Dance & Performance
My dance background includes extensive ballroom training, performance, choreography, competition, as well as training in Modern, Ballet and Flamenco. Travels to Mexico and Cuba for dance have deepened my understanding of polyrhythms, dance and music. I've trained extensively in Latin ballroom (International), American rhythm and smooth, musical dance theater, salsa (on 1 & on 2), swing, and Afro-Cuban, Mexican and Brazilian dance. I have choreographed or danced in various productions, including A Dance to Die For, Secrets in the Stars, (USA Dance Seattle), Pagliacci (opera), Pink Flamingos (guest choreographer), Romanesque (Brian Jolley and Alison Epsom), Freemont Solstice Festival Samba, and various ballroom and salsa performance groups.
My first love for many years being Latin dances, I trained extensively in Latin American technical (also called ‘competitive style’) dance styles - International Latin and American Rhythm). Knowing these dances (Samba, Jive, Cha cha, Rumba, Paso Doble, American rumba, East Coast Swing, Bolero, Mambo) in the more technical realm of competitive-style ballroom means training in basics for a number of years, continuously working on technique for the 5 very different dance styles, growing a solid working relationship and dance partnerships with my amateur partner, working closely with a coach, choreographing open-level routines for each dance, and traveling to compete. Often people think ‘Latin dance’ means Salsa, Bachata or Merengue. In Latin Ballroom world, ‘Latin dance’ includes these many other rhythms and styles. I competed in U.S. and Canada in Adult and Senior divisions between 2003 and 2019 and had top placements in West coast ISTD and USA Dancesport-sanctioned and qualitfying events - including the Snowball Classic, the Grand Ball (British Columbia), Seattle Star Ball, Columbia Star Ball, Mid-Atlantic DanceSport Championships, Southeastern DanceSport Championship, Royal Palm DanceSport Championships, and USA Dance National DanceSport Championships (2015 - 2017, 2019). I was a 3-time National USA DanceSport Champion with my partner Peter See, (Pre-Champ, SI and SII) through 2019. My amateur competitive Latin dance partners were Rishi Batra, Dale Strnaad, Daniel Schneider (2009 - 2011) and Peter See (2014-2019).
Dance mentors and coaches who helped me fall madly for Dancesport: Olga Kormanovskaya, Kristina Rihanoff (Pshenichnykh), Monique Hrouda, FJ Abaya, Yegor Novikov, Natalya Sergiyenko. Those who kept me inspired and instilled their unique approach - Ivan Mulyaka, Genya Nazarov, Zhenya Shatilova, Katya Zhakarova, Sergey Nekrasov, , Sergiy Chaminsky, Brian Jolly, Alexandria Hawkins, and Teresa Shirry. For authentic movement and dance - Afro-cuban, Danzon, brazilian, salsa, flamenco (New York, Cuba, Seattle, and Atlanta): Eddie Torres (the New York Mambo King) Jose Carrion (Cuba), Ricardo Pedrosa (Havana, Cuba), Maeinsy Sanchez, Eduardo Aguirre (E. Mayimbe Dance Company), Janelle Keane-Campoverde, Marianela "Malita" Belloso (Calo Gitano Dance Company).
Backround
My career as an Ecologist and my passion for dance and movement led me to a new path of integrating dance, art, nature and science, which started in 2016. Dance and maps and natural systems have been prominent reference points in my life. I’m a dancer, researcher, and dance educator, whose career has been built on a desire to move, communicate, collaborate, inquire, engage and understand complex systems. To that end, I’ve been a fisheries biologist, geographer, ecologist, researcher, competitive dancer, and an author.
A diverse background and perspective has given me a deep appreciation authentic movement and musicality, improvisation in partner dancing, and the therapeutic life-altering aspects of dance.My training and discipline in in technical, competitive ‘style’ form of Latin dance and performance introduced to me the joy of the the theatrical side of dancing, culture, the psychology of partnership and partnering (and movement). This gave me an awareness and adeptness at improvising and technique - function and expression, and also made me value the true power of dynamic movement. This type of dynamic movement is rare in daily life and for those who don’t dance, and having a language for it is key. This led me to my train and certify as a Laban Movement Analyst and Somatic Movement Educator. I now bridge my dance, movement, and ecological background to use movement and dance to help engage people to have a deeper connection to nature, themselves and their community. I began teaching dance in 2012, and have been teaching workshops and classes since then.
I've had the great fortune to train with some inspiring world-class coaches in dynamic and technical Latin dance, and also in the field of Somatics. This led me to a new path of integrating dance, art, nature and science.
Therapeutic Dance & Movement Education
This new path has led to community dance facilitation as a means of creating community and embodied practice around social issues and nature. I was a site leader for the Global Water Dances project in 2019 and 2021. Between fall 2019 and June 2021, I led dance sessions focused on improvisation, Latin movement, embodied anatomy, Laban movement dynamics and embodied practice in outside spaces.
My approach for therapeutic movement using principles of early leaders in movement, dance and movement therapy as a Certified Laban Movement Analyst (CLMA) and a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (RSMT) with the International Somatic Movement Educators Therapy Association (ISMETA). I use principles and therapeutic approaches from the field of Dance Movement Therapy (such as Authentic Movement), and the dynamic and spatial systems that relate to psychosocial interactions from Laban Movement Analysis (LMA), The Kestenberg Movement Profile (KMP), functional anatomical principles from Bartenieff Fundamentals (BF), and Body-Mind Centering (Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen). Rudolf Laban and Irmgard Bartenieff were pioneers of thinking and sensing about movement, space, quality of movement, body function, spatial intention, expression, and weight. Inner/outer, function/expression, and space harmony in particular are key concepts that are well suited towards embodied dance.
I am a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (RSMT) with the International Somatic Movement Educators Therapy Association (ISMETA). I received my Certification in Laban / Bartenieff Movement Analysis (CLMA) through Integrated Movement Studies at the University of Utah with Janice Meaden, Peggy Hackney, and Cadence Whittier (2018). As a Registered Professional Member of the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association, I meet the high Standards of Practice and uphold the Code of Ethics. For more information visit www.ISMETA.org.
Training:
Dance Movement Therapy Intensive, Antioch University, Keene, New Hampshire (2015)
Introduction to Laban Movement Analysis, Laban Institute of Movement Studies, Brooklyn, New York (2016)
Introduction to Bartenieff Fundamentals, Brooklyn, New York (2016)
Module I, Laban Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS) (June 2016)
Certification in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis (CLMA) with Integrated Movement Studies, Salt Lake City, Utah and Berkeley, California (2017-2018)
Body-Mind Centering, Self and Other, with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Berkeley, California (Spring 2019)
Movement Disorders-related training:
Movement Disorders Education Solutions (MDT) training courses: Adapted Tango for Seniors and those with Movement Disorders, Exercise for seniors and those with Movement Disorders (both in 2017).
