Staff & Board
Joe Landini
Joe Landini (director of giving/founder) received his BA in choreography from UC Irvine and his MA in choreography from the Laban Centre (London). His choreography has been presented at the ODC Theater, Z Space, the Cowell Theater and Dance Mission, as well as Santa Cruz, Marin, Sacramento, Monterey, Laguna Beach, Santa Fe (NM), Mexico City and London. He founded SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts in 2007 and received the GOLDIE award from the SF Bay Guardian in 2012. In 2022, Landini received the award for Sustained Achievement with the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards and celebrated his 30th year of choreographing in the Bay Area.
Jesselito Bie
Jesselito Bie (director of artist relations) moved to the Bay Area in 1992 to dance with the High Risk Group and has since performed with many local companies such as Scott Wells and Dancers,Stephen Pelton Dance Company, Cid Perlman/Nesting Dolls, Kulintang Arts and Erika Shuch Performance Project. Jesselito is a founding member and current Artistic Director of STEAMROLLER Dance Company, established in 1993 to create guerrilla performances addressing the spread of HIV/AIDS in marginalized communities. He has received awards for his choreography from the SF Bay Guardian, the 360 Award from CSUEB for all around Outstanding and Outrageous Queer Dance Work and the Tobie from Bay Area Dance Watch for Best Male Solo. In 2019 he was also selected to participate CHIME mentorship program with Margaret Jenkins and The Feedback with Joe Goode Performance Group. He was also a participant in ODC Theater's Sandbox residency program. Currently, he is a Lead Artist in Residence and director of artist relations at SAFEhouse Arts.
Colin Johnson
Colin Johnson (director of technical operations) has been doing theatre tech since 2010 when he stage managed his first production at The Garage, SAFEhouse Arts' inaugural location. Since then he has expanded his skill set to include lighting and sound design, carpentry, and directing. In addition to being Director of Technical Operations for SAFEhouse Arts, he is also the Technical Director for Dreams on the Rocks Productions and Performers Under Stress, has done numerous productions with Theatre Rhinoceros in various roles and worked with many other companies in the Bay Area. In 2014 he was nominated for a BATCC and TBA for lighting design for Off Broadway West's Life X 3. Other favorite credits include The Afterlife with SF Youth Theatre which in addition to multiple productions in SF in toured around the Central Valley and took the show to Bosnia for the Kestenberg International Youth Theatre Festival, FouFouHa's Whoa-Man which in addition to five productions in SF put on a weekend at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver. He is so grateful for Joe Landini and the space that he has created for people to be express and create themselves in.
Lydia Clinton
Lydia Clinton (director of marketing) is a Bay Area native who went to Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA to pursue a BA in Modern Dance. During college, she also attended the American Dance Festival on scholarship and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Since returning to the Bay Area, Lydia has worked with a number of dance companies such as PUSH Dance Company, Zaccho Dance Theatre, and Capacitor. She also loves spreading her passion for dancing through teaching children at Geary Dance Center and Berkeley Playhouse while making Instagram and TikTok videos @itsjust_lydia.
Alma Esperanza Cunningham
Alma Esperanza Cunningham is an early childhood educator dedicated to working with children and families. She has been a family service specialist for Catholic Charities, a Site Director for Spanish Speaking Unity Council’s Headstart program in Oakland and now teaches at SFUSD’s Charles Drew Elementary in the Bayview district of San Francisco (where she has been employed for the past 7 years). Education: BA in Dance from SFSU Early Childhood Education Site Supervisors Permit from City College of San Francisco Multi-Subject CA Elementary Teaching Credential with authorization to teach dance (k-12) from SFSU Special Education Certificate from City College of New York
Board
Joe Landini, founder
Jesselito Bie, Secretary
Donna Moore, President
Esra Coskun, Treasurer