Belly Dance Instructors
Capoeira Instructor
Instructor Gaviao Fierros
In February of 1997 Gaviao watched a captivating capoeira performance at his San Antonio high school. Shortly thereafter he met and began training under the director of that performance, Professor Lalo Vieira, student and nephew of Master Jelon Vieira. Professor Lalo retired and Professor Esquilo Preto, another accomplished student of Mestre Jelon, began teaching the San Antonio capoeira group, continuing Professor Lalo's work.
Instructor Gaviao has demonstrated his skills in capoeira in several large performances. In 1999, Gaviao traveled to New York City to perform in the globally televised New Years dance marathon in Time Square. He worked under Mestre Jelon’s dance company Dance Brazil, sponsored by Nike. Traveling to San Francisco in April of 2000, Gaviao took part in a presentation for Nike in Niketown. In May of 2000, he performed with Dance Brazil at the University of Tempe, Arizona. He also performed at Winterfest in South beach Florida in 2007 and has appeared on the Discovery Channel
Gaviao is a a regular honored guest at many Batizados, (annual gatherings of capoeiraistas to ascend in rank) his skill as a capoeirista is recognized by many fellow Instructors, Professors and Mestres and he has the privilege of being a sponsored guest at many of these events where he teaches workshops. He has taught workshops in Gainesville and Miami FL, San Antonio, Houston and Austin TX, San Diego CA, Milwaukee WI, Phoenix AZ, Durham NC, St. Louis MO, New York NY, At Alvin Ailey School of Dance in New York, Tucson AZ, New Orleans LO, Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs CO.
After traveling, learning and teaching capoeira, Gaviao decided to open his own academy under the supervision of Professor Esquilo. In 2001 Gaviao moved to Denver, CO and started "Capoeira Denver ". In May of 2008 he opened the doors of his own studio where he continues to teach and grow his school. He has now had three of his own Batizados in Denver Colorado and has given Cordas (or belts) to over 100 students.
He works with many respected local organizations such as Cleo Parker Robinson School of Dance, Pura Vida Fitness and Spa, the Colorado School of Mines, Regis High School, KIPP Sunshine Peak Academy, Denver Public Schools, Fort Collins Museum, the Girl Scouts of America, la Raza Youth Leadership Institute Conference, Denver Parks and Recreation, The Alta Vista Center for Autism and many more.
Maromba Instructor
Patricia C. Heyn, PhD,
Patricia has over 20 years of experience in teaching and investigating the effects of exercise training on health. She has been a national and international speaker at many exercise science and scientific conferences; she is also the founder of the “Teaching Fitness with The brain in Mind” method where body and mind are integrated simultaneously during fitness performance with the goal to increase cognitive and metabolic performance for cognitive and physical vitality. Find out more about Dr. Heyn at the B.R.A.I.N. Program website
http://home.comcast.net/~patheyn/site/
Pole Dancing Instructor
Elena Mikhaylova
holds BA in Education and MA in Sociology; she was certified as a pole dancing instructor in Los-Angeles, CA. She also holds certificates in Zumba, personal training and nutrition. She is a member of a number of fitness associations including IDEA fitness, US Pole Dance Federation, AFAA, AFPA and International Pole Dance Fitness Association. This year her picture was published in Pole Dance International Magazine. During her “pole life” she has been lucky to learn from international stars: Miss World Felix Cane, Miss US-2009 Jenyne Butterfly, Miss US-2010 Alethea Austin, Miss Australia Allegra, Miss Trixter-2010 Estee Zakar, Miss East Coast-2009 and Miss Sexy-2010 Karol Helms and Miss West Coast Amber Richard. She truly believes that pole dancing is a very powerful tool that every person can use not just to shape a body, but to improve self-image and to gain strength for living bright and joyful life.Yoga Instructors
Seth Meshko
Seth completed his yoga teacher training with Corepower yoga in 2008. He has been practicing yoga for about 5 years and has been practicing Capoeira for about 8 years. He earned a BFA from the University of Colorado in 2004. The education he has pursued in his life is an aim toward living an artful life. He hopes to share this developing philosophy with others.
Samba Instructors:
Kamilliah Turner
Zumba Instructors:
Shalah McDonald
Shalea has been dancing for most of her life. In recent years she completed a degree in World Dance from the University of New Mexico. In the course of her studies she has taken classes in many forms of dance including; Russian Ballet, Flamenco, Jazz and Hip Hop, to Mexican Folkloric Modern and Samba. The art of movement is her life’s passion. Zumba is her most recent study. She discovered Zumba just recently, and it has changed her life. She is excited about the opportunity to share what she has learned with the world. Shalea believes the energy of Zumba can transform not only your body, but you mind and soul. Her Zumba class is an eclectic mix of all of my dance experience coupled with the fundamental formula of traditional Zumba.Autumn Teesdale
Autumn discovered her inclination toward movement and dance in school as a cheerleader and dancer. Autumn applied her passion for this work at Montgomery College in Conroe, TX where she graduated with an Associates of Applied Science in the Physical Therapist Assistant program. In 2003, she became a licensed physical therapist assistant working in an outpatient clinic dealing with orthopedic injuries as well as work related injuries. She recently became group certified with AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) so she may pass on her passion for dance and fitness to her clients. Autumn continued on to earn her certification as a ZUMBA fitness instructor, the latest craze in the fitness industry that puts the FUN back in your workout!!Jacquie VanHorne
Jaquie Van Horne. Is a certified Zumba Dance Instructor. She teaches at Capoeira Denver Dance Studio, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance School, and Cherry Creek Dance School. She started Her dance career doing Pilates, belly dancing, and Latin dancing. She branched out and started taking Modern dance and Ballet at a local college. She is currently studying an individualized created major in Performing Arts and Community Studies at Metro State. She plans to proceed into a Masters program in Somatic Counseling and Dance Movement Therapy at Naropa University. She has had the honor of self choreographing her own dance piece featuring African dance, and pop dance in the Rocky Mountain Theater Association in 2008. She has also had the privilege of being one of the party starter dancers for the 2009 "Step It Up" Fundraiser Gala for Cleo Parker Robinson Dance School. She has performed in dance shows throughout Denver with a dance company called Choreology Productions and the Denver Independent Choreology Project. Currently, she studies Jazz dance and African Dance at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance School. Her classes are non-traditional with a strong emphasis on creating community. "We always start in a circle and end in a circle, giving us the opportunity to experience some form of movement based continuity and to feed off each other's energy." She also brings in a lot of movement forms, ranging from Pilates, Yoga, Tai Chi, Modern, African, Pop, Hip Hop, and of course the core foundation of the class: Latin Dancing. You will learn the Cha Cha, Merenge, Salsa, Samba, Bachata, and the Mambo.