Most performers live for the chance to perform. For Kyra, dancing is living. Kyra is quick to credit many talented teachers for instilling in her a respect for technique and a sense of professionalism. She began dancing in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of four and later moved to Los Angeles to study at the Edge Performing Arts Studio, under Christina Woodard, Eddie Garcia, and Doug Caldwell. Kyra has choreographed performances for international musicians, bands, and industrials, and her original work has received acclaim for the shows Women in Their Bedroom, The Dream, and Remote.In 2005, Kyra discovered pole dancing and quickly embraced this form of dance. Crunch Gym asked her to develop the pole dance program for their group fitness department and Kyra currently functions as the National Pole Fitness Director for Crunch. She is one of the founding writers and principal master trainers for X-Pert pole fitness teacher training program. She has appeared on national television and numerous media outlets to show and discuss her unique style of pole dancing. Kyra is the co-owner of Body & Pole, an aerial dance school where fitness meets aerial dance, located in the heart of New York City. Kyra is one of the founders and choreographers for ÆRA, an aerial dance company that create’s experiential art through aerial dance.

WATCH KYRA’S VIDEOS
To book a private lesson with Kyra, please email Kyra@bodyandpole.com

Body & Pole was founded in 2007 by Lian Tal. Born in Israel, Lian has been dancing ballet in all its forms since she was five years old, moving to New York City at the age of 20. Lian rediscovered her love of dance through pole dance in 2006, and from her apartment in New York City, started to operate a successful home-based pole dance studio, now expanded into the beautiful 5000 sq ft space on 27th street NYC.In February 2009, Lian was selected to compete as one of the top 12 finalists, for the first ever US Pole Dance Championship held in New York City. As a finalist, she received the recognition and exposure to put her on the map as one of the top pole dancers in the nation. Lian continues to train and strives to grow as a performer and a pole dance instructor.

Lian completed her X-Pert teacher Training Program in 2011 and is now a part of the X-Pert program as a Team Trainer. She is proud to represent this fantastic teacher training program.

WATCH LIAN’S VIDEOS

To book a private lesson with Lian, please email Lian@bodyandpole.com

Marlo, the 2010 American Pole Fitness Champion, and 2011 Aerial Pole International Champion, has 23 years of dance training, and is a Wilhelmina Fitness model. Her credits include commercials for Nike, L’oreal, and Sobe Adreniline Rush. She has performed with artists such as Diddy, Nelly, Pharell, Kid Rock, Wyclef Jean and Fabulous on MTV and VH1. For the past 10 years, Marlo has been leading group exercise classes for major health clubs and presenting at fitness conventions such as IDEA, The South Beach International Festival, and Festival de Fitness in Rome.She is certified many times over (ACE, AFAA, AAAI, NSCA, KANE) and has extensive knowledge of alignment, anatomy, strength and flexibility training. Marlo started pole dancing about five years ago out of curiosity, and developed a style that draws from contemporary dance, yoga, hip-hop, dancehall, and acrobatics. Her pole skills have taken her around the world, and landed her a full page spread in The New York Times, appearances on America’s Got Talent, Law&Order, 30 Rock, and and role in the feature film “Rock of Ages” starring Tom Cruise, choreographed by Mia Michaels.

When she is not performing or teaching internationally, Marlo trains and lives in New York City. She teaches at Body & Pole, contributes to Self, Vertical, and Fitness magazines and is a Master Trainer for the X-pole X-pert certification program.

WATCH MARLO’S VIDEOS
To book a private lesson with Marlo, please email Marlo@bodyandpole.com

The American Pole Dance Male Champion of 2010! An entertainer, Steven was appropriately born in Las Vegas, Nevada. Discovering he loved the stage at age 7 performing at UNLV, Artemus Ham Theatre tap dancing his way into the hearts of the audience. An honored student of the “Las Vegas Academy of the performing Arts” studying dance during his high school years, he was subsequently accepted as a student at the “California Institute of Performing Arts” in Los Angeles, California studying for a Bachelors Degree in Fine Art majoring in Dance.Steven has a respected amount of training in Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Hip-Hop, Ariel Silks, Gymnastics and Pole fitness. His style fuses the lightness of the air with the power of being rooted to the ground. He has a flare that is exposed through the sensual fluidity of his movements. Whether dancing in the sky or twirling on the floor Steven “Princeton” Retchless has an extraordinary Talent for Dance.

WATCH STEVEN’S VIDEOS
To book a private lesson with Steven, please email Steven@bodyandpole.com

2013 Atlantic Pole Pro Dramatic Champion
December 2011 Polesque Champion
1st Runner Up SuperShag Pole Fitness Championships
US Pole Dance Championship 2012 Amateur Finalist
National Aerial Pole Art Female All Stars

Dance was a first love for Tracee Kafer, who started at the innocent age of 3. Many moons later, and with over 25 years of training in multiple genres, she has now turned feverishly to pole dancing to reach new heights (…literally) and it has only deepened her attachment to dance as a means of artistic expression. She believes that dance can create a deeper knowledge of self, of life’s experiences, and of the connections we have to one another. Tracee has diverse background in pole dance training, and in 2011 was certified by the X-Pert Pole Fitness Certification Program. She has trained with pole professionals from all over the world, most notably working with the entire stellar Body & Pole instructor team.

Tracee has been involved with ÆRA, a non-profit aerial dance company, performing locally in New York. She is known for Finding Your Freestyle. Tracee also pursues a career in creative design and marketing and is currently Body & Pole’s Marketing Director.

WATCH TRACEE’S VIDEOS

To book a private lesson with Tracee, please email Tracee@bodyandpole.com

Michelle Stanek is the USPDF 2012 Pro Champion, Pole Dance Universe 2011 Champion, a Pole Art 2011 Finalist (4th place), the USPDF 2011 Amateur Champion, the PFA “”Pole Drama” 2010 Champion and the Polesque 2010 Champion. She also had the honor of creating and performing a piece based on one of her favorite works of art, “The Ecstasy of St. Theresa” at Pole Art 2012. She is a founding master trainer for the XPERT Professional Pole Fitness Instructor Training program and a member of the aerial dance company, AERA.Michelle has a background in dance from age 8, but it wasn’t until after college, graduate school, professorships and a full-time job in design that Michelle has finally been able to call herself a dancer by profession. And it is because of pole. She has traveled to Dubaii, Tokyo, Scandinavia, Europe, the Caribbean and around the U.S. to perform, teach workshops and judge pole dance competitions.

Michelle embraces any and all styles of pole dance. Wether she is shaking her booty in a music video, performing in a contemporary art installation or dancing in the studio, Michelle cherishes every opportunity to perform and express herself through movement. Always admiring the role of “teacher,” Michelle truly enjoys sharing her skill and knowledge to help her pole students become the dancers they want to be.

WATCH MICHELLE’S VIDEOS

To book a private lesson with Michelle, please email Michelle@bodyandpole.com

Kelly McLaughlin has more than 15 years of dance training in ballet, lyrical, modern, jazz, tap and hip-hop. Kelly co-directed and choreographed Carnegie Mellon University’s dance company, Dancers’ Symposium, also working to start an after-school dance outreach program with the Pittsburgh YMCA. In 2006, Kelly moved to New York City to work in design and continue to perform (She has been featured in shows such as “Gossip Girl” and performed in big dance industry events).She discovered her love for pole dancing at Crunch Gym in 2007, where she was an instructor and has been featured in print campaigns, TV specials and events for Crunch Gyms. Kelly believes that pole dance provides a unique opportunity to explore fitness, body awareness, movement and sexuality, and will utilize her experience instructing a wide range of ages and cultural backgrounds to provide a supportive and encouraging environment where her students exceed their own expectations.

To book a private lesson with Kelly, please email Kelly@bodyandpole.com

Rebecca comes from a background in Circus Arts and Gymnastics. For the past 10 years she has been performing professionally as a Contortionist, Aerialist and Acrobat in Cirque style productions around the world. She currently performs regularly as part of an Aerial Duo known as Lyralicious, renown for their unique displays of artistry and ingenuity. In early 2010 Rebecca discovered pole dancing and fell in love.She began training seriously with Kyra Johannesen and after only 6 months competed in the East Meets West Trixpert competition, taking 2nd place. Less than a month later she became the US Pole Dance Federation East Coast Champion for 2010.Rebecca is excited to be a part of the world of pole dance and is thrilled to be joining the amazing team at Body & Pole. She looks forward to helping change the public’s perception of pole dancing and promote it as not only a sport, but an athletic form of art.

WATCH REBECCA’S VIDEOS
To book a private lesson with Rebecca, please email Rebecca@bodyandpole.com

Olga comes from a background in Circus Arts and Gymnastics. For the past 10 years she has been performing professionally as a Contortionist, Aerialist and Acrobat in USA Rhythmic Gymnast 2005 US National Champion and 4 time US championships silver medalist, Olga’s flexibility skills are inspirational, and she is thrilled to share her talent with the students of Body & Pole.Visit her website at www.olgak.com

To book a private lesson with Olga, please email Olga@bodyandpole.com

Isaac began practicing martial arts at the age of seven and was introduced to zen meditation at the age of nine. Zen Meditation was his first experience with something deeper than the physical body. He began his yoga practice in the mid-nineties taking daily classes from a wide variety of teachers.In continuing to expand his knowledge of the bodies potential he has trained for several years in Contortion with Jonathan Nosan and personally trains other contortionist and circus performers.Through his experiences as a body worker he is more able to meet people at their level and take them beyond their previous level of conditioning. He is the co-owner of the former Sankalpah Yoga.

To book a private lesson with Isaac, please email Isaac@bodyandpole.com

Roland has been training in the art of pole fitness for over 3 years. He has been teaching the “Turning Tricks” advanced pole fitness class at Crunch since 2009 and is now bringing his powerful moves to Body & Pole. Roland specializes in powerful pole moves and has created a class based on strength training and techniques that help take your pole strength to the next level, Pole Power. This class is perfect for our male students, who want to work on their upper body strength as well as the women who need to work on the more extreme moves and get even stronger.Roland performed in Out Through Her, by Kyra Johannesen, as the only male pole performer. Roland is a Group Fitness Certified Instructor and is also an X-Pert Certified Trainer.

To book a private lesson with Roland, please email Roland@bodyandpole.com

Meritza discovered pole dancing in 2008. She has been an entertainer since the age of 7 singing, dancing and acting whenever she had the chance. She is inspired everyday by the endless challenges pole has to offer. She currently teaches at Crunch Gym and Body & Pole ranging for beginner to advanced classes. She is AAFA certified in Group Fitness and X-Pert Pole Fitness certified. No stranger to the stage, Meritza has competed in Polesque and has performed in varies venues, and loves being on stage sharing her love of dance. Meritza is an X-Pert Certified Trainer.To book a private lesson with Meritza, please email Meritza@bodyandpole.com

Samantha Star is the APFA 2012 Athlete of the Year and placed third at the 2012 Midwest Pole Dancing Competition. From childhood gymnastics, she sprung her way to the art of pole eventually finding herself instructing and managing at Boston Pole Fitness. She teaches pole fundamentals, power moves, inversions, handstand, and balance workshops around the country. Samantha Star has her Xpert Pole Certification, KT Coates Pole Certification, AFAA Group Fitness Certification, and 200hr Yoga Teacher Certification.Combining 12 years of pole experience with her knowledge of gymnastics, yoga, and hand balance to be a dynamic and informative instructor. She believes perfecting the fundamentals is the best way to gain strength and coordination to achieve a higher level of fitness and grace. By focusing on technique and core, Samantha Star helps students attain a solid platform with which they can achieve confidence, strength and power.

WATCH SAMANTHA’S VIDEOS

To book a private lesson with Samantha, please email info@bodyandpole.com

Tiffany first discovered pole dancing when she was invited to a birthday party, and it was love at first booty pop! She fell in love with the movement, fitness, body awareness, and sexual confidence it provided her. She couldn’t stop taking classes and advancing her skills even further…it became an addiction. Her love for fitness and pole became so great she decided to become certified. She has a love for teaching beginners and to break things down for each person so that they can understand the motion and the move.Tiffany: “It is always a joy to watch a student grow and learn and accomplish things they never thought they could. I hope to challenge my students to push themselves beyond what they ever thought they could do in pole and in LIFE.” Tiffany is an X-Pert Certified Trainer as well as Group Fitness Certified.

To book a private lesson with Tiffany, please email Tiffany@bodyandpole.com

AFAA certified Roz “The Diva” Mays has been hustling at the gym for years refining her pole swag. Among her finest contributions to the pole world has been creating Dangerous Curves, the nation’s first plus size pole dancing competition. Her talents have lead to professional stunt work alongside Adam Sandler, a featured performance at PoleCon 2012, workshop leadership at the 2013 Pole Expo and a Polesque championship in May 2011. Most of all, Diva lives to teach obnoxiously loud pole classes across the country. When not hanging from a pole, Diva is usually making pancakes and hanging out with Beyonce.WATCH ROZ’S VIDEOS

To book a private lesson with Roz, please email info@bodyandpole.com

Rica has always been an artistic, creative person and a performer. She is a classically trained soprano, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is studying acting at the William Esper Studio. As a singer, she has performed all over the world and was a guest of honor at the White House for proclamation of black music month in the summer of 2001. Rica studied at the University of Michigan for voice and has a BA in film and video studies.Shortly after moving to New York, she discovered the world of pole dancing and was instantly hooked. In October of 2010, Rica won first place in Polesque, a pole-burlesque competition at the Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn.For her, pole dancing is the perfect combination of fitness and artistic expression because it requires a balance of strength, flexibility, grace and most importantly personality and style.

To book a private lesson with Rica, please email Rica@bodyandpole.com

Jen joined Body and Pole as the Aerial Program Director in 2012. Her training in aerial arts began in 2006 and her love of the art form continues to grow. Jen’s background in dance inspires a level of creativity on aerial apparatus that sets her apart; with the integration of aerial techniques and contemporary dance, she believes she has found her niche. In 2011, Jen developed ‘Red Velvet,’ an aerial dance class, for Crunch Gym and is proud of making aerial skills accessible to students of all levels. When Jen is not teaching, she is focused on creating and performing.She is one of the founders and choreographers of AERA Dance, a non-profit aerial dance company, which seeks to create and share ground breaking projects combining aerial dance and multimedia installations. She continues to produce events for MIXT Dance, a dance-based entertainment company offering customized choreography, dancers and specialty performers for all types of events. And most recently, Jen and Elaina Royter combined their talents to create “Lyracle,” an aerial performance and instructional duo, with plans to teach workshops and perform worldwide.

To book a private lesson with Jen, please email jenjames@bodyandpole.com

Elaina is a professional aerialist who has performed throughout the US and internationally for a number of years. Her background is in Rhythmic Gymnastics where she has over a decade of experience both competing and coaching. She is proud to be a part of Phoenix Entertainment NYC and the nonprofit aerial dance company AERA. She also loves cheese, hugs and old people To book a private lesson with Elaina, please email Elaina@bodyandpole.com

Danielle is the current Atlantic Pole Champion. Danielle also currently holds the title of Super Shag Invitational Ultimate Champion 2012, placing first in the Pro Division. She has participated in numerous exhibitions in the northeast and was featured in 2011’s Polesque.
Danielle Romano has been on stage her whole life: fourteen years of formal dance experience in ballet, tap, jazz, modern and lyrical along with an equal amount of community and regional theater experience. Her background, led Danielle to choosing pole dancing as her career six years ago. With over three years of teaching experience, Danielle incorporates her love of movement, strength and artistic expression into every class.
She is a member of AERA and was featured in their Los Angeles premiere of “Chasing The Sun” as well as soloist acts in their monthly show Fin de Siglo.She is A.F.A.A. and XPert certified, a former North American Strongman member, and is currently working towards a N.S.C.A. CSCS certification . She also holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts.

WATCH DANIELLE’S VIDEOS

To book a private lesson with Danielle, please email Danielle@bodyandpole.com

Being a former Rhythmic Gymnast launched her career in the entertainment industry as an actress, dancer, choreographer, and stuntwoman for major tv shows, films, commercials, magazine publications, and Off-Broadway shows. In 2010, she fused together her Pace University Business Degree and love of Circus Arts to form Phoenix Entertainment NYC, which provides cirque acrobats and specialty entertainment for corporate and private events. She has a true passion for teaching and gets absolute fulfillment from her students’ successes so she is extremely proud to be a part of the Body & Pole family.To book a private lesson with Julia, please email Julia@bodyandpole.com

Introduced to Rhythmic Gymnastic at the early age of four she excelled into the National Competitions during her 14 years tenure. Once graduated from The High State Sports Educator of Gymnastic in 2006, she took on a new challege and became a fitness and gymnastics instructor. In late 2007, she made a discovery on YouTube when she stumbled upon some pole dancing videos and she quickly fell in love with Pole Dance. It was the same love she had for gymnastics years earlier.Prana started taking classes regularly at PoleDance-Paris and 4 months later was chosen to compete in Miss Pole Dance France 2008 where she ended up as the 4th runner up. She was the sponsors choice and she won the heart of the judges despite having just four months of practice. At the end of 2008, PoleDance-Paris hired Prana as an instructor. In 2009 Prana competed and placed second, with the highest technical score, in the First French Pole Dance Competition, recognized by the World Pole Gymnastic Federation (WPDF). In September of 2010, Prana won the Title of French Pole Dance Champion.

These days, she travels the world, judging competitions and teaching master classes and workshops as she continues to rise her skill level and expertise in the field of pole dance and fitness. Her role models are: Marlo Fisken (USA), Jenyne Butterfly (USA), Oöna Kivela (Fin)

To book a private lesson with Prana, please email Prana@bodyandpole.com

Autumn Burnette is a contemporary modern dancer and an aerialist specializing in fabrics, hoop, and pole. She holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance from the Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University and is an X-pert certified pole instructor.
For two years Autumn toured internationally with Momix Dance Theater, sharing her gifts in theaters worldwide and representing the United States as a cultural ambassador in Moscow at the Bilateral Presidential Commission. Now working as a freelance artist, her credits include opening for the Usher OMG Tour after party, performing at the Pamela Anderson/Richie Rich Runway launch of their new line A*Muse, and appearing in a TLC reality show Most Outrageous Kid Parties.
She is a frequent guest artist for AERA, emerging Brooklyn based non-profit aerial dance company.
You can see her in DJ Diplo’s music video Set It Off, or see her perform live with Phoenix Entertainment at TOY nightclub in the Gansevoort Hotel.To book a private lesson with Autumn, please email Autumn@bodyandpole.com

Dalijah has been a dancer and gymnast since the tender age of three. She has been non stop ever since training in ballet, jazz, tap and gymnastics. After graduating from college she moved to NYC to dance. She has trained with numerous choreographers from New York to LA including Rhapsody James and Dana Foglia.Dalijah began pole dancing in 2009 at Crunch Gym after a friend asked her to come take class… Kyra Johannesen was her first instructor! She instantly fell in love and hasn’t stopped! She loves the sense of confidence and strength it brings her not only on the pole but in everyday life! Pole dancing has truly opened her eyes as an artist, dancer, and gymnast to go beyond things she never thought she could achieve. She feels so blessed to be a part of the Body and Pole family!

To book a private lesson with Dalijah, please email dalijah@bodyandpole.com

A born and raised Texan, Allison studied classical ballet intensively starting at the age of six. Her training took her across the globe as she studied with instructors from American Ballet Theater, Washington Ballet, Salzburg Ballet, and many others. After graduating from The University of Texas with her BFA in Dance, Allison immediately hopped on a plane to pursue her dancing dreams in NYC. Though pole dancing was not originally what she had in mind, she took her first class at Body and Pole and it was love at first spin! Since then, she has become a part of the B&P family, training, performing, and teaching whenever she gets the chance!Outside of Body and Pole, Allison enjoys performing with various contemporary companies around the city. She has recently completed her XPERT Pole Fitness Certification, as well as her AFAA Group Fitness Certification. Allison will also be receiving a Masters in Dance Education from NYU come fall.

To book a private lesson with Allison, please email allison@bodyandpole.com

Sadie is a dancer and aerialist, hailing originally from Portland, Oregon.
She is trained in a diverse range of disciplines from classical ballet, modern dance and aerial acrobatics on silks, hammock, hoop, harness and bungee.
She is a graduate of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Fordham University’s BFA program.
She recently performed in Italy in the critically acclaimed Venice Biennale, and is currently on a national tour performing with the music festival Dayglow.To book a private lesson with Sadie, please email sadiewilhelmi@gmail.com

Jennifer Kovacs is a contemporary dancer, aerialist, and circus performer. She has performed both nationally and internationally and has worked with a variety of talented choreographers and producers, including Jordann Baker, Lynn Barr, Jac Bowie, Jana Hicks, Shien Lee, Sean Roschman, Anya Sapozhnikova, Maia Ramnath, Michael Sabb, and Nejla Yatkin. Currently, Jennifer is a resident artist at Galapagos Art Space, performs regularly at the Box NYC, frequently for Shien Lee Creative Group, and is a member of The Constellation Moving Company (founded and directed by Maia Ramnath and Scott Coombs).Jen is on staff as an aerial instructor at both The Muse and The Skybox. In addition to being a performer and aerial instructor, Jen is an ACE certified personal trainer, and specializes in Active Isolated Stretch.

To book a private lesson with Jennifer, please email jennifer@yahoo.com

Aleaxandra Apjarova is a versatile and passionate performing artist specializing in aerial art, dance, choreography, coaching and loves acting and singing.
Originally from Slovakia, Alexandra is a former national champion in rhythmic gymnastics. She has performed as a guest artist with her original aerial silk hammock act routine created in 1999, also as a dancer, drummer, wire dancer with the world famous Cirque du Soleil in the critically acclaimed production of “Delirium” which took her around the world through 110 cities and 23 countries. Other collaborations include the Body2Body act with Stephan Choiniere performing for Cirque du Soleil special events.
In 2009 she was blessed to be chosen to perform in the Michael Jackson’s “This is it” tour in London. After the tragic passing of an icon she was thrilled to perform at the red carpet premiere of the movie in an aerial chandelier making a crystal illusion of light.She was honored to perform in other productions and events such as, Leona Lewis “Labyrinth Tour” 2010, President Obama Neighborhood Inaugural Ball 2009, George Lucas Christmas party, Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City 2002, at the 2003 Grammy Awards with the group No Doubt,

To book a private lesson with Alex, please email apjarova@gmail.com

New York native Summer Lacy has worked as a professional circus aerialist since 2007. With her background in artistic gymnastics, aerial acrobatics and tribal fusion belly dance, her graceful and awe-inspiring performances have captivated audiences at leading venues including Webster Hall, New York Hall of Science, Baruch Performing Arts Center, and Gotham Hall.Her performance specialties include Static and Single Point Trapeze, Lyra, Chains, Silks, Hammock, Aerial Cage, Invented Apparatus and Duo & Trio Aerial Acts. Her diverse skills, grace, creative movement and natural beauty led to Summer being cast in the off Broadway show “Takura: A Contemporary Circus Faerie Tale.”

As an instructor, her focus on strength training, injury prevention and proper technique. Regarded by her students as patient and encouraging, their respect for Summer’s experience and outstanding performances inspire them to stay focused and work to achieve their goals.

To book a private lesson with Summer, please email summerdlacy@gmail.com

Ryan has done commercial dance work for ESPN, MTV, Fuse TV, Mini Cooper, Givenchy, Microsoft, FedEx, and Sandals Resort, and appeared in the Mercedes Benz commercial in Frankfurt, Germany. Recently, he performed in the Danny Ezralow (Across The Universe) touring show “WHY…be extraordinary, when you can be yourself” in Italy and Israel, and can be seen in the upcoming film, Step Up 3D(with Rhapsody and Jamal Sims), Beyonce on the C&A Campaign, and Black Eyed Peas. He was an ensemble dancer with Disney’s Tarzan Stage Show, and danced back-up for Hard Rock Live Tour and special engagements with YouTube sensation Britney Houston.Ryan has choreographed for Central Florida Ballet and Ballet South of Orlando under the direction of Russell Sultzbach of Joffrey Ballet. He has worked for Choreographers Ball in Los Angeles and NYC, and done industrials in Miami, Las Vegas, Paris, New York and Atlanta. He danced with the Disney Corp for two years in Tokyo, Japan where he also studied with Tovaris Wilson and Andre Fuentes. He toured Spain with MOMIX Dance Company, and is currently developed various projects with MTV. He has taught internationally and worked with students at Studio B(Tel Aviv, Israel), La Luna Dance Center(Ancona, Italy), Danzaccion(Campeche, Mexico), O-School(Singapore), The Village(Sydney, Australia) and Histon Ballet(Vasto, Italy). Ryan is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and a founding member of Ancona Dance Festival in Ancona, Italy. Political Science Major at University of California, Riverside, is ACE and CPR certified in fitness.

To book a private lesson with Ryan, please email ryandanielbeck@yahoo.com.

Airin’s passion for movement fuels her lifelong commitment to training teaching, performing & choreographing. Her work in aerial arts began in 2009 and continues to deepen with constant study here in NYC, Montreal & Vermont focusing on Aerial Fabric & Sling. She graduated in 2009 with a BFA in Dance & Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University & studied Thai Massage Bodywork since 2007. Her background in Improvisation, Modern Dance & Kinesiology shows in her teaching style, guiding students to push their limits by integrating personal creativity, health, and style. In class, students are pushed to break boundaries while cultivating confidence and strength.

“The body has an endless capacity to reach new heights as long as we keep playing, everything is possible.”Airin performs frequently for Phoenix EntertainmentNYC and Ripley’s Believe it or Not. She is the Aerial Director of Lucky Cheng’s new Broadway location, opening this Fall 2012. She is the Events Coordinator and Aerial Instructor at The Muse in Williamsburg Brooklyn. Recently joined the faculty at The BKLYN Beast, a unique one of a kind training facility opening it’s doors this Fall 2012 in Bushwick Brooklyn. Airin has always been inspired by the community this studio supports and is thrilled to be teaching at Body and Pole.

To book a private lesson with Airin, please email airin@bodyandpole.com.

BIO: COMING SOONTo book a private lesson with Tatiana, please email info@bodyandpole.com.

A Native New Yorker, Richie has traveled the globe competing as an international level gymnast, with several circus companies, most notably Cirque Eloize, Cirque du Soleil, and Le Reve at the Wynn hotel.
In addition to circus and gymnastics, Richie has over 12 years of dance experience as a BBOY (Breakdancer for the lay folk). Most recently he was in “Battle of the Year”, premiering September 2013. He is also a member of FullForce, Step Fenz, and a 2nd year winner of Americas Best Dance Crew, SuperCrew.To book a private lesson with Richie, please email info@bodyandpole.com.

When Rian is not studying applied economics, she’s training in various mediums of aerial arts. Somewhere in between her obsession with dance and economic models she became passionate for this intriguing private sector of the arts. Throughout high school she danced in Georgio’s American Dance Company and performed with companies such as Orlando Ballet, Russian Academy of Ballet (Orlando, FL), and Momentum Live. Within her first two years of college she founded Seminole State Dance Company and performed with Yow Dance. She is currently obtaining her BA in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics while simultaneously broadening her training experience and resources here in NYC. Within the past three years her training emphasis has shifted to both training and teaching pole fitness. Her vested interest in developing the best learning environment possible is in direct correlation to her ultimate goals of captivating audiences, communicating effectively, and developing movement awareness/intention.WATCH RIAN’S VIDEO

To book a private lesson with Rian, please email info@bodyandpole.com.

Stella Fink is a certified pole dance instructor, Body & Pole Workstudy and personal trainer. Stella has competed in Polesque, was a featured performer for AERA, and has performed for Flight Club NYC.Stella discovered pole dancing in 2007 via the internet. Completely self motivated and initially self taught, Stella installed a pole in her bedroom and started learning from YouTube and instructional pole fitness DVD’s. Although Stella has accomplished a lot on her own, it was not until she started training at Body & Pole that she was inspired to reach new heights as a dancer, athlete, and instructor.

Before pole dancing, Stella was searching for that perfect outlet to unleash her creative energy, but it was not until after college, graduate school, and a full time job as an engineer, that Stella found what she was meant to do. Pole dance has been the most satisfying form of art and movement Stella has ever found, pushing her to achieve things she could never have thought possible before.

With over two years of pole fitness instructor experience, Stella is very honored and proud to now be an instructor at Body & Pole.

To book a private lesson with Stella, please email info@bodyandpole.com.

Leandro Santos da Silva (Alegria) was born in Salvador, Bahia, in Brazil and began his capoeira training with Mestre Jelon Vieira in 1995. Since then, Alegria has attained the level of professor (2009) and has demonstrated and taught capoeira throughout Brazil, the United States and Europe.
An accomplished, professionally trained dancer of various styles, Alegria has toured the world for several years as a member of the highly acclaimed Dance Brazil dance company. Also, Alegria has been part of several other international companies such as Brazarte Dance Company (Miami-FL), Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (Denver-CO), Orquestra Popular da Bahia (Brazil), and Ballethnic Dance Company (Atlanta-GA).For the past several years, Leandro has been developing his own style of dance, where he mixes Capoeira with modern dance and Contemporary Dance. He has also participated as director and choreographer of National Black Arts Festival (Atl-GA), choreographer assistant of So You Think You Can Dance (Canada) and performed in the Houston Brazilian Festival (Hou-TX).

To book a private lesson with Leandro, please email info@bodyandpole.com.