The Performers

Felipe Barrueto-Cabello is a native of Chile who grew up in the Bay Area. He received a degree in Mathematics from Cornell University in 1994. Felipe has been with the Joe Goode Performance Group since 1996.

Marit Brook-Kothlow, a California native, joined the Joe Goode Performance Group in 1990 and for the last seventeen years has performed, taught and traveled extensively worldwide. She is currently an adjunct faculty member in the dance department at UC Berkeley and has been recently nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for her role in Joe Goode's Hometown. She has also worked with Tandy Beal & Company and Kathleen Hermesdorf/motionlab and collaborated musically with composers Erik Ian Walker (I Have Never Told You), Beth Custer (In the Broken Fields Where I Lie, Maverick Strain and Other Stories), Sonny Smith (One Act Plays) and Mikel Rouse (Love At Twenty/ Songs From Grace, International Cloud Atlas - Music for Merce Cunningham Dance Company). All CD's can be found on iTunes. Look for her upcoming video collaborations with musical group Closer to Carbon and renowned dance photographer/filmmaker RJ Muna.

Liz Burritt is an original member of the Joe Goode Performance Group established in 1986. She has been an instrumental collaborator in the making of over 30 original works, and has been featured in many pieces including The Ascension of Big Linda into the Skies of Montana, Disaster Series, Take Place, Maverick Strain, What the Body Knows and Folk. In 2000 she was awarded an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Individual Performance. In addition to the wonderful experience of creating and performing with the Company, Liz teaches technique, voice, partnering and performance workshops for dancers and actors around the country. She has taught in many Colleges and Universities, including University of California at Berkeley, Mills College, University of California at Davis, Howard University, University of Maryland at College Park, Northeastern University in Boston and Columbia College in Chicago. She is expanding this work to include classes for actors and theatre companies, such as Fools' Fury Theater Company and The Shotgun Players in the San Francisco Bay Area. Liz has also worked assisting Joe in developing and setting new work on other companies including Dance Alloy in Pittsburgh, PA and Zenon in Minneapolis MN. She most recently assisted in the direction of the opera Transformations (libretto by Anne Sexton and score by Conrad Susa) for the Merola Program at the San Francisco Opera. Her administrative experience includes tour coordination for the Performance Group, creating itineraries and working with Presenters to create and schedule residency activities tailored for each specific community. Liz has a growing interest in video and film and has appeared in a number of short films and one feature length film for which she earned SAG eligibility. She also maintains a massage and body work practice in San Francisco.

Melecio Estrella is native to the Bay Area. His early days were spent in the world of competitive gymnastics. Inspired by the athletics and intimacy of contact improvisation, he found his way into the worlds of dance and performance. Melecio has performed in the bay area with Scott Wells, Liz Roman, Rachael Lincoln, Taproot and Project Bandaloop.

Jessica Swanson received her BFA in dance performance from SUNY Purchase in 1998. She has worked with Doug Varone and Dancers in New York and Doug Elkins in Rotterdam. Since moving to San Francisco in 2001, Jessica has had the pleasure of performing for Capacitor, Rachael Lincoln, Leslie Seiters, Faye Driscoll, Motion Lab, Bandaloop and Jo Kreiter/ Flyaway Productions. Ms. Swanson currently co-directs ZooZ Dance Company, creating innovative work deeply rooted in traditional dances of the Middle East.

Andrew Ward grew up in Berkeley, California. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 2007 with a degree in Peace and Conflict Studies. He now lives in San Francisco where he has danced with Nancy Karp + Dancers, Kathleen Hermesdorf/Motionlab, and Scott Wells and Dancers.

Patricia West is an Oakland based dancer, choreographer, and teacher. She's received a B.A. in English, Dance, and Education at U.C. Berkeley and a M.A. in Education at San Jose State University. Previous to Joe Goode Performance Group, Patricia has worked with Bay Area Repertory Dance, Capacitor, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Robert Moses' KIN, Levy Dance, and Alayo Dance Company. Patricia continues to work with several independent choreographers here in the Bay Area.

Alexander Zendzian has been dancing since the age of seven. Since arriving in the Bay Area he has performed with Anna Halprin, Sara Shelton Mann, Project Bandaloop, Motion Lab, Capacitor and is a participant in Halprin's Sea Ranch Collective. He received a BA in Cultural Performance Studies from The Evergreen State College in 2001.