CREATIVE + PRODUCTION TEAM
ALLELUIA PANIS
DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER
Alleluia Panis, Artistic & Executive Director, is the driving force behind KULARTS and respected elder artist in the US and the Philippines. She has created 20 full-length dance theater works since 1985. She was awarded the prestigious 2017 SFAC Artist Legacy, 2019-20 Gerbode Special Artist Award, 2019-2020 Dance USA Artist Fellow, and 2020 Hewlett 50 Arts Commission.
LADISLAO ‘JUNE’ ARELLANO
COSTUME DESIGNER
Ladislao ‘June’ Arellano was born in Bataan, Philippines. He trained at the Philippine Women’s University and New York’s Broadway Dance School. He is a lead dancer in Parangal Dance Company since 2008 and performed in works by Alleluia Panis and Sydney Loyola.
ALVIN ‘CAS’ CASASOLA
MEDIA ARTIST
Alvin ‘Cas’ Casasola has been a tattooist since 2010 and specializes in American Traditional, Asian, Geometric and custom work. He operates out of a private studio located in the SF Mission District. Cas also has a background in graphic design, animation, videography and digital art.
MARIO ‘NOMI’ DE MIRA
VOCALIST & SONGWRITER
Mario ‘Nomi’ de Mira is a hip hop artist, cultural worker and community advocate. He is the lead vocalist/MC of Power Struggle and operations manager at SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco’s Filipino Cultural Heritage District.
AIMEE AMPARO
VOCALIST
Aimee Amparo has been combining music, spiritual work & healing arts, and travel for 9 years. Each song is a connection to the other, revealing a shared human experience. She uses music to tell the stories that have been passed down to her and to create intention for the future.
JOSHUA ICBAN
COMPOSER
Joshua Icban is a musician, sound designer, and composer based in Vallejo, CA, and worked with prestigious talents and organizations such as Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito, KULARTS under the direction of Alleluia Panis, Oakland Hip Hop Collective Grand Nationxl and The SF Symphony orchestra with Michael Tilson Thomas.
O.M. FRANCE VIANA
INSTALLATION ARTIST
O.M. France Viana is a multimedia artist, working in photography, painting, collage, video, performance and installation. Her artworks interrogate the semiotics of color, spirituality and consciousness, and Filipino American and Venezuelan identity.
GRISEL TORRES / gg
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Grisel Torres / gg (they/them) is a lighting and sound designer, dj, energy and body work practitioner based in Ohlone Chochenyo Territory. They studied Light Design, Stage Management, and Props Design at SFSU’s School of Theatre and Dance and has been a staff lighting designer, carpenter, production manager and venue manager for various theatre companies in the SF Bay Area since 2013.
JOYCE LU, PhD
DRAMATURG
Joyce Lu, PhD teaches contemporary drama and performance. She specializes in applied theatre, movement, Asian and Asian American performance, with expertise in guiding people to devise autobiographical, self-revelatory work. She is a certified Feldenkrais Method practitioner and the founder and director of LA Playback Theatre Company.
HANA SUN LEE
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Hana Sun Lee is an arts organizer and administrator based in San Francisco/Bay Area. She is currently serving as the Managing Director at KULARTS. She has over 8 years of experience in multidisciplinary arts programming, administration, and project management. Prior to KULARTS, she was at the de Young Museum/Legion of Honor and Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco.
DANCE ARTISTS
DRE ‘POKO’ DEVIS
Dre ‘Poko’ Devis is a born-and-raised San Francisco Pinay, emerging from matriarchal roots. Poko moves with a foundation of competitive gymnastics, martial arts, aerial dance, and hard-hitting animalistic synergy.
FRANCES TEVES SEDAYAO
Frances Teves Sedayao is a multi-disciplinary artist who has performed both in the US and abroad for 25 years. She’s an alumna of Alvin Ailey in NY & CSUEB where she now teaches. Frances is a SF Apature Featured Artist, Art resident of NY OMI International, & a Jefferson Awards recipient. She is currently in collaboration with Dance Brigade, Sarah Bush, Yiddish Theater Ensemble, Joe Goode Performance Project & Nina Haft Company. This is Frances’ 7th season with KULARTS and dedicates ‘Nursing these Wounds’ to her ancestors and loves, Gloria and Mike.
KAO SEBASTIAN SAEPHANH
Kao Sebastian Saephanh winner of a 2014 sjDANCEco ChoreoProject Award for Best Choreography, is based in San Francisco, CA. He is currently the co-artistic director of LV Dance Collective, and dancer for PUSH Dance Company and KULARTS.
SYDNEY RAE LEONG
Sydney Leong is a performing/teaching artist and Pilates instructor based on Ramatush/Ohlone land in San Francisco. She attended CA State Summer School for the Arts, Ailey School Summer Intensive, LINES Ballet Winter Intensive, and State Street Ballet. She currently dances with Parangal Dance Company.
JESS DEFRANCO
Jess DeFranco grew up in the Bay Area and is a San Francisco based dancer and teacher. Jess received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Asian American Studies from San Francisco State University. She’s performed for Garrett + Moulton Productions, Robert Moses Kin, Kristin Damrow and Co., Alyssa Mitchel, and Tim Rubel’s Human Shakes.
JOHAN CASAL
Johan Casal is a multidisciplinary artist based in the Bay Area producing work in film, music, theater, and dance. He performed as a lead dancer in Netflix’s production of “The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Live Experience,” and directed and produced an original feature film, “Manalo: The Movie Musical,” highlighting the shared struggles of Filipinx-Americans and the diverse cultures of the Philippines.
JONATHAN M. MERCADO
Jonathan Michael Mercado is an interdisciplinary Filipino-American artist in the Bay Area. His movement is inspired through his experiences of hip-hop/urban choreography and Filipino folk dancing. He currently dances with KULARTS under director Alleluia Panis and Parangal Dance Company under director Eric Solano.
ANGEL VELEZ
Angel Velez (they/them) is a dance artist who has performed works by Parangal, eMotion Arts, LV Dance Collective, Embodiment Project, and notable others in the Bay Area. Trained in multiple dance lineages from a young age, Angel draws from Laban/Bartenieff fundamentals and is informed by internal sensations, emotions, and visualizations.
GENEVIE DELA CRUZ
Genevie Dela Cruz (she/her) is a San Diego-born dancer and choreographer. She began dancing at San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and is currently pursuing degrees in Dance and Kinesiology at San Francisco State University. Genevie blends contemporary dance with cultural dances from the Philippines to promote her rich cultural background.