Born and raised in Santa Rosa, California, Thao Dang started her dance training as a freshman in high school. She enrolled in the Artquest Dance Program at Santa Rosa High School, where she began her training in ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, modern, and Afro-Carribean styles under Nzinga Woods. She worked with Erin Landry and Greg Chapkis during her time there.

 

Thao attended Santa Rosa Junior College as a dance major, performing in their winter and spring shows. During that time, she also choreographed dances at the high school and college. Currently Thao is a BFA Dance Major at San Jose State University, studying under Heather Cooper, Raphael Boumaila, Mark Foehringer, Dominique Serapio, Jill Yager, and Chafin Seymour. There she is a member of UDT, performing and working with Mike Esperanza and Doug Varone.

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Thao has worked at a summer camp for low income students, teaching dance to kids ages 10-15. She taught hip hop for 6 weeks, helping them prepare for their end of the summer performance. She has also briefly taught hip hop at The Dancer’s Institute in San Ramon, teaching hip hop to kids and adults. Thao hopes to continue performing and teaching after college and hopefully travel the world through the lense of dance.