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/

https://www.facebook.com/Workdanceco

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.

https://www.napuaohawaiinei.com/

Contact: napuaohawaiinei@gmail.com 541-653-3327

Kelli Daffron: Yin Yoga, Yoga Workout, Vinyasa Yoga

You can make anything into yoga by acting with intention; learning to observe yourself in all that you do. My practice aims to work this muscle of awareness, focusing on one’s breath, posture, and movements. I completed my teacher training in Sivananda yoga in the Bahamas in 2014, and since have taught in Mexico, Guatemala, New Orleans, Malawi, and now here in Astoria. My classes are influenced by different desires for stretching/ movement/strength and are very much inspired by instructors I’ve practiced with over the years. Living on a permaculture farm in San Jose del Cabo circa 2012-‘13 I got to learn how to take care of plants and goats, cook vegan meals over a fire, speak Spanish, and practice yoga with real intention—were it not for the yoga community there, I would not have become an instructor.

North Carolina is my home state. I earned my bachelors in Psychology and Anthropology at UNC Chapel Hill in 2010, and spent the time between then and 2016 teaching school children and farming all over the world. AcroYoga has been an interest of mine since 2012, where I began practicing with circus folks in Mexico and Colombia. While living in New Orleans in 2015 I continued to practice AcroYoga and danced with an Afro-Brazilian group. My recent interests have led me to intern at Lewis & Clark National Historical Park where I’ve learned a great bit about the biology of the Lower Columbia. Ask me about plants!

Contact: kfdaffron@gmail.com 757-348-5314

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 www.KestrelGates.com www.HiiHLights.com

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: www.juliahesse.com or www.livingtarotoracle.com insight@juliahesse.com or (970)-570-9323

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

Kristin Kabanuk: Yoga

I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in 1988 at eight years old. At that time, there was no talk of diet or yoga for disease and pain management, so as a child, I combated the pain and deterioration in my joints with fistfuls of medication, brief sessions of physical therapy, and spent lots of time on crutches.

After living for two decades with this disease, I was finally convinced to try yoga in my early twenties. I hated it. It hurt, it was hard, and my body fought it. My wrists, knees, and ankles screamed from the movement and I didn’t go back for a very long time.

Around 2010, in my thirties and still living with Arthritis, I began to transition mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. I was shifting from a high intensity work life to one with meaning, passion, and purpose. I committed to two weeks of yoga following yet more suggestion that it would benefit my physical body, and after hearing it could also help mentally and emotionally during this major shift in lifestyle. I finally surrendered to a practice I had been resisting for years. As all new yogis do, in the beginning, I awkwardly moved through the postures. I worked hard, cried from pain and emotional release, and wrestled against my mind. But I felt support from the students around me. Yogis are amazing like that – they are special, mindful, and compassionate people who understand that we are all connected by this experience of being human. I continue to progress, and I continue to struggle. But that is part of the journey for all of us every single day.

In October of 2013, was certified as an instructor at Ashtanga & Hatha Yoga Mysore under Ely Ruales and Mahesh Chandra in Varkala, Kerala, India. I opened a yoga studio in Seaside called Seaside Yoga and held that space for seven years before closing in 2020 because: COVID.

My intention behind my classes is to nurture bodies in all states of being through the healing practice of yoga, and do my part to support a lifestyle that encourages health, vitality, and movement.”

Contact: seasideyogi@gmail.com (503) 468-6255

www.facebook.com/yogainseaside

www.seasideyogaretreats.com

@seasideyoga on Instagram

Rachel Lionheart: Physical Theater, Character Dojo, Improv

Rachel Lionheart is a performance artist and improv facilitator with a B.F.A in Theater from NYU. Her formal education is rooted in the work of Jerzy Grotowski, a physical based theater theorist and Viola Spolin, an improv instructor/director who advocated for shared authority and play for live theater to thrive. Rachel is an Astoria native who benefited greatly from the dance and theater community programs available to her as a child. It is a privilege and joy to share safe, inclusive, non-hierarchical, collaborative theater practices with a community that offered so much to her.

Contact: 253-227-8090 rachellionheart@gmail.com

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 Masters 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 https://www.facebook.com/CoastFusion.BellyDance/

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

www.kimberlymiguelmullen.com

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

https://www.facebook.com/alhambratribaldance

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