INTRODUCTION

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS

My name is Dae (David) Gallina (they/them).  I’ve been teaching for 10+ years, and am committed to improving people’s quality of life through the practice of movement, mobility, dance/play therapy, somatics, and functional neurology in a trauma-informed way that is inclusive and accessible to all bodies.

I’ve studied extensively with Movement Culture and numerous movement/dance modalities- I love contact improvisation, freeform dance/authentic movement, practice qi gong, circus arts, Gaga dance, Continuum, and weaving somatics, nervous system education, and wisdom traditions into movement practice.

In addition to teaching in Seattle, WA and Boulder, CO, I’ve taught workshops at the International Association of Functional Neurology and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, UCSF Medical School, and Bastyr University.  I am a Functional Range Conditioning certified Mobility Specialist, and engaged in continuing education in neuroscience, anatomy, trauma healing, and somatic-based movement.  I love freeform/ecstatic dance, singing and playing music, being in nature any chance I get, playing with poetry, and spending time with my community. 

My name is Leah (she/they), and 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 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. In January 2024, I started a six-month journey with Marcello Palozzo's Human Movement Studies program, continuing my pursuit of knowledge in this field.

I am thrilled to join the Mixed Movement Arts project and am eager to contribute my experience and passion to this vibrant community.