Sonia received her early training at Jefferson High School for the Performing Arts in Portland, Oregon and was a distinguished Jefferson Dancer. She went on to receive a BFA in Dance from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and an MFA in Dance at the University of Illinois. She has performed original work in Europe and across the United States. 

Bethany has been a dance educator since 2004, teaching K-12 dance since 2013. Her upbringing in dance began with ballet and quickly expanded into jazz, tap, hip hop, and lyrical. Her dance journey saw the addition of modern, post-modern and post-modern contemporary at Scottsdale Community College and Grand Canyon University, where she graduated with the inaugural class in Dance Education. She earned her M.Ed. from Northern Arizona University in 2021. She is a transplant from Phoenix as of 2023 and is excited to continue sharing dance with public school students in Portland.

BODYTRAFFIC uses the creative spirit of its Los Angeles home as a backdrop for delivering performances that inspire audiences around the globe to simply love dance. Since its founding in 2007 by Artistic Director Tina Finkelman Berkett, the company has held fast to its mission of championing contemporary dance, educating audiences, and inciting positive change. Its goal is simple: get the world moving.

Watch them with DAF

Anna started dancing at da Vinci Arts Middle School in Portland and went on to dance at Jefferson and Lincoln. After high school, Anna sought out training in New York City at various studios in as many styles as she could swallow. After returning to Portland, she continued to find dance in her life, be it performing, teaching or taking more classes. Today, she's honored to be teaching dance at daVinci Arts Middle School.

Maranda Jory holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Cincinnati. Before college, they trained at Los Angeles Ballet School, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (JKO) School at American Ballet Theatre, and State Street Ballet. While at JKO, they performed with American Ballet Theatre in Coppelia and Le Corsaire, and in 2010, joined the original cast of Alexei Ratmansky’s Nutcracker for ABT. In 2015, they received a full scholarship through the National Security Language Initiative program to train at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Maranda has danced professionally with State Street Ballet and PDX Contemporary Ballet.

Elijah began training at Spokane’s Ballet Arts Academy before joining Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet Professional Division and then the Fellowship Program at The Ailey School. He received a Professional Advancement Award at Jacob’s Pillow before joining Florida Dance Theatre.

Tony is a product of the award winning Jefferson High School Dance Program and went on from there to have an exciting performing career that took him around the world as a teacher, performer and choreographer. 

Colleen is a graduate of Point Park University where she earned her B.F.A. in dance. While training at Point Park, she had the privilege of performing works choreographed by Martha Graham, Luke Murphy, Garfield Lemons  Gregory Dolbashion, MADBOOTS DANCE, and Alexandra Damiani.

Kevin began at CityDance Conservatory before attending Point Park University. Kevin has danced professionally with YY Dance Company, Sonya Tayeh Dance Company, PrioreDance, Bruce Wood Dance, and I.C. Movement Project, as well as being a guest artists with Parsons Dance Company, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and Focus Cia De Danca in Brazil. 

Sara is a movement artist who has carved her own path between concert dance and theater. On TV, she is featured in Harlem, Mozart in the Jungle, Modern Love, and NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar LIVE. She was part of the developmental choreography lab and performed with Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Late Night with Stephen Colbert, and the Tony Awards. She specializes in gestural movement and collaborations with spoken word artists and teaches open Contemporary/Improv classes. 

Sekou is a Portland, Oregon native and a strong presence in the West African Drum and Dance community. He is the perfect blend of drum and dance; Western and West African. He effortlessly inhabits the highest levels of Mandingue drum and dance, and blends these skills with his American roots and a deep knowledge of the Mandingue culture. 

Jocelyn is a  dancer, filmmaker and writer who received her BA in dance from Western Washington University and further studied in Brazil and New York City. She has choreographed on professional companies in the US and Brazil and taught dance for the past 15 years. Her feature length documentary, Believe The Beat, follows a group of Brazilian hip hop dancers as they evolve from city park to global stage.

Amelia began her professional dance training at Pacific Festival Ballet under the direction of John Gardner. She later trained at the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre under the instruction of many renowned teachers such as Damara Bennett, Elise Legere, Tracey Katona, Elena Carter and Lavinia Magliocco. Currently, Amelia is a freelance dancer and choreographer, and teaches ballet, Pilates, contemporary, and movement exploration. 

Cam Welch (they/he) began his dance career in hip-hop, musical theater, jazz, ballet, and tumbling, and dove into modern and contemporary genres in college at Westminster University (2021). He graduated in 2022 with his MAT in K-12 Dance Education from Westminster, taught in Utah for a year at both high school and middle school levels, and decided to make the move to Portland, where he taught dance at Lane Middle School. He is grateful to be here in Portland and doing something he loves - exploring the possibilities of dance education for a generation of diverse and social dancers.

Class of 2023 Dance at Franklin Company Members and winners of the Keith Goodman award for excellence in Choreography and Performance, Isabel and Anabelle were commisioned to create an original dance on the Company