Laura Zweig
Laura Zweig demanded dance lessons when she was four years old and is still dancing seven decades later. Laura’s early training was with Ernestine Stodelle in New Haven, Connecticut. Ms. Stodelle worked with Doris Humphrey and Jose Limon, two of the pioneers of modern dance. She instilled in Laura the technique and love of the breathy fall and rebound style of modern dance, an appreciation for the roots of the art of modern dance, and a desire to creative emotive, dramatic choreography herself.
Laura joined the faculty of DanceVisions the second year of its existence, 1993, starting with a handful of classes and now teaching 3 adult and 12 children’s classes a week. She has been a member of the Board of DanceVisions for about 25 years and the president for about 15.
Laura found DanceVisions to be the perfect place to develop the choreography she had always wanted to work on. As a very collaborative studio it lends itself to dancers easily finding other dancers to work with. She started her own performing group and began choreographing dances about the social justice issues that had always been important to her. Through her choice of music and themes, Laura also leads discussions with her young students on issues such as racism, climate change, gender equality, war and peace as they work on choreography set to music by such musicians as Michael Franti, Johnny Clegg and Holly Near. Since 2012 Laura and her adult, child and teenage dancers have been collaborating with the activist musicians Emma’s Revolution, performing every other year in Cubberley Community Theatre. They have danced to songs such as “There’s a Fire in Ferguson” (about the police killing of Michael Brown),“Kilimanjaro” (about climate change),and “Silence and Lies” (about war and anti-war protests.)
One of the joys in Laura’s life is seeing new generations of dancers. Currently two members of her adult performing group started dancing with her when they were preschool age. And
recently a woman brought her three-year-old daughter to begin taking dance lessons with
Laura because she herself had danced with Laura at age three.
To contact Laura, please email laura@laurazweig.com or call 650 324 8751.
Lisa Navarro
Lisa Navarro began dancing at age 16 in her High School. Eager to move into more training, but without the resources to begin a classical program, she started studying and performing as a hip hop dancer in San Francisco, CA with the Dance Troupe CultureShock and her mentor Keith Banks. Her drive to learn, and talent stood out, and she was awarded a scholarship to Studio 10 Dance San Jose. This is where the path was opened for her into Jazz, Lyrical and Modern training. In 1998 she was fortunate to receive another scholarship opportunity to study jazz and modern at Steps on Broadways in NYC. This gave her a new appreciation of the expansiveness and diversity of the dance world and experience first hand the challenges and struggles that are within the dance industry. She spent 7 years working in the commercial sector of dance performance and instruction in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Reno, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Argentina and Brazil. In 2005, she settled back in the Bay Area and focused on teaching dance and ultimately creating her own business. Curiousity about movement as a healing modality as well as recovering from her own dance injuries over the years, motivated her
to seek training in various healing arts. She ultimately focused on her certification in Pilates, and has built a loyal and long lasting client base. She studies and integrates an array of disciplines ranging from: Educational Kinisiolgy (Brain Gym), Energy Medicine,ART (Active Release therapy),Yoga, Posture at Balance Center and her favorite GSTbody. She alchemizes all these disciplines into moving choreographies that soothe, strengthen and support all of our bodies systems.
She enjoys guiding her students into exploring the depths of the human body from the tips of the fingers and toes to connective tissues and bones and all the way to through the 7 chakras. Her stories will inspire you and sometimes make you weep. It’s not that she says things you don’t already know, it’s that she says them from a deep love she allows to come through her.
You can count on the balance between her quiet ways, her value-based and thoughtful directness and her fierce protection of all she holds dear. She holds space for all who enter the studio to deepen into self care, gratitude and collective celebration of our ability to continue moving for life. Lisa is a compassionate, patient teacher that will be a safe place for people to connect dance with their soul.
Vicky Brey
Vicky Nacif de Brey studied Russian Vaganova Ballet for 10 years with SoniaCastañeda, a former Prima Ballerina from the National Ballet in Mexico City, while also learning the English Royal Academy Ballet method at the Centro de Arte y Ballet in Mexico City with Tita Ortega. In 1992, she joined Sonia Castañeda’s Genesis Dance Company. Vicky has also participated in a wide variety of dance programs from renowned companies throughout the US and Europe, such as Alvin Ailey, David Howard, American Ballet Theater, and Harlem Ballet. She studied Jazz, modern stage, and modern dance with former Martha Graham Dance Company teachers in Mexico City.
She taught Vaganova Russian Ballet technique at Stanford University through the Health Improvement Program for over 10 years. Vicky has a master’s degree in public health and developed a dance exercise program for Latinos at the Stanford Arthritis Center, directed by Dr. Kate Lorig. Her passion for dance allows her to teach and coach talented young ballet dancers, as well as enhancing the artistic and physical training of the Santa Clara Aquamaids, a synchronized swimming club that has produced many US Olympic Team athletes.
Currently Vicky is a ballet and contemporary dance teacher and a coach at Dance Visions.
You can learn more about Vicky’s ballet classes at https://www.vickydancevisions.com
Mandy Bell
Mandy Bell started studying dance at the age of 11. She was lucky enough to attend a community dance studio in Chula Vista and also spend 3 years at a performing arts school focusing on dance (jazz, tap, ballet, modern,) and musical theater. She danced all through college, enjoying her experience in Orchesis Dance Company at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
During this time, Mandy also spent several summers in Pisimo’o, on the Tohono O’Odham Nation as a camp counselor, helping with a Non-Profit, Truck of Love. She was able to share her love of dance and witness the music and dancing of this beautiful Native culture. In 1993, she was married and went to live and teach at a Secondary School in Kenya for a year. Her dance class was full of teenage boys who enjoyed learning what she had to share and loved creating dance tricks together.
When Mandy returned to California, in 1995, she directed a youth sports program and taught group fitness classes for the YMCA in her hometown of Chula Vista. She loved teaching the senior chair-fitness classes and often ended up dancing at then end of class with them to their favorite swinging jazz tunes. At that same time, she had the opportunity to teach PE at a local elementary school for the entire school as well as the children in the hearing impaired classes. These kids challenged her to think creatively and taught her the necessity of being present with your whole being when teaching.
In 1998, she and her husband started their family, and in 2002, they moved to the Bay Area, where they have enjoyed raising their two daughters and being near her husband’s family. The love of the arts is strong in her family and it was her sister in-law who inspired and challenged her to start teaching dance-fitness classes with her in Palo Alto. She didn’t even know there was such a thing. This ultimately set Mandy on the path back into dance and brought her together with Lisa to form Groovitude.
Mandy often works beyond the studio, teaching dance at a local preschool and choreographing for middle school musicals. She teaches virtual classes on Zoom as well, reaching many students who have moved away. She continued her education over the years with classes in educational kinesiology, Pilates, and tap. She integrates her knowledge of Energy Medicine and her extensive fitness knowledge into each class. “Mandy is one of the most enthusiastic, positive and hilarious teachers on the planet”, says her partner, “She takes her spark with her wherever she goes”.
Lydia Feuerhelm
Lydia Feuerhelm is a movement artist, dance teacher, and arts administrator. She graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in dance in 2014, and after graduation danced with a variety of local choreographers including Margi Cole and Timothy Buckley. During her time in Chicago, she served as the Studio Director and Instructor at Ballroom Dance Chicago for 5 years. She relocated to the Bay Area in 2019 and recently completed a graduate certificate in Arts Administration. Her passion for performing arts started at a young age, and has remained a guiding force throughout her life. Since moving to the area, she has worked with Palo Alto Children’s Theatre, West Valley Dance Company, Dragon Productions Theatre Company, Veksler Academy of Music & Dance, Starting Arts, and Dance Visions. She currently serves as the Communications Manager for Deborah Slater Dance Theatre, in addition to her teaching schedule.
You can learn more about Lydia’s classes by clicking here
Rebecca Rubinstein
Rebecca is a passionate choreographer, teacher, and lifelong dancer whose journey began at just 3 years old in Connecticut. She went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts in Modern Dance from Keene State College, and since relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2008, she has been lighting up studios and stages with her vibrant artistry and heartfelt teaching.She brings deep experience and an infectious love of movement to every class. She’s worked with a wide range of students and companies, and finds true joy in helping each dancer tap into their unique creative spirit. Her belief is simple but powerful: the spirit of dance lives in everyone.