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Leah squatted down with Daniel and Matt before embarking on a European summer adventure. Leah first stepped foot into Ape Co 8 years ago as a student and then later on as a teacher. Here's a little blurb from Leah: I have been teaching full-time for 14 years. As a movement artist and educator, I am committed to cultivating accessibility, creativity, and joy through movement practice. I hold an M.F.A. in Dance and Performance from the University of Colorado, Boulder, where I focused on Somatics, specializing in the Alexander Technique, the Feldenkrais Method, and BodyMind Centering. These approaches inform my multifaceted perspective on movement. My dance background spans West African Guinean dance, Flamenco, and Middle Eastern dance from my youth, and later expanded to modern, contemporary, and ballet during my undergraduate studies in dance at Mills College in Oakland, CA.
For over 11 years, I enjoyed a performance career in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I also taught fitness and yoga professionally. Since 2016, I have been an enthusiastic student of Tom Weksler, integrating influences from Contemporary dance, Soft Acrobatics, Martial Arts, and Contact Improvisation into my practice. My introduction to Ido Portal's movement culture in 2018 at the Boulder Movement Collective (Ape Co) deepened my passion for exploring diverse movement disciplines.
In my classes, I draw from my extensive training in Pilates, GYROTONIC®, Yoga, and dance, blending these influences to create a dynamic and holistic approach. I am certified as a GYROKINESIS® Pre-trainer and GYROTONIC® trainer, with specializations in the Jump Stretch Board, Gyrotoner, and Archway equipment, as well as an RYT-300. In January 2023, I began the Fighting Monkey 10-month mentorship program, furthering my exploration of movement arts. Starting
