I studied at Reed College and the London Contemporary Dance School before graduating from Cornish College of the Arts with a BFA in Dance Magna Cum Laude in 2001. I completed Shiva Rea's Prana Vinyasa Flow Yoga teacher training program at the Exhale Center for Sacred Movement in 2007 and have studied with Kathleen Hunt of Samadhi Yoga for over two decades. In 2018 I received a grant to travel to Rishikesh, Dharamasala and Varanasi, India where I studied with Mittra Rawat and at the Sheev Yoga Peeth and the Vishnu Yoga Shala. I teach at UPrep, an independent Middle and Upper School in Seattle where I have been a member of the Fine Arts Department faculty for 16 years. In addition to teaching at school I lead a weekly vinyasa yoga class at the SweatBox yoga studio.
FANKICK! As a performer in the early 2000's, I achieved local notoriety as Debbie Dazzle in the Seattle guerrilla performance art duo FANKICK! The 80's dance duo was named one of the "65 Best Ways To Love Our City" by Seattle Metropolitan magazine. "...these two women remind us that dance can happen anywhere, anytime and be just as uplifting when your tongue is firmly in your cheek." -Seattle Metroplitan. FANKICK! often appeared dancing on the city streets in ephemeral art pieces. "Once the weather gets warm, the strains of David Bowie floating out of FANKICK!'s soundsystem may seduce you around a street corner." -Marcie Sillman, KUOW.
The Stranger produced The Dance Battle of the Century featuring FANKICK! vs. Streetbeat in a memorable dance off event at Westlake Center with 1000's of onlooking fans."Despite a stunning secret weapon deployed by FANKICK!--an instantly assembled army of two dozen backup dancers grooving in unison to "She Works Hard for the Money"--the tie-breaking Scream-O-Meter® favored, by the slimmest of shrieking margins Streetbeat..." -The Stranger. Readmoreabout it!
FANKICK! was commissioned by Microsoft, the Seattle Art Museum, Henry Art Gallery, the Wexley School for Girls and the Capitol Hill Block Party. "...these two fabulous young ladies are armed with massive amounts of energy and neon-colored attire so they can dance their way into your hearts." -The Stranger. In Seattle we performed at Velocity Dance Center, Neumos, Chop Suey, Mo Pop, the Olympic Sculpture Park, Pike Place Market and more. FANKICK! also appeared in two tours to Las Vegas and New York City. Performance I have worked as a professional dancer for the last two decades. I toured with Mark Haim Dance Theater's piece This Land Is Your Land which was named "one of the most influential works in the past 15 years." -Dance Magazine. I have performed both nationally and internationally at the Southern Theater (MN), PICA's TBA Festival (OR), the Myrna Loy Center (MT), Dance Theater Workshop (NY), the Joyce Theater (NY), American Dance Festival at Duke University (NC), the Consumer Electronic Showcase (NV), Colegio San Jose (Barranquilla, Colombia) and in the ArtDanThe Festival (Paris, France).
I choreographed and was a featured performer in Transition, a mix of stereophonic effects, live video, geometric movement and improvisation created by comedian/musician Reggie Watts and playwright/director Tommy Smith performed at On The Boards in Seattle. I was a member of Scott Powell Perfromance under the direction of Mary Sheldon Scott and Jarrad Powell for 8 years. I have also performed with the Seattle Opera, Pat Graney Company, SOM Performance, Amy O'Neal, Greg Thompson Productions, Crispin Spaeth Dance Group, LeGendre Performance, Deborah Wolf, Fae Rose Phalen, Rainbow Fletcher, the Castaways, Hypernova Contemporary Dance Company, Randy Phillips, Diana Cardiff, Sara Jinx, and Andrew Schneider.
I was featured in two Macklemore & Ryan Lewis music videos And We Danced and Thrift Shop. Other film work includes Karn Junkinsmith's Night Falls on Jack and Cleo, Vockah Redu's Fantahsea, Kris Orlowski's Pieces We Are, and the Wimps' Dump. I have performed with bands including the Art Martyrs Relief Society, the Young Evils and Vockah Redu & the Cru.
Teaching I bring vast experiences as an artist and teacher to my classes and I am dedicated to inspiring connection in my students. I love creating and teaching semester long dance and yoga courses. At UPrep I recently designed and taught 3 intensive 3-week courses for middle and high school students: Choreography, Yoga: On and Off the Mat & Art Lab. Choreography class focused on skills in composition and dance building, culminating in a performance of original works. Yoga: On and Off the Mat explored yoga philosophy including the 8 limbs, asana, pranayama, meditation, and mindfulness practices. Art Lab allowed students to take a deep dive into the creative process through the intersections of dance, theater, visual art and writing. In April of 2018 I travelled with UPrep's Global Programs department to Gabarone, Botswana where I co-led a cultural exchange program for teenagers including camping in Chobe National Park, learning marimba at the Maru-A-Pula School and exploring one of the 7 wonders of the world, Mosi-oa-Tunya or Victoria Falls, in Zimbabwe. In January of 2020 I developed and co-taught an interdisciplinary course in collaboration with the Colegio San Jose school in Barranquilla, Colombia exploring culture, dance and identity for students in grades 10-12.
Prior to my work at UPrep I taught dance and yoga to students Pre-K to grade 5 at the Bertschi School. I've taught in the Youth Summer Program at the Gage Academy of Art and have worked with the Dance This! program through the Seattle Theater Group. I've led both live yoga classes and created pre-recorded yoga sessions for dancers ages 13-21. I choreographed for the Youth Theater Northwest and ran a program of my own through Fred Wildlife Refuge, an art center in the heart of Seattle, where I taught weekly yoga classes in the mid 2000's. Early in my career I worked as an Artist-in-Residence teaching dance for the Campbell County School District in Gillette, WY and the Des Moines Elementary School in Des Moines, WA.