Frank Duncan, Owner/Director
DanceSynergy
An aerobics
instructor locally for twenty years, Frank became a certified
professional trainer in 1986, and co-founded Motivation Plus
Personal Fitness in Aptos in 1997.
Frank began dancing at a very early age. He danced professionally
on a local television show in Ohio as a teenager, studied
ballet and Jazz dance while in college in Cincinnati, and
subsequently toured the country for two and a half years in
a Las Vegas show group as a singer and dancer. Frank has appeared
in the Richard
Simmons video, "Sweatin' to the Oldies, III". With the opening
of DanceSynergy, Frank is realizing his longtime dream of
directing his own dance studio.
Classes: Dance Workout, Dance
Circuit, Cardio Dance
Mindy
Pedlar/Instructor: Ballet
Mindy Pedlar enjoys sharing her passion for ballet with her
students. Originally from the Los Angeles area, much of her
ballet training was at the acclaimed Stanley Holden Dance
Center where such notables as Gelsey Kirkland, Mikhail Baryshnikov,
Juliet Prowse and Mary Tyler Moore studied. Mindy was first
introduced to Stanley's school in 1975 when she was working
as a singer and dancer in Juliet Prowse's night club act.
She still performs locally as a singer, dancer and actress.
.
Sharon
Vaughn-Lahman: Ballet/Pilates Fusion & Adult Ballet
Sharon Vaughn-Lahman is a member of London's Royal Academy
of Dance having passed the professional ballet level examination.
She is also a certified Pilates instructor, bringing awareness
of correct biomechanics to her students for enhanced mobility,
strength, and injury prevention. Sharon trains dancers and
non-dancers alike with an emphasis on proper technique creating
a solid foundation in preparation for advancement to higher
levels. Sharon brings real-life experience to her sessions
having also worked in the database industry for nearly 30
years; much of it spent teaching online database and Internet
search techniques. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Art History from the University of California, Los Angeles
where she graduated with the highest academic distinctions—Summa
Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa—and she also holds a Master's
Degree from the University of California, Berkeley in Library
and Information Science.
Jillian
Engbers/Instructor: NIA
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An artist, a mother and business owner, Jillian proudly adds
Nia instructor to her resume. Jillian just loves to dance!
It's that simple, and she believes that we should be dancing
through all the phases of life. She has found that dancing
is what truly connects the body to joy. "It takes us out of
our daily responsibilities and brings us back to where we
belong, in our bodies." After her first Nia class Jillian
left feeling as though she had finally made it home. Nia,
a holistic practice, addresses more than body fitness. It
also arouses creativity and opens space in an overworked mind.
When asked about her goal with Nia she says, "I love this
practice. It has changed my life on many different levels.
I want to share what I am continually discovering in the art
of Nia as I learn to experience the grace, strength and freedom
that a truly loved body enjoys."
Crystal
Silmi/Instructor:BellyDance
Crystal Silmi has been a belly dance fusion instructor in
Santa Cruz county since 2003. She has become known for her
unique style of hip hop infused movements and has performed
for audiences around the world. Skilled in both the art of
classical Middle Eastern dance and modern fusion, Crystal
puts her Arab American roots to the dance with a deep sense
of rhythm and powerful athleticism. As a long time student
of master instructor Suhaila Salimpour, Crystal has danced
with both the Suhaila Dance Company and Bal Anat. Now directing
her own Santa Cruz based fusion troupe RaksArabi, she dances
solo and with her dance company at a variety of venues. Crystal
is also a featured dancer on the BDTV Volume 3 DVD. For more
information visit www.crystalsilmi.com
Jeevan
Kracht/Instructor: Iyengar Style Yoga
Jeevan Kracht has a back round in body work, dance, marathoning
and multi-sport events. He began practicing yoga in the Iyengar
Yoga tradition in 1995 and began teaching in 1998. He opened
the Aptos yoga studio Yoga Within in 2001 until going abroad
in 2005. Jeevan's main influences have been Rena Dubin and
Kofi Busia. His classes are focused on a steady, safe and
methodic increase in flexibility and all round body strength.
Injury prevention and the natural therapudic and strength
restoring qualities of yoga are a natural base of each class.
Matt
Reyes/Instructor: Cardio Kickboxing
Matt Reyes, Cardio Kickboxer, Sweat Factory Matt, an independent
fitness instructor, has been teaching cardio kickboxing around
Santa Cruz since 2004 and even nabbed a Best Aerobics Instructor
nod from Good Times readers in a Best Of Santa Cruz County
poll. A Santa Cruz native, he spent a seven-year stint in
Los Angeles, where he took Tae Bo classes from its creator,
Billy Blanks, and quickly became addicted to the high-intensity,
instant gratification nature of cardio kickboxing. "It's a
great whole-body workout," the 36-year old Reyes explains
of his class, which he's aptly dubbed Sweat Factory. "You're
kicking and punching and engaging your whole core abdominal
region, constantly moving for 45 minutes to an hour."
Chavela
Del Rio/Dance Instructor
Chavela Del Rio is a Fitness Professional teaching locally
since 1981. She holds three certifications from ACE, (American
Council on Exercise) as an Aerobic Instructor, Personal Trainer
and Nutritional Consultant. She began her dance training as
a toddler in San Diego; studying Ballet, Tap, Jazz and Modern.
College brought her to Santa Cruz as an Art Major but a newspaper
ad for an audition with DanceAerobics took her back into dancing
and teaching which led to a full time career in dance and
fitness, eventually owning her own studio. In addition to
teaching dance aerobic classes, she was also a member of “Los
Mexicas”, a performing Baile Folklorico troupe from UCSC in
the 1980’s. Teaching dance exercise classes gives her the
opportunity to share her love of music and dance, with a special
fondness for Salsa! After twelve years in the restaurant business,
Chavela is back to teaching and dancing full time.
“Creative expression is my life, I am an artist that has
many mediums and Dancing is my favorite one!”
DanceSynergy
invites qualified local instructors, representing any style
or tradition of dance to contact us to discuss how we might
work together to meet the needs of the local dancing community.
DanceSynergy instructors are usually independents, with their
own student following, who "rent time" at DanceSynergy.
Interested parties should contact Frank Duncan at:
info@dance-synergy.com
to set up an interview/discussion.
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