Cin considers no dance style too outré. For 20 years, she has been dancing, costuming and performing with a number of Bay Area groups, including the Butterfly Bloomers Can-can troupe at San Juan Bautista, and Dickens Faire. Cin was a founding member of Danse Libre. She both danced and held comic roles in the Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble. She choreographed a 20s styled "Trial By Jury" for Stanford Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Lately, she's spending lots of time with Renaissance dance forms and currently translating her second 15th century Burgundian dance manual.

Debby returns for her 3rd year with Danse Libre. She started dancing before she started grade school and continued to find time to dance in medical school and residency. She continues to takes classes atWestern Ballet and Atlas School of Dance and attends various social dance events in the Bay Area.

Edoardo discovered social dancing in the spring of 1997 and joined the Academy of Danse Libre in the fall of the same year, at the beginning of its second season. Little did he know that dance would play such a pivotal role in his life: the elegance of Victorian dances and the energy of those from the early 20th century immediately captured him and haven't let go since. As his passion for dancing grew at a very fast pace, he joined the Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble and eventually other dance groups on and off-campus, like the Knotts Dance Company, decadance, and SF Bounce. Edoardo choreographed the opening dances for the Stanford Viennese Ball in 2000 as well as a few pieces for the Academy of Danse Libre. He became Artistic Director in 2000 and held that role until 2006, when he passed on the flame thrower to Julie, with whom he is now co-directing the ensemble. He will do anything (within legality) for a serving or two of good fries.

Grace, after an uninspiring childhood ballet class, stayed far away from dance lessons until she discovered ballroom dance classes in her third year of college. At that point she promptly overcompensated and started taking ballroom classes four nights a week. Grace joined the Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble when she returned to California for graduate school, later switching to decadance, a more modern-themed performance group (former motto: "not yo' mamma's social dance"). After a performance hiatus of several years in which she periodically wallowed in social dancing, especially West Coast swing, she joined the Academy of Danse Libre in autumn 2004. Grace's alter ego is a Purell-toting (and -touting) mild-mannered epidemiologist studying the causes of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders.

Jason grew up in San Diego before moving to the Bay Area to attend Stanford University, where he earned his BS and MS in Computer Science. Before being introduced to Social Dance through the classes of Richard Powers, Jason was a Second Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. Now in his second year with Danse Libre, Jason tries to remember that unlike the martial arts, while dancing he is supposed to do lifts and not take-downs, and to instill pleasure instead of inflict pain on his partner. Jason currently works for a large software company in Mountain View (the one that is not a misspelling of a very large number), and can often be found out dancing at Friday Night Waltz, Jammix, and Gaskell’s Ball.

Jed, originally from New York, now calls the Bay Area his home. While he didn't start dancing until his senior year at Stanford, he's been heavily into music and performing since he started playing the violin at age 2, having performed in concerts in 23 states and 6 countries. When not dancing or working on his computer tan, Jed enjoys board games, cooking, violin, pearl-milk tea, obsessing over dogs, more pearl-milk tea, trying new hair styles, and is a die-hard Jets and Yankees fan.

Jeff has always been interested in dance and is quite honored to be a member of Danse Libre. During the 1980s, he was involved with all aspects of professional theatre with a focus on musical theatre in Connecticut and Boston, Massachusetts. His partner dance experience didn't come until much later in life: a chance class with Richard Powers. When it did enter his life, it became a full-time passion. Since the fall of 2005, Jeff has been out social partner dancing most days of each week, taking classes wherever he can and dancing as much as possible. Every form of dance interests him: waltz, swing, mazurka, tango, hustle, blues, salsa, samba, etc. He finds dance venues to attend everywhere he travels. He studies dance privately with Anne Remsen and takes ballet classes at Western Ballet. You'll often find him dancing at Friday Night Waltz, Swing Central, and Steppin' Out. When he's not dancing or composing music, he's creating technology that you use regularly.

Jennifer grew up in San Diego and moved to the Bay Area to attend Stanford University. After graduating with a B.A. in Psychology, she earned her Psy.D. (Doctor of Psychology) degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Children and Families. She is a licensed psychologist and currently works as a Mental Health Clinical Supervisor at a community mental health agency. Jennifer enjoys many different types of dancing and has participated in folk dance performance groups and a hustle formation team. She is especially fond of vintage ballroom dance and has been a member of The Academy of Danse Libre for four years. When not dancing, Jennifer enjoys traveling, learning about financial planning, writing, cooking and spending time with friends.

Jeremy is not just a boring old person. He has been a member of Danse Libre since Autumn 2003, which means he has been in the group almost as many years as he unsuccessfully auditioned previously. He started dancing as an undergraduate at Stanford as a result of seeking larger events to setup, facilitate, and cleanup than mere dorm activities. His enjoyment of dancing has proven to be more than a fad. It has endured years of classes, workshops and weeks, dances, and a lack of any natural aptitude. It is even sufficient that he endures performing in exchange for the opportunity to learn more dances. He believes that rehearsals are *much* better when they include food and provides accordingly. When not dancing, Jeremy spends his days chasing frisbees, reading, playing with computers, or sleeping in. He spends his nights staying up far too late reading, writing, sitting in front of a computer, or going walking outside.

John grew up on a farm in southeastern Ohio, went off to Swarthmore College, and got as far as grad school at Stanford without any dance experience to speak of. One fateful Friday night, though, a colleague dragged him out of the physics lab and onto a local dance floor, and he hasn't stopped dancing since. He enjoys social ballroom dance as well as the vintage performance pieces. John performed with the Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble for two years under Richard Powers, before joining the newly organized Danse Libre in 1996. He served as managing director of DL from 2001 through 2006, passing the baton to Rollie for the '06-'07 season. Off the dance floor (and sometimes on it), John does wedding and event video with his company Beale Corner Productions.

Julie has the honor of being the artistic director for the 2006-7 season. A native New Yorker she came out west for undergraduate school and never left. As a founding member she took a hiatus for 3 years for physician assistant school before returning in 2003. Her previous performing experiences include founding member of the Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble and the Swing Cats Rhythm Revue, Stanford Viennese Ball Opening Committee member and choreographer, and member of the Knotts Dance Company. When not dancing with Danse Libre, she may be found dancing lindy at local venues, wandering through bookstores, or reading - oh yes, and working at a community clinic.

Kay made her way across the Pacific from Japan with a 6 year stopover in Hawaii before landing in California. Armed with a BA in History and MA in East Asian Studies from Stanford, she went to join the wacky world of high tech, proving once again that what one studies in college really has no actual relevance in real life. During the day she can be found in the customer care organization of a local software company, trying to manage a team and projects spread around the globe. Her addiction to dancing began during a sabbatical (back when tech companies still had them!) in the summer 1999. She can be found dancing at local lindy venues or performing with the Swing Cats in addition to performing with The Academy of Danse Libre. This is her fourth season with Danse Libre.

Kimber is a California native who spent her formative years learning to be coordinated while cold (synchronized swimming) and pained (ballet). She discovered vintage dance while at Stanford University and decided that, not only was it better than being cold, it was great fun. She spent the rest of her time at Stanford performing in Richard Powers' Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble and the Viennese Ball Opening Committee. After graduating with a B.A. in history and an M.A. in humanities, Kimber did some musical theater and cofounded Decadance, a social dance performance group. She returns to the Bay Area after a hiatus in Los Angeles, where she studied ballroom dance and lindy hop in between learning about the Constitution, and Arizona, where she experienced some very hot weather. When not driving to rehearsals, Kimber does dog agility with her dog Sara.

Laura joined Danse Libre this fall. Taking Social Dance I at Stanford University with Richard Powers taught her that having two left feet was underrated. Or receiving her Bachelors and Masters in Psychology and Sociology taught her that her self-perception of uncoordination was socially constructed from contemporary cultural mores; either way. After participating in numerous social dance classes and performing with Stanford's Viennese Ball Opening Committee, Laura decided there was something missing from her dance experience: more petticoats. Nothing clears the dance floor like a lady wearing poofy undergarments, especially for Laura's favorite Viennese waltzes. When she escapes from her corset and spaniel curls, Laura enjoys hiking, jewelry making, and chocolate. Especially chocolate.

Lee started dancing the Shag and Swing summers at Myrtle Beach while on vacation from Duke. To survive the Viennese Ball, he woke up early to sign-up for Duke's most popular class: Mrs. Trout's Social Dance I. Later he found the one ballroom dance class in Allentown Pennsylvania. In 1999 he moved to the Bay Area and was amazed at the dance scene. Lee met his wife Tatiana at a dance club in Santa Clara. He danced with Fezziwig's for a year, and then started stalking DL tryouts. He joined DL in 2005. Outside of dance, Lee loves games of all sorts and works as a software engineer for Apple working on OS X. He also likes cheese.

Patty often jokes that she joined DL to learn to be a girl. As a bookworm who grew up in California, she knew nothing about make-up or dresses (historically accurate or modern) until she joined the group in 2002. She was introduced to social dancing in 1998. A degree from UC Berkeley didn’t stop her from attending dance classes and events on Stanford campus where she was first introduced to Vintage Dance. She danced swing with SF Bounce! and taught with Bay Aerials and Friday Night Waltz with her husband Edoardo. She has also assisted Joan Walton at Stanford Dance Week 2003 and other Bay Area events and Richard Powers in Prague 2004. She can be found in Fremont wrangling spreadsheets during the day. When not on the dance floor she can be found curled up with a book or experimenting in the kitchen.

Rollie has been dancing ever since being dragged to the Dickens Fair, kicking and screaming, in 2000. The next year he was seen escorting ladies onto the dance floor, and he's never looked back. He joined Danse Libre in 2005 and assumed the role of managing director in 2006.

Sean is pleased to be returning to Danse Libre for his third year. Sean became interested in social and ballroom dance as an undergraduate and graduate student at Stanford University. His interest in vintage and historical dances grew when he joined the Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble, a performance group directed by Richard Powers. More modern dance interests include tap, Lindy hop, and West Coast swing. By day, Sean is an electrical engineer at Siemens, where he researches and develops new ultrasound technologies. He also enjoys gardening, cooking, playing piano, and (of course) dancing.

Vanessa started dancing classical ballet at the age of 5 and studied ballet with The Joffrey Ballet before college. She discovered social dancing while studying management science and engineering at Stanford and performed with The Stanford Vintage Dance Ensemble and the Stanford Viennese Ball Opening. After college, she continued social dancing with The Academy of Danse Libre (6 years) and The Knotts Dance Company. When she is not rehearsing, she enjoys dancing Argentine Tango, traveling, and eating.

Woodley became interested in vintage dance four years ago when he started taking social dance classes at Stanford. After years of going to numerous social dance events and attending a two-week dancing tour of Prague and Paris, Woodley joined Danse Libre this fall. His other hobbies include astronomy, photography, computational linguistics, and composing and performing classical music. Woodley graduated from Stanford in mathematics (MS/BS '06), and since then he has been working at a small statistics software startup company.