dNaga Dance Company is a unique ensemble made up of multi-generational dancers including young artists, professionals, and elders. Through workshops, classes, choreography and productions, the dance company explores the nature of our human condition and its relationship to our greater community.

dNaga’s performing company creates work rooted in the interview process, tackling themes such as the incarceration of Japanese Americans, racial profiling, mental health, systemic issues facing our youth, medication, surgery and palliative care. dNaga’s work was most recently presented at the 2023 World Parkinson’s Congress in Barcelona, Spain at the International Barcelona Convention Center. The company offers an annual performance season in the Bay Area and has also performed and worked extensively in collaboration with artists from Brooklyn. Company members and collaborators are located in both the Bay Area and the New York metropolitan area.

Lihong Chan is a Bay Area native, New York City-based freelance dance artist and educator. She was an inaugural member of Limón2 and performed as a guest with the Limón Dance Company. Additionally in NYC, she has performed works by Audrey Thao Berger, Erin Landers, Ashley Lindsey, Lydia Johnson, among others. In the Bay Area, she has performed with dNaga, under the direction of Claudine Naganuma, an inter-generational dance company and the ODC Dance Jam, directed by Kimi Okada. She has spent summers at San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, b12, and Countertechnique's annual One Body One Career Intensive. She graduated in 2020 from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) with a BFA in Dance and now is currently pursuing an MA in Dance Education at Hunter College. She is excited to be back in Oakland this summer performing and collaborating with dNaga!

Moriah Costa is a dancer, performer, and teaching artist from the Bay Area whose passion for movement inspired her to share her love with others. Moriah began moving and grooving at an early age , and began her formal dance training at the age of three in a studio environment. Moriah went on to study dance at Mills College, and eventually received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Sonoma State University. Moriah has danced and taught in a variety of environments such as studios, private schools, public schools, competitive, creative, etc. Moriah has performed for companies such as Robert Moses Kin’ specifically in their Bootsraps program as she places a high value on highlighting art in local communities. Moriah also has performed with Cali&Co Dance, Blind Tiger Society, D’Naga Dance, and is also currently a teaching artist with Luna Dance and Choreography. Moriah’s choreographic pursuits often focus on themes of identity and belonging as these are also core pillars of her teaching philosophies. She has choreographed for UC Berkeley's Theatre and Dance Department as well as Diablo Valley College. Her passion for teaching stems from ideas of discovery and research as she believes there is always something new to uncover when it comes to the way we move and interact with the world around us.

Raychel Hatch (any pronouns) is a queer, Bay Area movement artist of Asian American mixed-race descent. Community-building lies at the heart of her creative world, which seeks to explore interconnectedness, identity, and mental health. Her choreography draws inspiration from bodily states, polyculturalism, and personal narratives. While she holds a strong background in contemporary dance, her unique dance style is influenced by dancehall, house, reggaeton, and other movement practices. She holds a B.A. in Performing Arts & Social Justice, with a concentration in dance, and a B.A. in Psychology from University of San Francisco. She has worked with the Dance Generators, First Voice, dNaga Dance, Tracey Lindsay Chan, ODC's Pilot program, and Pearl Street Dance Collective. She is currently in the process of earning her M.A. in Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University.

Jhia Louise Jackson (she/they) is a movement-based scholar artist who regularly engages in interdisciplinary projects. They earned their BA in Dance, Sociology, and Ethics from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and have gained extensive commercial and theatre dance experience as a teacher, performer, and choreographer. She has worked with artists such as Flyaway Dance Productions, 13th Floor Dance Theater, Alexandra Pirici, Joya Powell/Movement of the People Dance Company, RAWdance, Cally Spooner, Kim Epifano/Epiphany Dance Theater, and Octavia Rose Projects. Her unique approach to movement and art is informed by her extensive experiences in community-based projects, particularly those concerned with the health and wellness of marginalized populations, as well as her development as an interdisciplinary qualitative researcher, including earning her MS in Bioethics from Columbia University in the City of New York and current pursuit of a doctorate in Sociology from the University of California San Francisco. As such, Jhia is a complex, dynamic storyteller who is known for enriching the creative process with curiosity and care, pushing the boundaries of both art and scholarship. As the founder of j.habitus, they create visceral explorations and presentations of topics drawn from their scholastic and community-based work, which have been shown at the African American Art & Culture Complex, Joe Goode Annex, Peridance Capezio Theatre, and more. Visit www.jhiajackson.com to learn more about her and her work

Catalina Jackson-Urueña, Colombian-American Bay Area native, began her dance training under Beth Hoge at Danspace in Oakland. She has had the pleasure of working closely with Claudine Naganuma (dNaga Dance Company), Paola Escobar, and Marissa Osato. She has presented her own work at CalArts, RedCat, MOCA Geffen, The Place London, Frame Rush Dance Film Festival ’19, Edinburgh Fringe Festival ’19, and Brockus Shift/WEST Spring Residency ‘20.

While in LA, she has performed with MashUp Contemporary Dance Company and in works by Tess Hewlett, Waeli Wang, Sarah Rodenhouse, Victoria Brown, Stephanie Heckert, Kevin Zambrano, MarieElena Martingano, and André Mergerdichian. Catalina has danced in productions featured at The BROAD Stage, the Getty Villa, and World Parkinson Congress. In 2023, she founded her own event company, Stadium Feedback, and is currently developing a dance app. Catalina is the Director of Invertigo Dance Theatre’s Dancing Through Parkinson’s program. Aside from the arts, dogs and cooking bring her the most fulfillment.

Erin Landers is a dancer, choreographer, mime, and teacher, currently based in the Twin Cities, MN. She has been performing with dNaga since 2005. Erin is a creative partner with performance technology incubator Brooklyn Motion Capture Dance Ensemble (NYC), and was a cofounder of New York based repertory dance company A-Y/dancers where she performed in works by José Limón, Merce Cunningham, Doug Varone, and others. Her choreographic work has been presented by Arts On Site (NYC), PRELUDE Festival (NYC), The Neuberger Museum (NY), and MOtiVE Brooklyn (NYC), and commissioned by Zenon Dance’s Zone Program (MN), The Trust Performing Arts Center (PA), and University of Minnesota Opera Theatre (MN). Raised in a musical household in Northern California, Erin grew up immersing herself in ballet, modern dance, and traditional styles including Irish, Zimbabwean, and Balkan dance, before earning her BFA at SUNY Purchase. She is excited to be back with the dNaga team for Tastes Like Bitterness, Moves Like Love.

Leila Massoudi (she/her) is a Bay Area freelance dancer from Berkeley, California, with training in modern, ballet, jazz, and Persian dance. As a first-generation Iranian American, her earliest dance experiences began within the local Iranian community, where she trained with the Shahrzad Dance Academy before joining dNaga Dance Company in 2018.

Through her work with dNaga, Leila has performed at the World Parkinson Congress in Portland, Kyoto, and Barcelona, and will next perform at the 2026 Congress in Phoenix, Arizona. She earned her BA in Dance from California State University, Fullerton and continues to train and perform throughout the Bay Area. Leila is passionate about using movement and dance to show how beneficial movement and dance is for individuals beyond the artistic community.

Gabby Wei is a Bay Area grown dance artist and curious human. She loves to frolic in forests, bask in sunlight and write poems on her typewriter. She finds joy in playing with art and language, and experimenting with new ways of expressing. Recently she has been inspired by ashtanga yoga practice and breathing with the entire body. She is grateful to be part of a thriving dance community!