le cancan bijou
cast roster
Management
Cindy Lu
Co-Director & Dancer
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Cindy is delighted to be a member of Le Cancan Bijou and has been dancing with the troupe since 2008. She's always loved dancing, and studied ballet for a few years at an early age. She wasn't able to actively pursue dance until college, where she studied ballroom dancing and was a member of a swing dancing performance group. Some of Cindy's interests include vintage and contra dancing, and she actively participates in yoga and kickboxing. Her love for vintage led her to a membership with 1930s vintage dance troupe, the Decobelles. Cindy is a marketing professional by day, but her passions are dance and costuming, with a penchant for corsetry. Each year she looks forward to performing at the Great Dickens Fair & Victorian Holiday Party - one of her favorite annual events.
Meredith Sherwin
Co-Director & Dancer
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A lover of all types of movement from Classical Ballet to impromptu sidewalk dance parties, Meredith grew up dabbling in various dance styles including Ballet, Jazz, Tap, and Irish Step Dancing. Most frequently she was found enacting some “Musical Theater” style, reminiscent of her favorite classic films. This mixture of technique and performance drew her to the cancan, finally succumbing to the seduction of ruffles, high-kicks, and feathers and joining Le Cancan Bijou in 2013. She is also a member of the Decobelles with several other Bijou ladies, and spends her free time searching for vintage treasures, drinking wine in the sunshine, and chasing her cats around the house.
current performers
Site Title
Barbara Pond
Dancer​
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​Barbara was introduced by her mother at a very early age to the unusual combination of Golden Age musicals, Star Trek reruns, and the novels of Louisa May Alcott. Convinced she had been born in the wrong era (or dimension) Barbara was excited to discover in 1995 that musical theatre and ballroom dance were alive and well! She immediately auditioned for both a local production of My Fair Lady and the UC Davis Ballroom Dance Team, and has performed with various companies ever since. Favorite roles include Maria in The Sound of Music, Lucy Schmeeler in On The Town, and an unforgettable turn as a giant, tap dancing lobster. She has received two Solano County ARTY awards for her work: Lead Actress in a Musical (Maria, The Sound of Music), and Supporting Actress in a Musical (Sister Mary Leo, Nunsense!). In an attempt to cover all her historical bases, Barbara also dances with The Decobelles, performs with The Stark Ravens Historical Players at Renaissance festivals, and sings with the piratical Queen Anne’s Revenge. Most recently, she has been involved in film and television projects , and is studying on-camera acting with Nancy Berwid at San Francisco’s First Take.
Rachel Young
Dancer​​
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Rachel was delighted to join Le Cancan Bijou in 2016 after many years of working alongside them at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair. She enthusiastically embraces dance and yoga as a counterpoint to her more sedentary life doing fine needlework and breathing new life into old books. Much of her Bay Area theater experience has been in the production of props and costumes, or as backstage crew, performing routines that were never seen by an audience. Now she happily trades her traditional stage blacks for the bright, frilly confectionary of a cancan dress and a high-kicking, jolly good time.
Jessie Potter
Dancer
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Jessie has spent much of her life dancing and performing. She started out as a gymnast in her childhood and then moved on to ballet as she gained proficiency. She later found a love for Irish, swing, and Morris dance, along with other fun forms of performance and movement. She started dancing with Le Cancan Bijou in 2000, and is happily back this year after a four-year break. When she’s not dancing Jessie likes to play the cello and sing with her band, The Honeybelles, which includes her sister and her daughter.
Madison Frilot
Dancer
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Madison was introduced to dance by her greatest inspiration, biggest supporter, and ballroom dancer herself, her grandmother. As a kid, she would attend the Dickens Fair annually with her family and would stare with amazement at the dancers of Le Cancan Bijou, determined to be up there with them one day. At 8 years old, Madison was (strongly) encouraged (perhaps forced) to take ballroom classes by her grandmother and quickly got over her stage fright. From there, she dove headfirst into ballet, contemporary, and jazz, making dance 95% of her personality. In 2016 she spent a summer at Broadway Dance Center and in 2017 she studied at Joffrey Ballet School on scholarship. While in college, she joined the Boston University Dance Team and Edge Dance Company. In 2022 she joined Le Cancan Bijou and danced her first season of the Dickens Fair, realizing her childhood dream of ruffles, striped stockings and high kicks!
Bonnie Rose
Dancer
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At a young age, Bonnie Rose studied a variety of dance classes including tap, ballet, jazz, and hip hop. From sixth through eighth grade she danced with her middle school cheer team while continuing to compete with her dance school team in national competitions. A member of her high school Varsity Dance Team, Bonnie Rose became the captain her junior and senior years, affording her the opportunity to compete and perform globally from the Florida Citrus Bowl Half-Time Show to events in Paris, France. Studying Fine Arts, Interior Design and Dance in college, Bonnie Rose has also dabbled in the Go-Go scene in San Francisco and Italy. From 2011-2012 she also danced with another bay area cancan troupe, the Can-Cannibals. Her other interests include modeling for photography, figure drawing, and fashion. Bonnie Rose currently lives in San Francisco where she practices her fine arts skills as a painter. She joined Le Cancan Bijou in 2008, and continues to dance at The Dickens Fair as well as outside performance when she can fit it into her busy schedule.
Christophe Taylor
Dancer​
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​Christophe started dancing ballroom in college a decade ago. After making his rounds on the competition circuit, he picked up a a large assortment of social dance styles - from blues and lindy hop to tango and vintage waltz. He spent several years performing burlesque as well as being a member of The Can-Cannibals, Decadance, and several other troupes. Christophe founded the monthly event East Bay Waltz, and continues to teach, travel, and DJ at dance events across the country. In his spare time, Christophe enjoys aerial acrobatics, partner flips, acro-yoga, and board games. He's also enjoyed a previous life training for and competing in triathlons and marathons.
Cybele Baker
Dancer
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Cybele joined Le Cancan Bijou in 2003, having previously worked as a competitive Irish dancer for over a decade. A singer and actor, Cybele has performed twice in Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, seven years with the 19th century Musical Hall vocal group The LORS, and was the director of the all-ladies nautical-themed singing group Queens Anne's Revenge from 2008-2012. She has performed in productions spotlighting stage combat with The Albion Schoole of Defense. Cybele has loved dancing with Le Cancan Bijou for more than 10 years and feels it is the most exciting and invigorating dance form she has ever had the ability to perform.
HALEY SMITH HENDERSON
Dancer
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Haley joined Le Cancan Bijou in 2017. Her love for dance is exceeded only by the length of her legs and the ruffly-ness of her panties. She has spent her life exploring different types of movement. As a child, she learned folk dances from all over the world, primarily Balkan. In high school, the Swing dance boom hit and she spent the next decade dancing Lindy Hop and Blues dance. She has spent time choreographing and teaching on and off as well. To support her dance habit in college, she obsessed ballet and modern dance, focusing on Graham technique and solo choreography. Her non-dance movements of choice include yoga, rock climbing and hiking.
Sara n Dippty
Dancer
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Sara Nadine was raised by theatre techs and the musical comedy of Tom Lehrer. She has enjoyed entertaining audiences through comedy ever since she was a young child by dressing up, writing jokes, parody songs, and slapstick skits for her numerous and belligerent family. The theater production that Sara most fondly recalls was when she played both Miranda and Trinculo in a very small production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Sara loves to dance and was thrilled to find Le Cancan Bijou as her newest outlet for both performing and dance.
Lillian Porter
Dancer
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Lillian is an enthusiastic dancer who loves to perform. She began dancing at the age of 4 and joined a performance dance team at age 13 in which she performed clogging and jazz dance in over 8 countries. She loves being on stage and entertaining the audience. Lilian also loves to sing and has also sang in several choirs and performed in several musicals, including Oliver and The Sound of Music. Lillian is a dedicated swing dancer (Lindy Hop, Balboa, East Coast and Collegiate Shag) and enjoys teaching and competing. When she's not dancing she is a consultant to large companies and advises them on financial, operational and compliance solutions. Lillian joined LeCanCan Bijou in 2003 and has had a fabulous, fun time being a CanCan dancer at the Dickens Christmas Fair and other venues.
Tara Roberts
Dancer & Choreographer
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​Tara began dancing when she was just three years old, and hasn't stopped since! Being trained in ballet, tap and jazz led her to dancing in musicals, and eventually turned her passion for dance into a passion for performance. That passion has led her to become a choreographer and teacher, training the next generation of dancers in ballet, tap, jazz, musical theater and lyrical/contemporary styles all over the Bay Area (as well as a bit in Michigan, where she grew up). She was roped into the magical world of Le Cancan Bijou in 2014, and added cancan to her repertoire of classical ballets, musicals, social dancing, and stage plays. When she's not dancing or teaching - which is rare - she enjoys barre3 classes, and performs with Barely Legal, a local Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast.
Heather Feeney
Dancer & Choreographer
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Heather has been performing with the Le Cancan Bijou since 2007. She loves dancing and can often be found shaking her derriere to any and all music she encounters. She has studied a wide variety of dance forms including ballet, jazz, salsa, flamenco, hip hop, and Appalachian clogging.
Krista Miller
Dancer
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Krista started dancing with her first tap class at the tender age of 4, whereby she promptly ran from the stage crying in terror during her first recital. Undeterred by this traumatic experience, she continued to dabble in dance on-and-off throughout her childhood and teen years with ballet, jazz, and contemporary styles. But it was when she found Irish and Highland that her passion for dance and love of performance took off. Having found her niche and discovering a whole world of performance opportunities within it, she dove in and never looked back (she has also never run from a stage crying again). Krista has played and participated in several other cultural dance styles throughout the years, and most recently added Italian folk dance to her repertoire. But, in 2016, she was no longer able to resist the lure of high kicks, shiny colors, and ALL THOSE RUFFLES of the French Cancan! She is thrilled to see where this adventure with Le Cancan Bijou leads.
CATHERINE LANGONE
Dancer
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Catherine started her dance training at the age of 6 with tap, jazz and ballet. Tap quickly became her favorite as she loves rhythm and being loud. Following that, she spent many years performing in several different theatrical productions. She joined Le Cancan Bijou in 2018 after mingling with all the amazing cast members over the years and has been kicking along with them ever since. When she is not flashing her butt, you can find her playing guitar and banjolele in her Living Room. In addition to dance and music, she also makes a decent living ensuring that all dogs have super stylish clothes to wear.
company members
Monique Ivan Woodruff ​
Founder
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tanya anguita ​
Founder​
anni bergman ​
Founder
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Joshua Haiman
Dancer​
Keegan Tyler
Dancer
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TESS-MARIE WHITE
Dancer
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SAWYER SECHE
Dancer ​
