VIRGINIA BOCK grew up in New Zealand where she studied ballet and modern dance from an early age and taught dance in various schools and communities. She attended the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington, performing and choreographing with the student company and receiving her diploma in dance teaching. Virginia is a full-time mother and part-time freelance writer, and lives in Santa Clara with her husband and two young sons. Virginia joined High Release in the fall of 2006.
Works choreographed for High Release: Arioso (2007), Play Nice (2009), Obscured (2009)

JEN COSTILLO Growing up doing ballet, tap, and jazz, Jen consistently played an evil villain in all dance productions. It was not until her return to dance after a nine year break that she finally performed as a nice sweet flower in Santa Clara Ballet's Nutcracker. Her rediscovery of dance led to exploring modern dance with Janine Vogt, Raissa Simpson, and Monica Monk as well as contemporary ballet. She has a BS in Computer Engineering and MBA which has served her in roles as a CFO and technologist on the board of directors for Push Dance Company in San Francisco. Jen prefers to explore topics relating to technology, privacy, and social change in her work. Starting her nineteenth year of dance, she is happy to return to performing. Jen joined High Release in 2008.
Works choreographed for High Release: Opiate (2008), Shiny Things (2009)

JENNIFER EATON started dancing at the age of four. After years of studio recitals with Pam East Dance, Nutcrackers, and various spring ballets with local ballet companies, she set off for Connecticut College where she was officially introduced to Modern dance. She earned her B.A. in dance in 2000 and returned home to California after graduation. Here she is a Pilates instructor and myofascial therapist. Jenn was very excited to join High Release in the fall of 2003 and has enjoyed performing with the company.
Works choreographed for High Release: In Between (2004), Shades of Gray (2006), Ting-a-Bing (2006), Study of Physiology (2008), One Infinite Path (2009)

ELENA GRINDLEY has danced for twenty years in Menlo Park. She has studied with Ronnie Brosterman and Gail Abrams at Scripps College and holds a degree in Creative Arts from San Jose State, where she studied with Gary Masters. Elena has performed in Claremont, Los Angeles, Berkeley, San Jose State, San Jose City College, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, DanceVisions, and her grandparents' living room. She has delved into modern, ballet, hip hop, capoeira, West African, Middle Eastern, and funk. Elena joined High Release in fall 1999. Dance 'til we die.
Works choreographed for High Release: 30 Movements to Fake Counts (2001), Goodnight (2001), Living Room Reverie (2001), Disconnect (2002), Day Sleeper (2002), Sweet Dreams (2003), Lamenting (2006), Winding Down (2007), Stages of Grief (2008), Ringtail Antics (2010)

SUSAN LEFTWICH The love of dance has characterized Susan’s dance “career” - from taking ballet, tap, and jazz classes every day after school, to leading the high school dance team, to taking dance classes with the dance majors at the University of Texas and San Jose State University. Susan taught Jazzercise for 5 years in the 1990s but rediscovered her love for dance at Dance Connection and Zohar dance studios. Currently, Susan is a middle school language arts and history teacher who also teaches dance as an elective. She teaches worship dance workshops and leads and performs with her church dance team. Susan joined High Release in 2009 as a way to challenge herself creatively and to reward herself for surviving breast cancer.

I-HENG MCCOMB started school when she was 4 years old and never left. In kindergarten, she wrote in her Me Book that she wanted to be a "mommy and a teacher" when she grew up, so three children and some 2000 students later, here she is. What she didn't foresee then was that somewhere around the turn of the millennium, she would start dancing regularly (Zohar Dance, and later Dance Visions) and never stop. I-Heng joined High Release in 2006.
Works choreographed for High Release: Pieces of Grace (2008), Jekyll Jekyll Hyde! (2009)

KAREN MCWILLIAMS began her performing "career" with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps, and in the process brought home two International Championship medals. While a student at the University of Santa Clara, she finally took a dance class, and has since been performing with whomever would let her on stage, including Ariel Dance Company, the Valley Dance Theatre, and the Vanguard Alumni Corps, which performed at the DCI Championship Finals in Madison, Wisconsin in the summer of 2002. She was one of the founding members of High Release in 1994. In real life, Karen is sometimes a technical writer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and always a mother of three. She also keeps busy creating custom wedding dresses and dance costumes.
Works choreographed for High Release: Statuary (1996), Like Sisters (1997), In the Garden of Souls (2002), Improvisation on Walking and Falling (2005)

LISA MARIA NAVARRO has taught, trained, and performed worldwide. Lisa was on scholarship at Steps on Broadway in NYC. She trained in various styles with instructors such as Frank Hatchett, Cecila Marta, Anne Marie Garvin and Debbie Allen. She has worked with such artists as Snoop Doggy Dog, Chaka Khan and Santana. She was a dancer in two films, "Matrix 2" and "Shut Up and Dance". During the 2001 European tour of West Side Story, she was part of the dance ensemble. She has performed with Culture Shock SF, Kinsei, U Dance Electra and many other Bay Area Dance companies. Lisa is a certified pilates instructor and runs her own studio in Palo Alto, California. Lisa feels blessed to be able to live and share her passion.

ERIKA TINGEY started studying dance at age 6 with Grace Butler, and continued through college where she studied with Libby Nye and Risa Steinberg, former members of the Limon dance company. In 1994 she graduated from Mills College with an MFA in Choreography, and went on to dance with Jennifer Brightbill and the Pneuma Dance Company. For a year she was a performing member of the San Francisco Taiko Dojo. Her work has been seen in High Release, DanceVisions, and Choreographers' Collective performances, as well as the Marin 21st Century Dance & Music Collaboration and "Assemble Emotion," an AIDS fundraiser in San Francisco. Erika joined High Release in 1999.
Works choreographed for High Release: Helix (2001), Intent (2003), Ebb Tide (2003), Scratched (2005), Passing Through (2005), Infrequent (2007), Whispers (2007), Dernier Cri (2008), Balancing Act (2009)