About DLDT


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		THE DANGEROUS LORRAINES Dangerous Lorraines DanceTheater is a performance group committed to the creation of contemporary and theatrical dance works. Originally founded in June 2004 by Artistic Director and choreographer Melissa Wynn, it is now collaboratively directed with Co-Artistic Director and choreographer Lorelei Bayne. Still in its early stages in Sacramento, this project-based company features a range of dancers, actors, composers, musicians, and designers to produce exciting, enchanting, visceral performances. Both Melissa Wynn and Lorelei Bayne have extensive professional backgrounds in the dance and performance fields. It is our aim to build a nationally and internationally recognized dance theater company. The Dangerous Lorraines have presented concerts as part of the Festival of the Arts at Sacramento State University and at The Guild Theater in Oak Park-Sacramento, and the company has made several site-specific improvisation appearances as part of downtown Sacramento's 2nd Saturday event. It is the mission of The Dangerous Lorraines to challenge and entertain audiences while pushing artistic limits. Dangerous Lorraines DanceTheater is a member of Dancer's Group in San Francisco, and has been the recipient of a 2008-2009 ArtScapes grant from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.
	THE CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
Lorelei Bayne came to the Sacramento area after fourteen years of professional work in New York City. She has an MFA in Dance from New York University/Tisch School of the Arts and a BA in Dance from the University of South Florida. Her choreography has been presented in venues, festivals and universities throughout New York City, as well as in Connecticut, Philadelphia, Florida and Virginia and California. She performed professionally with Melanie Stewart Dance Theater, Darla Stanley, and Karen Bamonte Danceworks in Philadelphia, and in New York City- Elizabeth Streb/Ringside, Clarinda MacLow's cml performance group, FREEFALL,ltd, and many independent NYC dancemakers. She has also performed in the works of Jose Limon, Mark Morris, Ann Reinking, May O'Donnell, and Mark Dendy, among many others. Bayne was associate producer and camera operator on a digital video dance documentary with director Khalda Logan in 2003, And They Flew... which was presented as part of the 2004 Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center in New York City, and has had public screenings in Florida, Connecticut and Virginia. This past year she created and received a grant to coordinate a 2-week dance intensive for the CSU Summer Arts Festival held in Fresno, CA, where she brought NYC choreographer Nicholas Leichter and his company to perform and teach along with special guest, Mia Michaels from "So You Think You Can Dance." She is currently working on building an annual 2 week summer dance festival/intensive in Sacramento, housed at Sac State, with local and nationally known companies in residence, performing at venues in Sac, Davis and San Francisco. Currently, Lorelei is an Assistant Professor/Dance at Sacramento State where she is Artistic Director/Faculty Advisor of a student dance company, Sac State Dance Alliance/Without Boundaries, and also teaches contemporary dance at Capitol Ballet Studio.	Melissa Wynn is a teacher, choreographer, performer and Co-Artistic Director of Dangerous Lorraines Dance Theater. Originally from San Jose, California, she received her BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and her MFA in Theatre and Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from the University of California, Davis. Wynn's choreography has been presented in New York at the Danspace Project (at St. Mark's Church), Dixon Place, and Long Island University; in Davis, California at the Veteran's Memorial Theater, the University Club, and at the Robert and Magrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts; and in Texas at Sam Houston State University, Texas State University - San Marcos, DiverseWorks and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston. Her interdisciplinary choreography has intrigued and inspired audiences. Her quartet Desire to Take Flight. performed by The Dangerous Lorraines, was selected to be presented both by the Fort Worth Contemporary Dance Festival and as part of the Dance Houston Does Houston showcase of up & coming choreographers. As a performer Wynn has worked with a variety of artists and professional dance companies in both the Bay Area and in New York City where she resided for 17 years. Companies and choreographers she has chosen to work with have all experimented with breaking the boundaries and definitions of dance (or theatre) on some level, and include Bobbie Wynn and Company (San Jose, CA), Bonnie McNeely (Davis, CA), Ellen Webb (Oakland, CA), the Stanley Love Performance Group (New York), Works/Laura Glenn Dance (New York), Nina Winthrop and Dancers (New York), Sham Mosher's Hybridium (New York), Marlies Yearby's Movin' Spirits Dance Theatre, Reggie Wilson's Fist and Heel Performance Group (New York), the theater group John Kelly and Company (New York), Cynthia Oliver's SHEMAD (New York), Sarah Skaggs Dance (New York), the Bebe Miller Company (New York), and most recently with choreographer Della Davidson in Sideshow Physical Theater (Davis, CA). She has been nominated for a New York Dance & Performance (a.k.a. BESSIE) award on more than one ocassion. Currently Melissa teaches contemporary dance at The Deane Dance Center in midtown Sacramento.

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THE DANGEROUS LORRAINES

Dangerous Lorraines DanceTheater is a performance group committed to the creation of contemporary and theatrical dance works. Originally founded in June 2004 by Artistic Director and choreographer Melissa Wynn, it is now collaboratively directed with Co-Artistic Director and choreographer Lorelei Bayne. Still in its early stages in Sacramento, this project-based company features a range of dancers, actors, composers, musicians, and designers to produce exciting, enchanting, visceral performances. Both Melissa Wynn and Lorelei Bayne have extensive professional backgrounds in the dance and performance fields. It is our aim to build a nationally and internationally recognized dance theater company. The Dangerous Lorraines have presented concerts as part of the Festival of the Arts at Sacramento State University and at The Guild Theater in Oak Park-Sacramento, and the company has made several site-specific improvisation appearances as part of downtown Sacramento's 2nd Saturday event.

It is the mission of The Dangerous Lorraines to challenge and entertain audiences while pushing artistic limits.

Dangerous Lorraines DanceTheater is a member of Dancer's Group in San Francisco, and has been the recipient of a 2008-2009 ArtScapes grant from the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.

THE CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTORS

Lorelei Bayne headshot Lorelei Bayne came to the Sacramento area after fourteen years of professional work in New York City. She has an MFA in Dance from New York University/Tisch School of the Arts and a BA in Dance from the University of South Florida.

Her choreography has been presented in venues, festivals and universities throughout New York City, as well as in Connecticut, Philadelphia, Florida and Virginia and California. She performed professionally with Melanie Stewart Dance Theater, Darla Stanley, and Karen Bamonte Danceworks in Philadelphia, and in New York City- Elizabeth Streb/Ringside, Clarinda MacLow's cml performance group, FREEFALL,ltd, and many independent NYC dancemakers. She has also performed in the works of Jose Limon, Mark Morris, Ann Reinking, May O'Donnell, and Mark Dendy, among many others.

Bayne was associate producer and camera operator on a digital video dance documentary with director Khalda Logan in 2003, And They Flew... which was presented as part of the 2004 Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center in New York City, and has had public screenings in Florida, Connecticut and Virginia. This past year she created and received a grant to coordinate a 2-week dance intensive for the CSU Summer Arts Festival held in Fresno, CA, where she brought NYC choreographer Nicholas Leichter and his company to perform and teach along with special guest, Mia Michaels from "So You Think You Can Dance." She is currently working on building an annual 2 week summer dance festival/intensive in Sacramento, housed at Sac State, with local and nationally known companies in residence, performing at venues in Sac, Davis and San Francisco.

Currently, Lorelei is an Assistant Professor/Dance at Sacramento State where she is Artistic Director/Faculty Advisor of a student dance company, Sac State Dance Alliance/Without Boundaries, and also teaches contemporary dance at Capitol Ballet Studio.

Melissa Wynn headshot photo

Melissa Wynn is a teacher, choreographer, performer and Co-Artistic Director of Dangerous Lorraines Dance Theater. Originally from San Jose, California, she received her BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and her MFA in Theatre and Dance with an emphasis in Choreography from the University of California, Davis.

Wynn's choreography has been presented in New York at the Danspace Project (at St. Mark's Church), Dixon Place, and Long Island University; in Davis, California at the Veteran's Memorial Theater, the University Club, and at the Robert and Magrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts; and in Texas at Sam Houston State University, Texas State University - San Marcos, DiverseWorks and the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in Houston. Her interdisciplinary choreography has intrigued and inspired audiences. Her quartet Desire to Take Flight. performed by The Dangerous Lorraines, was selected to be presented both by the Fort Worth Contemporary Dance Festival and as part of the Dance Houston Does Houston showcase of up & coming choreographers.

As a performer Wynn has worked with a variety of artists and professional dance companies in both the Bay Area and in New York City where she resided for 17 years. Companies and choreographers she has chosen to work with have all experimented with breaking the boundaries and definitions of dance (or theatre) on some level, and include Bobbie Wynn and Company (San Jose, CA), Bonnie McNeely (Davis, CA), Ellen Webb (Oakland, CA), the Stanley Love Performance Group (New York), Works/Laura Glenn Dance (New York), Nina Winthrop and Dancers (New York), Sham Mosher's Hybridium (New York), Marlies Yearby's Movin' Spirits Dance Theatre, Reggie Wilson's Fist and Heel Performance Group (New York), the theater group John Kelly and Company (New York), Cynthia Oliver's SHEMAD (New York), Sarah Skaggs Dance (New York), the Bebe Miller Company (New York), and most recently with choreographer Della Davidson in Sideshow Physical Theater (Davis, CA). She has been nominated for a New York Dance & Performance (a.k.a. BESSIE) award on more than one ocassion.

Currently Melissa teaches contemporary dance at The Deane Dance Center in midtown Sacramento.


THE COMPANY MEMBERS (this page is currently under construction - please visit again soon)
	Tiffany Braniff began her dance training at Pamela Hayes Classical Ballet Training in Sacramento. She has also studied with Ruth Rosenberg, Loretta Livingstone, Tanya Lockyer, and Nolan T'Sani. She received her B.A. in Dance with a composite emphasis in ballet and modern dance from Brigham Young University in 2007. At BYU she studied under certified movement analysts the Laban and Bartenieff techniques. She performed with both the ballet and modern dance companies at BYU and presented three of her choreographic works in concert. Tiffany has been teaching dance for over ten years and currently teaches dance in Sacramento where her husband is a law student. She plans on attending graduate school where she can receive her MFA in Dance. This is her third year with Dangerous Lorraines Dance Theatre and she is excited to be dancing with such wonderful people.	Inertia DeWitt has been dancing with Dangerous Lorraines Dance Theater since Fall of 2007 and looks forward to her third show with the company. Inertia was last seen performing in the CSU Sacramento, Performance Mix and the Artistic Differences one night only vocal concert of Hair. Inertia recently received an award for Recognition in Rehearsal/Performance for her work in the CSU Sacramento Faculty Dance Concert, Dance Sites 2008, as well as an award for Recognition in a Choreographic Exploration for her Senior piece titled This is Not a Test, performed in the Senior Dance Concert 2009, Mosaic. She will be finishing the undergraduate program at CSU Sacramento in Fall of 2009, earning a BA in Theater Arts, with a concentration in Dance. Inertia plans on continuing her education in dance, and is applying for MFA programs at this time.
	Chanthou Lam	Meggan Mariano has been with The Dangerous Lorraines since its Sacramento inception in 2008. Originally from Sonoma, CA, Meggan completed her A.A. and the Actors Training Program at San Joaguin Delta College in Stockton, and received her B.A. in Kinesiology with a minor in Dance at CSU Chico in 2003. Meggan also holds a teaching credential for Physical Education from CSU Sacramento in 2006. Her dance experience includes ballet, jazz, tap, modern, African, ballroom, musical theatre, and other styles. In recent years, Meggan has been performing in annual CSUS Faculty Dance Shows and Senior Dance Concerts. She has been blessed to be a member or Sacramento/ Black Art of Dance at CSUS for three years under the direction of Dr. Linda Goodrich. She currently teaches Physical Education and Jazz Dance at Vista del Lago High School in Folsom, CA and plans to later return to school to get a Masters in Dance, with an emphasis in choreography.
	Steven McDermott started his dancing career at the age of 19 at California State Universisty - Sacramento (CSUS.) He is working on his Bachelor of Arts in Theater and Dance with a focus in dance at CSUS and plans to graduate Spring 2009. He has performed in various performances at CSUS as well as productions in the Sacramento Community, including Dance Sites 2007: New Works in Choreography and You cant Stop the Beat, a Musical revue. This is Steven's first opportunity to part of a dance company and is excited to be a part of such an amazing Company. Steven is also and accomplished guitarist and has spent the last 6 years in and out of various music projects in the Sacramento area as well as studying classical guitar at CSUS for one year. He hopes to continue his dance career for many years and stay involved with Dangerous Lorraines Dance Theater as long as possible.	Roxanne Payan received her B.A. in dance with a theater minor from Sacramento State University. While attending Sac State, she studied a variety of genres including ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, African and tap. While studying in these genres she has found her creativity in choreography. She has created works such as Double-Sided, Again and Again…and Again, and Pieces. She has gratefully had the opportunity to show her work, Double-Sided, in American College Dance Festival Association’s (ACDFA) informal concert. Although she loves to choreograph, her passion lies in performing. She has had the opportunity to perform in both the informal and formal concerts held by ACDFA. One of the performances, I Want What I Have Not, choreographed by Lorelei Bayne was chosen to be performed in the Gala Concert. Roxanne has also had the pleasure of performing in “Something Fierce”, “Pop Rocks”, “Seussical the Musical”, “The Carol Channing Show”, “Without Boundaries”, as well as the final performance for The Nicholas Leichter’s Dance Intensive Program. Payan has received awards for Recognition for Choreography in “Something Fierce” dance concert as well as Recognition for Rehearsal and Performance in “Without Boundaries” dance concert.
	Katie Rogers is a native of Sacramento. She has studied ballet with Bobbi Bader at The Ballet Studio for six years and continues to take class there today. She expanded her dance education at CSU Sacramento under Dale Scholl and Dr. Linda Goodrich (2000-2004), and in 2004 Ms. Rogers earned her BA in Theatre Arts (Dance). In May of 2007, Ms. Rogers completed a two-year MFA program in Performance and Choreography at Mills College. While at Mills Ms. Rogers performed works by Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow, Molissa Fenely, and others in the Mills College Repertory Company. Ms. Rogers now teaches dance in the Sacramento area and is pleased to be performing with DLDT.	Hang Tran (apprentice) was born in Texas and raised in Sacramento, California. Though it is still fairly new to her life, she enjoys dancing and performing. Although she did dabble with dance during her high school years, she did not start her technical training until she attended CSU Sacramento in the Fall of 2008. Since then she has participated in CSU Sacramento’s faculty dance concert- Dance Sites 2008, the Senior Dance Concert 2009 entitled Mosaic, and the CSU Summer Arts Program in Fresno featuring the Joe Goode Performance Group. Currently, she is performs with Sacramento /Black Art of Dance, most recently in Motown Jukin’, under the direction of Dr. Linda Goodrich. In addition to dancing, she is finishing up her last semester with CSUS obtaining a BA in Liberal Studies with a math concentration. Similar to the other dance members of DLDT, she is very excited to be given the opportunity to work with Dangerous Lorraines Dance Theater.
	Melisa Visaya is a 25 year old Dance and Pre-Nursing Major at Sacramento State University. She started dancing in high school on a competitive cheer and dance team, Sacramento Valley All-Stars. †When she first started her college career at California State Long Beach University, she became a part of the Pacific Asian Cultural Modern Dance troupe, a hip-hop/ modern/ jazz group that did performances in their local area. She fell in love with the artistry of dance when she returned home to attend Sacramento State University. She then decided she wanted to pursue her career in nursing and took some time away from dance and in the meantime started a family. Melisa has now returned to the dance program and is focused on graduating with her B.A in theatre, with a concentration in dance by Fall 2010. Around the same time, she plans on being accepted into a nursing program, as well as being still active in the dance community.