, Trisha Brown Co., Gail Gilbert, Sarah Rudner, Sean Curran, Alberto tito del Saz, John Maleshock, Zvi Gotheiner, Molissa Fenley, Tandy Beal, and Repertory Dance Theater.  Elizabeth has volunteered extensively: at a hospice for the mentally ill in Chorzow, Poland; for a doctorate thesis project at the University of Heidelberg in Germany; as a director raising funds for a battered women’s shelter; and as an arts advocate, providing dance workshops and performance opportunities in the public schools. She currently performs with Valley Dance Ensemble of Logan, Utah and teaches at Weber State University. She recently completed an artist’s residency at Appelboom, an artists residency program in La Pommerie, France.

Sara Christensen is currently an MFA Candidate in the Modern Dance Department at the University of Utah, Sara received her Bachelor of Arts in Modern Dance from Weber State University where she was the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships including the Lindquist Creative Arts Fellowship.  Sara’s choreography has been performed at Weber State University, the University or Utah, Utah Valley State College, and the American College Dance Festival, among others. She began dancing professionally in 1993 with Rick Robinson and Darryl Yeager and has been a featured performer and guest artist for companies in the Salt Lake City area. Sara’s favorite solo was in Lynn Barr’s Bollero on top of a massive water fountain in beautiful Urbino, Italy.  Sara is currently teaching at the University of Utah, Weber State University, Westminster College, and for Repertory Dance Theater’s community school.

Sarah Donohue  received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from the University of Arizona and credits faculty member Dr. John Wilson as a primary influence in her own artistic perspective and teaching philosophy.

Sarah has taught dance in universities, community centers and private studios for six years in Colorado and Northern Utah, and has worked as a caregiver for elderly clients in their homes. She choreographed and performed work at the Dairy Center for the Arts and for a multi-media event at the University of Colorado’s Art and Art History Tech Lab. A Masters of Fine Arts candidate in Modern Dance, Sarah is certified as a Laban Movement Analyst, and integrates this philosophy into her teaching, choreography, and dancing. Sarah recently performed with Sternworks and in the Graduate Dance Concert at the University of Utah.

Nathan Barnes  has danced with Valley Dance Ensemble.  He is married and received his Bachelor of Integrated Studies from at Weber State University.  His thesis integrates Dance, Visual Arts and Family Studies.

Aaron Chavez

Aaron W Chavez is a multi-instrumentalist percussionist currently teaching at The Music School, an after school program for Junior High & High School students in Orem, and accompanying for the Modern and African Dance classes at Utah Valley State College. He has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. as part of the National American College Theatre Festival, and played several of his compositions at regional American College Dance Festivals. His passion is learning techniques of other percussion instruments around the globe and incorporating them into his own unique style. Graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Percussion Performance from Weber State University, Aaron has performed in Jazz, World, Rock, and Classical music genres in venues ranging from local bar bands to soloist at WSU’s Concerto Night. He will be pursuing a Master Degree in Multi-focus Percussion at CalArts in the near future.

Thomas Priest

Thomas Priest’s work as a performer, researcher, teacher, and composer continues to inform his professional practice. Before joining the faculty at Weber State University he served as Principal Bassoonist with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Co-principal Bassoonist with the Santiago Philharmonic. Presently he enjoys performing with Weber State Faculty, Ballet West and the Utah Chamber Orchestra as well as with other musicians and dancers in Northern Utah. He previously collaborated with Erik Stern and Aaron Chavez on their trio Steel, Box, and Reeds and he premiered his own Reminiscent Rains with Percussionist Don Keipp in 2005. At Weber State Dr. Priest serves as Director of Music Education and Professor of Bassoon. He has actively pursued a research agenda that examines how individuals function creatively as performers, listeners, improvisers and composers, and his peer-reviewed articles on creativity have been published in Contributions to Music Education, The Journal of Research in Music Education, The Music Educators Journal, Psychology of Music, and The Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education . He has been elected to serve as Chair of the Special Research Interest Group on Creativity of the Music Educators National Conference and he currently serves as Vice-President of Higher Education on the Utah Music Educators Association’s Executive Board. Formerly a resident of Colorado, he taught in the public schools as a music specialist in the Boulder Valley School District and the Gunnison Watershed School District.

Scott Halford is a filmmaker, photographer, audio video editor and graphic artist.  Receiving a Bachelor of Integrated Studies from WSU, Scott is the founder of Foursite Studios and the Foursite Film Festival.  He has been instrumental in the production of over 50 short films and is currently in pre-production on his first feature. Scott dance career took him to places such as ACDFA nationals where he performed Erik Stern's "Table of Content" along side Jill Yeiter. He crossed over from dance into film through his experimental dance for the camera projects. His films have received honors in LA, Toronto, New York, Salt Lake City, and places as far as New Zealand.  He lives and works in Farmington, Utah, where his efforts are going toward the growth of the film industry in Utah.

Diane Neri.  After graduating with a BA in Technical Theater and Design, Diane free-lanced as a costume and set designer from 1980 to 1986, working with Actors’ Theater of Santa Cruz, Tandy Beal & Company, Sara Wilbourne and others.  She currently lives in Ogden, Utah, and is the Director of Cultural Affairs at Weber State University. She also serves on the TourWest grant review board for the Western States Touring Arts Federation (WESTAF) and is the president of Utah Presenters, the state consortium of performing arts presenters. In addition she sits on the Weber Pathways board and is an avid trail runner. She and Erik have two fine sons, Walker and Cole.

Jessica Dutson is a scholarship student at Weber State University. She will graduate in December 2007 in English and Dance Teaching. She loves to tinker in creative dance and choreography. Jessica lives with her husband in Ogden

Christopher Philion holds a  B.S. in theatre from Weber State University, where he won several awards for his design work.  After an internship with Seattle Repertory Theatre, Chris returned to Weber State as the Production Stage Manager for the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts.  In April, 2006, Chris collaborated with director Erik Stern for the premiere of Bard Richter’s Stories from Lake Bonneville, produced at Weber State University by the Office of Cultural Affairs.  His other professional work includes three seasons with Utah Musical Theatre in stage management and company management, as well as numerous freelance designs for costumes, scenery and properties.

Kathleen [“K”] Stevenson is a visual artist working primarily in printmaking and sculpture media, broadly investigating themes of collective and personal memory and perception. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions nationally and internationally, most recently the Show, the Fine Arts Museum, Santa Fe, NM and the International Print Biennial; Johannesburg, South Africa. Recent and forthcoming solo exhibitions include Charleston Heights Arts Center, Las Vegas, NV and the Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT.