In Community With
Beth Bayley
Beth Bayley, the author of The Rest Manifesto, is a poet and movement teacher in Singapore. I’ve known Beth since 1997 and continue to meet with her to discuss art-making, yoga, meditation, movement, and writing.
Gail Burton
Joker, Educator, Thought Leader, Public Intellectual. Director, Center for Theater and Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Gail is an elder and a sister; we have collaborated on multiple projects, including devised work, dialogue, and study. I continue to train with her in Theatre of the Oppressed.
Rosemary Carroll
Rosemary works at the intersection of dance, poetry, and lecture. Rosemary aims to be a friend and lover to all creatures. Follow her on instagram here. Rosemary and I met as part of the White Allies group at the Fissure program at Earthdance; we continue to be in dialogue around what white people anti-racism looks like in dance, contact improvisation, art-making, and community building.
Christopher Clock
Christopher Clock has 25 years of experience in the field of physical therapy, is especially passionate about outpatient orthopedics, and is Instructor in the Department of Physical Therapy at MGH Institute of Health Professions. He furthered his education with a variety of continuing education, a Transitional Doctorate in Physical Therapy at the IHP, and board certification in orthopedic physical therapy. Chris and I originally met because I was looking for a PT highly recommended by the dance community; we’ve since collaborated on working with multiple clients, as well as in sharing skills and techniques.
Julie Pike Edmond
Julie Pike Edmond uses her experience as a professional dancer, choreographer, and body worker to teach students how to move in concert with their natural abilities. She offers therapeutic massage and holistic bodywork; teaches at Endicott College, High Street Studios, The Governor’s Academy, and The Dance Place; and she performs with Exit Dance Theatre. Julie and I have known each other for 20 years; we’ve collaborated on multiple dance projects and continue to share knowledge with each other in holistic bodywork and spiritual practice.
Salisha Thomas
Salisha Thomas is a Broadway performer, Voiceover and commercial actress, Blogger, former Miss California and currently the host of Black Hair in the Big Leagues and The Salisha Show podcasts both on the Broadway Podcast Network. For more information, visit SalishaThomas.com or follow her at @salishathomas.
I met Salisha working on Trevor the musical in Chicago and we've been fast friends and co-consipirators ever since.
Stef Tovar
Healing Artist Stefanie Tovar (she/her/ella) is a Leading Facilitator of Yoga, Meditation and Healing Sounds (presenter at SXSW, Sedona Yoga Festival and more); CEO of wellness accessibility nonprofit Hanuman Homies (awarded 2019’s Best Underdog Nonprofit by Dallas Observer); and Musical Recording Artist whose album "Shine a Light" charted the billboards in New Age Music the week it was released. She is also a published playwright (48 hour festival presented by Harlem 9 and Shades of Brown) and is in the process of completing her one woman show that will incorporate music, theatre, ritual, awareness of wellness and the audience members as fellow storytellers to help speak/relate to her experience as a Latina flowing in a Dominant Culture world. Stef and I met in college and have been soul-sisters ever since; through time and space we’ve supported each other through our personal, political, and professional lives, and have continued to nourish each other’s desire for art-making and for creating healing work in the world.
Joker Cohort
We are a weekly study group focused on the Pedagogy and Theater of the Oppressed who are interested in the ways that embodied social justice practice in the form of Theater of the Oppressed techniques can be used to address issues in multiple communities. We are also interested in looking at the practice in concert with multiple efficacies (contemplative, political, theatrical, educational, technological) that members of the group use and/or have mastered. Part of our practical work will be exposure to embodied techniques and how it (or lessons learned from using it together in the workshop) can be applied in our work in community settings.
Upward Spiral Studio
Upward Spiral Studio, founded by Martha Mason, Bess Whitesel and Paula Spina, offers high quality instruction in Pilates and the GYROTONIC® Methods. Offering both In-Studio and Online private and group classes for clients ranging from high-level athletes, to post physical therapy and everything in-between, Upward Spiral instructors would love to help you with your exercise goals. I worked at Upward Spiral Studio for 9 years teaching pilates, trauma-informed yoga, and Franklin Method. I continue to offer guest workshops there occasionally, and my movement teaching is highly influenced by the years of collaboration with the studio founders.
Franklin Method Study Group
I’ve been meeting weekly with my Franklin Method cohort since 2008. We are a group of yoga teachers, dancers, pilates instructors, physical therapists, body workers, and theatre artists. Our group was originally formed as a study group as we advanced through levels 1, 2, and 3 of the Franklin Method Certification Program. We have built life-long friendships and now continue to practice together, study embodied and functional anatomy and movement, biomechanics, and the imagery pedagogy developed by Eric Franklin.
