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Astoria West Exchange School
We are a group of educators on the North Oregon Coast who offer rich, inspiring educational opportunities to local students. During our years of experience working with children and young adults, we have noticed and been in awe of the many creative art, wellness and ecology experts who live in our area. We aim to connect these young people to guest speakers and experiences that inspired them to see the world with fresh eyes.
We will do this through community workshops that will be open and free to the entire community. AWE will be hosting these monthly events at the Astoria Arts and Movement Center. Examples of upcoming events are creative movement, story time yoga, music and dance. These events will be held on one Saturday a month at 2:45 and will last 45 minutes. The dates will be posted on our Instagram website and on the Astoria Arts and Movement Center website. All ages are welcome, and children should wear comfy clothes they are comfortable to move in.
Find out more at: https://www.awe-astoria.org/
Nate Boozer: Hip Hop, Work Dance Company
Nate is the founder and Director of Work Dance Company- a highly motivated and dynamic Hip Hop and Jazz/Funk Dance Company based out of Eugene, Oregon since 2007. Work has the philosophy of leaving problems at the door and bringing you nothing but FULL OUT, RAW, HONEST dancing. Work Dance Co. uses everything from old school to new school urban Hip Hop and Jazz/Funk styles and techniques, while also adding theatrics and much needed expression to the dances. Work has 23 strong and multi-talented dancers that truly love what they do and do it with honesty and passion. Find out more at http://www.workdancecompany.com/
Kumu Hula Akiko Colton, Hālau Hula O Nā Pua O Hawai'i Nei
Kumu Hula Akiko Colton spent the early parts of her life in Kumamoto, Japan. Her father was a music teacher, so she grew up surrounded with music and performances. In her youth she danced and performed classical ballet.
In 1999, Akiko started working at the Polynesian Culture Center while attending Brigham Young University Hawaii where she earned a degree in Hawaiian Studies. There she learned the Hawaiian language, history, and culture including dance.
Akiko has been dancing hula since 1999. She danced with Halau Hula o Kekela in Laie, Hawaii under the direction of Kumu Kela Miller (former Alaka'i to Cy Bridges). Later, she danced for Keolalauolani Halau Olapa o Laka in Kane'ohe under Kumu Aloha Dalire. With Kumu Aloha Dalire she attended and competed in the Merrie Monarch Hula Competition in 2007 and 2008. Akiko has been dancing with Kumu Pekelo Day since he started teaching in 2008. Akiko took over teaching for the halau in 2013 after Kumu Pekelo moved to Hawaii. Akiko became a kumu hula in 2018.
Contact: napuaohawaiinei@gmail.com 541-653-3327 https://www.napuaohawaiinei.com/
To view videos of Kumu Hula Akiko Colton's dances taught at the AAMC visit:
https://youtu.be/w0lSNuUFLpo - December 7th 2024 Workshop
https://youtu.be/4-IOuoWtX9M - August 31st 2023 Workshop
Sarah Cohen: Modern, Ballet, Contemporary
Dancing since the age of two Sarah Cohen has Ballet in her blood. Both her Mother and Father were dancers at Boston Ballet, and then created their own company in the greater Boston area- North Atlantic Ballet Company. Sarah grew up in the school being trained by her parents, Tom Vacanti, and other informative teachers. She went on to be a featured artist with DanceArts in Cape Cod all the while attending college. Her repertoire is varied and her experience also includes numerous musical theater productions as well as contemporary and modern dance.
In 2003 She moved to Hawaii with her husband where she met John Landovsky, director of Hawaii State Ballet. Under the tutelage of Mr. Landovsky she danced, taught, and choreographed until 2009 when she then moved to Oregon. Taking some time off from dance, she completed a B.A. in Anthropology from Portland State University and then in 2013 found herself in Oakridge, Or. Shortly after her arrival in Oakridge, Sarah realized there were no performing arts opportunities for the children, and within a month started a school, Oakridge Ballet. Over the next few years she developed her dancers using a mixed syllabus, and creating new choreography. Their performance schedule consisted of Nutcracker, a spring production, and a Summer gala. In 2018 she closed her school and relocated to Astoria with her family where she now teaches with Maddox Dance studio and runs her own business as a bookkeeper.
Sarah is currently teaching at the Astoria Conservatory of Music.
Contact: 503-432- 9940 sarahcohen211@gmail.com
Kestrel Gates: Slomo
I am always looking to blur the lines between life and art as I weave together my parenting, art making, and homesteading My current movement endeavors include my personal Qigong practice and on-going participation in The Dirt Stage Project, a collaborative dance practice. I began ballet at 6, switched to modern at 10, and turned to improvised dance at 25. I am curious about the intersection of dance as a therapeutic tool for the individual and as a healing modality for the larger culture.
Contact vitality@kestrelgates.com 503.453.3777
April Goltz: Flamenco
April Goltz began her flamenco dance journey during a visit to Sevilla, Spain in 2006. In her hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota, she studied with dancer Colette Illarde and formed her own troupe, Titirimundo Flamenco, before moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico where she trained, performed, and later taught with the National Institute of Flamenco and the University of New Mexico's flamenco dance program. There, she developed a strong foundation in flamenco technique and instruction under the tutelage of local and visiting master artists. In her most recent home of New Orleans, she founded Jaleo Flamenco, a performing ensemble and learning collective. When she's not dancing, April works as a freelance arts & music writer, ethnomusicologist, publicist, and event producer.
Contact: aegoltz@gmail.com (612) 245-5554
April Goltz (Instagram)
Jaleo Flamenco (Instagram)
Julia Hesse: Living the Tarot
I have a passion to bring Tarot to life for you in magical, practical, and transformative ways. Your classes with me are conducted in warm, safe environments and are designed to be empowering. You will come away feeling positively inspired by the new archetypes you have activated through this work.
My experience with tarot as a living wisdom system inspired me as the producer and co-creator of the Living Tarot Oracle™, an award-winning event where the major arcana cards come to life to answer your questions. The activities offered at AAMC are from the Living Tarot Oracle (LTO) training and it is my hope that we can eventually offer a full LTO event here at AAMC.
My practice is built on a foundation of a lifetime of the exploration, practice, and teaching of unconventional spiritual paths, including a 6-year apprenticeship in Contemporary Shamanism with the Transformative Arts Institute, an adult lifetime of working with dreams as wisdom messages from myself to myself, and several years with the Naked Voice work of Chloe Goodchild. Included in my training and teaching experience are the Enneagram, Earth-based ceremony and ritual, and Sound Liberation, work that I created to free your authentic voice.
I approach Tarot, and my life, with reverence and respect for the depth they offer and I offer this to you. I have recently relocated to Astoria from the magical lands of southwest Colorado. I am currently teaching and offering individual Tarot consultations, in person, via Skype, email, or phone.
Contact: insight@juliahesse.com or (970)-570-9323
Tannaz Rose Hoffmann: Persian Dance, Bandari
Tannaz began dancing before she could walk, at least that's what her parents always say. She was born in Iran, and her dad loved videoing her every step, and that included hours and hours of dancing! Her culture is all about music, poetry, singing, and dancing. She believes that dance transcends the physical world and frees the mind, spirit, and the soul. She moved to Utah from Iran when she was 12 years old and moved to Astoria in 2020! She quickly found her dance community in Astoria and could not be happier to be able to share her culture and passion for dancing with others who shared similar passions. Tannaz loves teaching traditional Persian dancing along with modern Iranian dancing and other styles of dances from different religions of Iran. These days, she enjoys performing with Triple Moon Belly Dance group and is grateful for the opportunity to teach and perform Persian style of dancing here in Astoria.
Anjali Hursh: Bollywood, Bhangra, Giddah
With a name like Gitanjali (song offering) you’d think she was born to play records. Made in India & born in Oregon, Anjali was raised by Marathi banjaras & Cascadian loggers. She started DJing after watching too many boys run the soundtrack at house parties. After studying Kathak & Bharata Natyam for many years, Anjali eventually became a cheerleader of the Panjabi folk forms bhangra & giddha. Through her love of dance and her compulsive record buying/ music obsession Anjali saw herself as the dancer’s dj.
Since her Portland debut in 2000, DJ Anjali has existed as the city’s primary advocate and dance missionary for the many varied electronic sounds of the South Asian/desi diaspora. She introduced “bhangra” & “Bollywood” to the dance floors of Portland and is also known for throwing down dancehall, hiphop, reggaeton & global bass in her sets. Well-known as a dance floor instigator, she & her partner, The Incredible Kid, hold down several Portland party originals: ANDAZ (est. 2002) & Tropitaal (est. 2013) as well as 2 weekly radio shows: Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Kush (Tues 10pm -midnight) & CHOR BAZAAR (Thurs 7-8pm PST.)
Anjali has been teaching Bhangra & Bollywood at The Viscount Dance Studio since early 2013. Her first dance teacher was her Indian Mum who trained in Kathak (North India Classical dance) as a student of the famed Gopi Krishna. Anjali herself studied Kathak with S. N. Charka & Santosh Vyas. She also spent years as a student of Jayanthi Raman, learning & performing Bharata Natyam (South Indian Classical dance.)
Contact: https://www.anjaliandthekid.com/
Joules: Pole, Twerk, Sensual Dance Fundamentals
Originally from Oregon, Joules grew up exploring creative expression through musical and sartorial mediums. She moved to England for university, where she graduated with honors from University of the Arts London and established her career in corporate fashion business management. After five years abroad, she relocated to Seattle and discovered pole in 2014.
Joules has been training pole dance and aerial flexibility for five years and has been teaching and performing for nearly four. She most recently placed silver in Exotic L3, Senior, at the 2017 US National Pole Dance Championships, and performed with QueerPole at PoleCon 2018.
Joules is an advocate for self-love, using dance and aerial training as therapeutic and empowering mediums.
Contact: xxjoulesxx@gmail.com
Gabrielle Macrae: Little Bird Parent-Child Music Classes
Currently based in Astoria, Gabrielle has been playing and teaching fiddle internationally for over a decade. Gabrielle's fiddle style is the result of being raised in the Old-Time music hotbed of Portland, OR and being exposed to the fiddle traditions of the Southeast US through years of traveling to festivals and learning from some of the greatest players in the genre. Now deep in the world of songwriting, she brings together her background in traditional music and modern influences across many genres to create a catalog of songs that feel old and new, familiar and unique. Gabrielle and Barry Southern's band The Horsenecks weaves through layers of influence that include early Appalachian fiddle and banjo music, country, classic bluegrass and original folk.
Contact: 503-896-4128 gabriellemacrae@gmail.com
Kimberly Miguel Mullen: AfroCaribe Dance
Kimberly Miguel Mullen, M.A. is an internationally touring dance artist and cultural ethnologist who travels the world to create links among cultures through the expression of dance. The Los Angeles Times has described her movement as "spectacularly supple," owing to her natural beauty, grace and technical expression of sacred and secular cultural dance forms from the Caribbean, Cuba & Brazil. Among her many achievements over the course of her 20+ year professional dance career, she is a University Dance Professor, a solo performance artist, an internationally acclaimed award winning Dance DVD artist, Retreat facilitator, and Co-Founder of Tambor Y Danza Cuba, a cultural arts Drum & Dance Immersion Program across Cuba. She offers spirited AfroCaribe & AfroBrazilian dance classes, workshops, residencies, retreats and cultural arts immersion programs worldwide.
Contact: Mail@kimberlymiguelmullen.com 310-804-3404
Darcy Molloy, Hoop Dance
After 4 solid years of studying ATS belly dance in Portland, Oregon, Darcy took a hoop dance workshop with Candice Schutter at HoopShine and fell head-over-heels with the form. She spent several years with various teachers learning new tricks and styles and making them her own. She was always able to “keep it up” as a kid, and now as a grownup, when layering hoop tricks over new ways to move and groove she finds herself at home like a fish IN water. After a few years of “hoop hiatus,” Darcy has relocated to Astoria, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to share her passion with the dance community at AAMC.
Contact: darcy@darcymolloy.com 503-860-7062.
Kimberly O'Bryant: Ecstatic Dance, Dream Workshops
As a dreamworker, dancer, teacher and artist, I like to approach wholeness and acceptance of self through states of non-ordinary perception. I believe an amalgamation of wisdom from many sources is much more effective than tightly focusing on one aspect of development, or one right way. There is no right or wrong way in ecstatic dance; your open movements are encouraged!
I first experienced ecstatic dance here in Astoria nearly a decade ago dancing within a lovely group created by Lila Danielle (Beach Dance) and Elia Seely. Additionally, I have apprenticed under Robert Moss, dream-teacher extraordinaire, Toko-pa, Sandra Ingerman, Joy Drake, Yasko Takahashi, Sage Magdalene and Annam (elle) of Heartgate, as well as Animas founder, Bill Plotkin in Soulcentric-Dreamwork & Underworld Journey. I hold a Bachelor’s in Sociology & Gender Studies, a Master of Art in Teaching and have studied systems counseling at the Leadership Institute of Seattle.
Contact: kimbojets@hotmail.com, 503-791-6087, www.kimberlylane.xyz
Erika Olsen: Coast Fusion Belly Dance
Erika began taking Belly Dance classes in 2001 right here on the coast. With roots in Egyptian Cabaret and Yoga, she began teaching in 2005. With her love of traditional movement and rhythms, she has always been drawn to blending different music. Erika began practicing American Tribal Style Belly Dance and ultimately fell in love with Tribal Fusion. She started CoastFusion in 2009 and has taught off and on since.
She focuses on sharp and smooth isolation work with hints of Hip Hop and Contemporary in the mix. Erika is also a local painter and former photographer.
Classes are open to all ages/genders/levels of experience. Coin belts and veils are provided or you can bring your own. Wear comfortable clothes and bring a smile.
Contact: ekimaging@hotmail.com 503-440-0205
Naomi Peña: Dance Flow
Naomi Peña moved to Astoria in 2007 after falling in love with the old-time charm. Growing up in Bellingham WA, she started dancing at 15yrs old learning jazz, hip hop and lyrical, then at 18 she started belly dancing. After years of dance missing from her life, she found her home inside the Astoria Odd Fellows building. In 2014 she opened Sea Gypsy Gifts to create a space for local artisans and crafters just like herself. Then with a little luck and grace she found her dance sisters upstairs in the AAMC which brought the heart of dance back into her life.
About Naomi's Dance Flow workshops:
Dance flow is a mash up of jazz, lyrical, and belly dance. With years of experience in belly dance, my love for dancing actually began with jazz, lyrical and 90s hip hop. Over time I created a combo of all these moves together that I call dance flow.
Contact: earthfairy27@yahoo.com 360-510-2488
Leigh Anne Shaw: American Tribal Style Belly Dance
ATS requires that you put the copyright symbol on it, so it's kind of annoying: A lifelong performer with a degree in drama, Leigh Anne Shaw discovered American Tribal Style® (ATS®) belly dance in 2004, studying at the famous FatChanceBellyDance® studio and earning her General Skills and teaching certification; she is an official FCBD Sister Studio® teaching in Pacifica, CA. Enamored of the many dances that inspired ATS®, Leigh Anne is also a principal dancer with Qabila Folkdance Company, performing Middle Eastern folkloric choreography by Aubre Hill. Leigh Anne’s dance inspiration and study includes: Middle Eastern dance by Nanna Candelaria, Malia deFelice, and Asia Arabesque; fusion by Kami Liddle, Ariellah, and Cera Byer; improvisational world fusion by Wendy Marlatt; Turkish Roman by Elizabeth Strong; and Salimpour and Jamila format by Andrea Sendek. As the director of her own ATS® troupe, Al-hambra Tribal Dance, Leigh Anne enjoys weaving stories into improvisational dance, echoing Martha Graham’s observation that “dance is the hidden language of the soul.”
Contact: alhambratd@gmail.com
Zachar Sollars: Contact Improv, AcroYoga
Zachar (rhymes with “the car”) began dancing in 2004 at the weekly barefoot boogie held in Berkeley, CA and has been engaged in Contact Improv, 5-Rhythms, and Ecstatic Dance religiously ever since then, as well as delving into Argentine Tango, Fusion, and most recently Zouk. New to the Pacific Northwest as a transplant from Chico CA. He is one of the core members of a 5-Rhythms based dance camp, Rhythm Wave, for the last 10 years at the Burning Man festival in Nevada. Contact Improv has become a core aspect of his approach to every dance style and life as it’s main tenant is grounded awareness of the present moment and dance partner(s), even if that partner is the dancefloor itself!
Zachar is currently living in Long Beach, WA while doing house renovations in Ilwaco, WA. Presently in a Holistic Nutrition, Behavioral Change, and Fitness Nutrition diploma program. He studied Acupressure and Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Acupressure Institute of Berkeley for 2004-2010 and also received certification in NLP based Hypnotherapy through The NLP Institute of California in 2009 with an advanced NLP/Hypnotherapy certification in 2015. In 2016 he attended Cal Earth Institute for a SuperAdobe building and Permaculture Design Certificate. His ultimate goal is an integrated mind/body health and wellness practice, and dancing wherever he goes!
Contact: 775-790-5245 Zgivesgoodhugs@gmail.com
Amel Tafsout: North African Maghreb Dance
Amel Tafsout is an internationally acclaimed dance artist, frame drummer of North African Maghreb Dance, scholar, published poet and author, energy worker, activist and humanist. Born and raised in Algeria among traditional dancers and musicians, Tafsout was fascinated by dance and music since childhood. Fluent in 5 languages, Tafsout has lectured, danced, taught and sung in numerous countries, focusing on the Ritual in Maghreb dances as well as dance as a healing form. She explores the tapestry of movement and rhythm that has woven over time between Spain and the Maghreb, Africa and the Middle East, the Mediterranean Sea and Europe. Tafsout continues to dedicate her life to raising awareness about her dance culture and facilitate a dialogue between Arab-North African and Western women.
The Maghreb region includes Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. In Maghrebi countries, music and dance are associated partly with Middle Eastern culture as well as Arabo-Andalusian elements of Medieval Spain, and partly with Amazigh and African elements. Traditional Maghreb Dance is both a public and a personal expression and often ritual in nature. Tafsout teaches City dances such as Andalusian Court Dances, Algerian Rai and Allawi; Amazigh Berber dances such as the Chaoui Abdaoui, Raqs El Mahra, Kabylie Dance, Moroccan Chikhat and Ahwash; Desert Dances such as the Nayli Dance, Guedra and Houara; as well as the Khaleejy, Egyptian Nubian Dance, Sacred Sufi Healing, Dancing the Tarot and more.
Chava Wolin: Ukelele
Chava Wolin is an enthusiastic ukulele teacher, songwriter, and performer who has been strumming on the uke for the past 15 years. She has taught private ukulele lessons for 3 years and has led a group of high-school-age kids in a 1-year long ukulele club. Under the name 'Chavacado' Chava has performed at events such as the Memphis Ukulele Festival, Orange County Ukulele Festival, Reno Ukulele Festival, and Tampa Bay Ukulele Festival. She also performs at restaurants, bars, and private events.
Contact: 503-410-0228 chavacadomusic@gmail.com