Benita Bike, Artistic Director

Choreographer Benita Bike began her dance training in Arizona at the age of three. In college, she studied with Utah Repertory Dance Theatre, the faculty of Bennington College and the faculty of the University of Arizona. In New York, she studied with Robert Christopher, Emmy Devine, Karen Levy, and Ruth Currier. An important influence on Benita's artistic work was Tucson dance teacher and photographer Virginia Robinson. Benita's dance work has been shown in the U.S. and in Europe. She was a Massachusetts Artists Foundation Choreographic Fellowship recipient and a former Artist-in-residence at Massachusetts College of Art. In Massachusetts, Benita was the Chair of the Boston Dance Alliance and a member of the Boston Cultural Corporation's Curatorial Board. In Los Angeles, Benita served on the Board of the Dance Resource Center. She has taught dance at her studio in Boston, at Boston Center for Adult Education, Angels Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro and at Whittier College in Whittier, California. Benita was Co-producer of the Fountain Theatre's annual Festival of Solos & Duets in Hollywood and Coordinator of the Dance Series at the Brand Library & Art Center.

The Company

Nola Gibson

Nola Gibson is a Los Angeles native, contemporary modern dance artist. She attended LA County High School for the Arts, graduating in 2017 and continued her education at UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts. There she worked with renowned choreographers including Lar Lubovitch and Charlotte Griffin. Nola has been a company member with Benita Bike's Dance Art since 2021 and is enjoying her third season with the company.

Lauren Gold

Lauren Gold is a Bay Area native who grew up in Pleasanton, CA. She began dancing at the age of 3 and has trained with Alvin Ailey, Kansas City Ballet, Perry Mansfield, The New Ballet School, the University of Utah, and more. At age 15 she joined modern dance company ConDanza as a trainee. Since, she has received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychological Science from the University of California, Irvine. Lauren is currently doing freelance work in the Los Angeles area and is a company member with Benita Bike’s Dance Art in Pasadena, CA as well as Geometry 2 in Los Angeles, CA.

Micay Jean

Micay Jean grew up in New Jersey where she began her journey as a competitive dancer while training in New York at both Broadway Dance Center and Steps. She transitioned to her professional career in Los Angeles and has received a BFA at Hussian College Los Angeles, In Studio. Micay is excited to continue her professional career and use the universal language of dance to share experiences and open the minds of others.

Lydia Marie McDonald

Lydia Marie McDonald is originally from Longwood Florida. She began her dance training at the age of 12 and has trained in styles such as modern, ballet, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, musical theatre, improvisation, and more. Lydia received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of North Texas in 2018 and spent two seasons dancing as a company member of imPULSE Dance Project during college. Immediately after graduating college, she became member of Ad Deum Dance 2nd company for 2 seasons. Now in L.A., Lydia is a company member of Benita Bike’s Dance Art and Psychopomp Dance Theatre.

Skye Schmidt Varga

Skye Schmidt Varga is a dancer and photographer from Southern California. She trained at Southland Ballet Academy with Salwa Rizkalla from the age of 4 and joined Festival Ballet Theatre from 2012-2018. While at FBT she performed principal and soloist roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Alice in Wonderland, and Le Corsaire, and contemporary works by Josie Walsh and Andrea Schermoly. During this time she also attended UC Irvine, where she was awarded for Excellence in Dance Performance. After earning her BFA in Dance Performance, Skye signed with Go 2 Talent Agency. She currently dances with both Lillian Barbeito’s Ballare Carmel and Benita Bike’s DanceArt.

For former company members

Board of Directors

Sandra Spade Abeles
Kelly Adrianse
Cheryl Banks-Smith
Benita Bike
Clare Kiklowicz
Trudy Niess
Karen Schetina
Daphne Trager
Loui Tucker

Technical

Shawn Fidler, Lighting Design
Dean Wallraff, Composer in Residence