Meet Our Team

Terry Wilson

Executive Artistic Director

Terry Wilson has been performing, choreographing and teaching for over 35 years. Her
dance career began the minute she met took her first ballet class at Palomar Junior
College. Terry studied with Jean Isaacs at San Diego State University and consequently
began dancing for Three’s Company and Dancers in 1986. Terry then performed for
Isaacs/McCaleb and Dancers for eight years before leaving to obtain her MFA in Dance
from the University of Michigan. Following that, Ms. Wilson returned to San Diego to
dance for San Diego Dance Theater, retiring from performing in 2003.

Highly valuing education, Terry earned a BS in Psychology from SDSU and an MFA in
dance on full scholarship from the University of Michigan. She also is a professor at San
Diego City College and lecturer at UCSD. Terry is deeply invested in the dance
community in San Diego and hopes to create more opportunities for everyone to
perform and enjoy movement.

After retiring from the stage, Terry choreographed for the first two years of Trolley
Dances, performed in the third event and was invited back to choreograph in the 2008,
2014 and 2018 “best of” Trolley Dance performances. She also worked with Jean
Isaacs to create “Moving Stories,” a children’s program; became rehearsal director for
company repertoire; and served on the Board of Directors for San Diego Dance
Theater.

Terry became Associate Artistic Director of SDDT in 2019 and then Artistic Director in
2021 with the Jean Isaac’s retirement. Terry persevered through the pandemic,
continuing to find ways to create and produce dances, and provide dance education
virtually. Her most current achievement includes a cultural arts bridge with
Mademoiselle Cinema of Tokyo, Japan. SDDT hosted the Japanese company in San
Diego in July 2025, with a consequent tour of SDDT’s: Resilient Skies II: Bridging
Waters in Tokyo in March 2026.

Matthew Armstrong

Operations & Development Director

Matthew serves as the Operations and Development Director at San Diego Dance Theater (SDDT), bringing a profound connection to the organization and over a decade of experience in the dance and nonprofit sectors. His journey with SDDT began in 2006 as an audience member, evolved through mentorship and scholarship opportunities, and culminated in performing and choreographing for the professional company. Today, Matthew combines their passion for dance with a strategic focus on community engagement, fundraising, and operational excellence, ensuring the organization thrives in its mission to foster inclusivity and creativity in the arts of the San Diego Region.

In addition to his work with SDDT, Matthew is the co-founder and co-director of ConnectArte Multidisciplinary Space, in collaboration with Raúl Navarro and Pamela Macías. ConnectArte is an independent alternative studio/forum offering performances, workshops, and master classes in dance and other art disciplines for the community of Tijuana, Baja California.

In 2016, Matthew Co-founded a non-profit social impact program called “Borboleta: Inclusive Art,” an organization in Tijuana, Mexico that provides a variety of inclusive dance and art experiences such as workshops, master classes and performance opportunities for children and adults living with or without disabilities, who goal is to accept and embrace everyone’s diversity.

Matthew is also a dancer, choreographer and teacher based in the San Diego/Tijuana Region. Aside from SDDT, he worked with the prestigious dance companies such as Malashock Dance [2022-2024] & Lux Boreal [2011-2022]. His choreographic pieces within the companies and SDDT have been presented both in Mexico, Japan, Brazil & the United States. In addition to his artistic work, Matthew was appointed the coordinator of International Relations within Lux, where he excelled in the development of professional relationships, with an emphasis in those of the San Diego/ Tijuana region and other binational possibilities with artists throughout the United States.

Kayla Remo

Education & Outreach Manager

Kayla is a lifelong lover and learner of various movement styles. She believes that dance has the power to ground us, to deepen our connection to ourselves & our communities, and to cultivate our senses of joy, play, & curiosity. In addition to being an enthusiastic student of dance, Kayla has several years of experience teaching, performing, and choreographing in styles such as Hip Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, and Ballroom.

Kayla looks forward to the opportunity to share her love of dance with San Diego Dance Theater, and to take part in furthering the development of the many wonderful programs and classes that the organization offers to the community.

Maribel Durazo

General Manager

Maribel Durazo is a contemporary dance artist with a focus on production for and from the community. Born and raised in Tijuana MX, she founded La Silla Danza in 2009 and has worked with multiple cultural institutions to produce dance, theater and opera.

With Tijuana ́s Cultural Center (CECUT), she was in charge of the coordinating production of the International Dance Day (2013 – 2019), the National Theater Festival in 2015 and Tijuana’s International Dance Festival Cuerpos en Tránsito (2015-2019), where she created the volunteer program for dance students. In 2013, she founded "Cuerpitos" along with La Silla Danza a festival for young audiences aiming to include young people in contemporary dance, with the Artistic Society of Sinaloa she co-produced opera concerts in 2018 and 2019. As La Silla ́s Danza founder and director, Maribel has produced all of their creative processes, performances, tours, artistic residencies, social development projects and inclusivity endeavors in the community of Tijuana and San Diego. La Silla Danza is a collective made up of women dedicated to the performing art of contemporary dance in the city of Tijuana seeking to create community, audiences,appreciation and inclusivity in contemporary dance.

Wes Gonzalez

Venue Manager

Wes Gonzalez is a musician, event producer, and photographer with nearly two decades of community organizing experience in music and political spaces. Between playing in bands, organizing events, or working and volunteering on behalf of progressive causes, Wes values how communities coming together around a shared mission helps propel a community forward and creates spaces for people to be inspired and grow.

With much of his creative background in music and concerts, Wes looks forward to bringing his experience to San Diego Dance Theater and learning as he immerses himself more in the world of dance and movement.

Milana Aernova

Digital Communications & Content Coordinator

Milana Aernova is a movement artist, creative technologist, and photographer. After graduating from UC San Diego with a degree in Computer Science, she currently serves as the Social Media Coordinator and Webmaster at San Diego Dance Theater, where she brings together her technical expertise and artistic vision to amplify the organization's digital presence.

An active member of San Diego’s creative community, Milana is also a photographer, videographer, and producing artist. Trained in jazz, contemporary, contact improvisation, Bollywood, ballet, and hip-hop, her movement background deeply informs her interdisciplinary work. Her practice spans performance and technology, often exploring humanity's evolving relationship with the modern world and life itself. She uses movement as a tool to investigate the complexities of being human, being seen, and seeing.