BIOGRAPHIES
Board of Directors
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Lisa R. Chow
Artistic Director Lisa, originally from Greenville, Mississippi, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Arizona State University in 1988. In 1990, she received ASU’s Outstanding Alumna award for “A Tribute to Ethnic Women in the Arts and Sciences.” She has studied many modern dance techniques such as Graham, Horton, Nickolais, Cunningham, and Hawkins. Ms. Chow serves as Desert Dance Theatre’s artistic director, company manager, choreographer, performer and educator, and has toured with the company throughout Arizona, Mexico and neighboring states since 1983. Lisa has choreographed for the company’s repertory and major multi-disciplinary theme-related works as well as for children’s programs in collaboration with String Sounds (String Quartet). She is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Crossroads Performance Group with her husband Step Raptis, performing interdisciplinary music and dance projects throughout the state of Arizona and regionally since 1989. She was the first Vice-President on the board of the Arizona Dance Arts Alliance, and since 2000 has coordinated the Annual Arizona Contemporary Dance Festival, currently called the Arizona Dance Festival. Lisa was a coach/consultant for the “Galef Institute and Different Ways of Knowing” that provides research-based, field-validated school improvement services and products. She has been nominated for the Arizona Governor Arts Award for Arts in Education in 2004 and 2005. She is one of the founders and Vice President of the Arizona Dance Coalition, a newly formed web-based non-profit organization that supports dance resources throughout Arizona. |
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Step Raptis
Artistic Director/Music Director Step, originally from Detroit, has lived in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and New York, where he worked with Le Groupe de la Place Royale, Toronto Dance Theatre, Danny Grossman, Louis Falco, Jennifer Muller and Christopher Hyde. He also worked at Concordia College and N.Y.U.’s Tisch School of Dance. Step has composed several music compositions for Desert Dance Theatre as well as contributing as a choreographer. He resides in Mesa, Arizona with his wife, Lisa Chow. Together they formed Crossroads Performance Group, which integrates music and dance. On the artist roster of the Arizona Commission on the Arts, they provide outreach programs to schools and communities throughout Arizona and the Southwest. They also provide outreach programs to at-risk populations for the Scottsdale Cultural Council. The Scottsdale Cultural Council honored Raptis and Chow with the Chairman’s Circle Arts Award 2000 for Artists/Educators of the Year. Step also received the Teen Spirit Award from Motivating the Teen Spirit and Empowering the Human Spirit Foundation. Raptis is currently a member of the world music ensemble, Meadowlark. Step’s Junk Funk debuted at the Arizona Dance Festival in January 2006. |
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Renee Davis
Associate Artistic Director Renee joined Desert Dance Theatre in 1986. She received her BA in Dance from the University of Maryland where she performed with Maryland Dance Theatre. Renee has performed with Dancing Plus… at the Nat Horne Musical Theatre in New York City, Murray Spalding Movement Arts in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore Dance Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland. In the Phoenix area, Renee also performed with Center Dance Ensemble and worked in Head Start classrooms as a teacher and artist supervisor with the Wolf Trap-in-Arizona Project. Her work with Desert Dance Theatre has included choreography and costume design for many productions. After relocating to Austin in 1998, Renee made her Austin debut in the title role of “Sister Moses: The Story of Harriet Tubman” as she coordinated 5 tours of Desert Dance Theatre between 2000-2020 through funding received from the City of Austin’s Cultural Arts program. As an Associate Director and performer, Renee loves returning to Arizona several times a year to continue her work with Desert Dance Theatre. In addition to dancing, Renee is a certified Pilates trainer and Functional Nutrition Counseler. She is also known as “Nana” by her 2 beautiful grandchildren which competes with Sister Moses as the greatest role of her life!! |
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Michael Tarver
Board Member Michael is a community-centered leader, movement educator, performing artist, and strategic thinker dedicated to advancing the arts, education, and community engagement throughout Arizona. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology & Society and a Master of Science in Futures & Design from Arizona State University, where his work focused on inclusive leadership, systems thinking, and creating equitable, future-ready communities. Michael’s professional experience spans the nonprofit, corporate, wellness, and arts sectors, including leadership roles in operations, community engagement, strategic planning, organizational development, and advocacy. A certified yoga instructor, dance educator, and performer, he believes deeply in the transformative power of movement and creative expression to foster connection, well-being, and social impact. His artistic journey includes performing with multiple dance companies, including Desert Dance Theatre in productions such as Sister Moses: The Story of Harriet Tubman, an experience that reinforced his passion for using the arts as a vehicle for education, cultural storytelling, and community dialogue. As a member of the Desert Dance Theatre Board of Directors, Michael is committed to supporting the organization’s long-standing legacy of artistic excellence, arts education, and cultural engagement. He is passionate about building partnerships, expanding community access to the arts, strengthening organizational sustainability, and helping ensure that dance remains a powerful force for connection, creativity, and positive change throughout Arizona and beyond. |
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IN MEMORIAM:
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMERITUS Marion Kirk Jones Marion was a Professor Emeritus of Dance at Arizona State University. At ASU, she was Artistic Director for the Fall and Spring dance concerts. Jones was a member of the Lester Horton Dance Company in NYC and has taught at several universities including: Cornell University, Purdue University, University of Rochester, and the Cranbrook Institutions of Michigan. Her studies included intensive work with modern dancers: Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Hanya Holm, Ted Shawn, and Louis Horst. She received her ballet training at the School of American Ballet with George Balanchine, Anatol Oboukhoff, Pierre Vladimiroff, and Muriel Stewart. Marion was the Artistic Coordinator for the ARIZONA DANCE SHOWCASE produced at Gammage Center for the Arts in 1982 and 1984, and for the Gala Dance Benefit for AIDS in 1990. She won the Arizona Commission on the Arts Choreographer’s Fellowship Award in 1982, and received special recognition as an artist from the Governor in 1983. In March 1998, she received an Arts Achievement Award from Wayne State University in Detroit. Ms. Jones choreographed many works for Desert Dance Theatre since its founding in 1979. She became Artistic Director for Desert Dance Theatre in 1988 and shared those responsibilities with Lisa R. Chow and Renee Davis since 1993. In addition to her career in dance, Jones was on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Institute for Peace Education and Research. |
Stay tuned for our development of archives for Marion Kirk Jones, and others, to whom we owe so much!
