CLASSES & INSTRUCTORS
Barefoot Dance Fitness
Beth O'Neall
Mon 4:30-5:30p, Tue 9:30-10:30a, Thu 5-6p, Sat 9:30-10:30a, $10
Barefoot Dance Fitness is sweaty and fun with outrageously good music. As we dance, we increase strength, stamina, and mobility. Most of the class is structured as follow-the-leader while some portions are freestyle and improvisational. Everyone is encouraged to monitor themselves as they move to adjust their intensity up or down, and there’s no pressure to do the moves a certain way.
I love teaching. I taught reading, thinking and writing skills in APS and then at CNM for years, and part of what I learned as an instructor is how to adapt. I see what’s happening with everyone in the room, and I shift the music and moves so we can get to that delicious place of feeling connected, or feeling expanded and renewed, or even feeling tired enough to finally let go and really rest. Since 2000, I have been teaching dance classes that encourage us to connect to the sensations of our bodies and move deeply and authentically. It’s important to me to enhance community by giving us opportunities to play and share together. I want class to help us feel more resilient and able to do all the things we need in life.
Belly Dance Fitness
Kaylamarie Snell
Mon/Thu 6:15-7:30p, $10
This belly dancing class is unlike others you may have tried (and if you’ve never tried it, now’s the time!). Both a workout and instruction, we take time to review fundamental belly dance movements and foundations and use what we’ve learned in dance fitness routines that will leave you sweaty. We use an eclectic playlist including popular, world, electronic, and classical Egyptian music. Beginners and advanced dancers are welcome!
Kaylamarie has been teaching dance for fun and fitness for the past two decades. She grew up dancing and has studied jazz, modern, hip hop, belly dance, ballet, African dance, and most partner dances (country, ballroom, Latin, and swing). She enjoys sharing her favorite music, providing a safe space for expression, and helping students discover
they can move in ways they never thought possible! Her lighthearted and patient approach to teaching focuses on having fun first, learning dance techniques along the way, and helping each individual get what they need out of class, whether it be cardiovascular endurance, building confidence and love for their bodies, or engaging with the community in a meaningful way.
Call or text Kaylamarie at 505-550-2635 with questions, or email kaylasnell@icloud.com
Butoh
Dustin Maxwell
Monthly Saturdays 3:30-5:30p, $15-$25
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
12/21, 1/18, 2/15, 3/15, 4/19
Butoh is a Japanese countercultural dance form that revels in the taboo, attempts to unculture the body and reveals the personal and collective subconscious through subtle but rigorous methods of training. The dancer may enter an altered state of mind that remains alert and artistically sound. The practice is a simultaneity of being moved rather than moving, while remaining acutely aware of the outside eye.
This class uses Noguchi Taiso (water body), and Butoh techniques to enter a liminal space between waking and sleeping where the dream-like internal world moves the body (either visibly or invisibly). You will be guided in simple warmups, butoh technique, and then given the opportunity to move freely with your own inner world experiences. The class is accessible to all bodies and all experience levels.
Dustin Maxwell is a movement-based visual artist currently living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was born queer into a Mormon family of eight in Albuquerque where he took his first ballet class at the age of three. As a teenager he studied modern dance and Barbara Clark's somatic approach with his teacher, Joanne Emmons. In 2005 he relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota where he spent a decade studying dance and performing locally and internationally. From 2017 -2024 he worked in NYC primarily making his own work. He is a regular at Ponderosa – a dance co-operative in Brandenburg, Germany. He began studying butoh with Gadu Doushin in early 2012 and continued studying butoh with Vangeline in NYC. He is also a yoga instructor, thai bodyworker, and death doula.
Downtempo
Wed 5-6p, $10
Freeform
Fri 6-7:30p, $15
Carla Genoni & Elyse Fahey
Every Wednesday evening at Studio Sway, Elyse and Carla take turns providing a chill mix of downtempo music, designed to calm and rejuvenate. This self-guided, 60 minute offering provides a contemplative space for the nervous system to settle and decompress. Join us each week for this meditative musical retreat.
Every Friday evening at Studio Sway, freestyle dance enthusiasts and music lovers Elyse and Carla take turns providing a wide variety of sounds designed to inspire and engage. Come and explore your own movement landscape through multiple music genres, moods, and themes. Unwind from your week, and let the music move you.
Space is limited! Please email Elyse at studioswayabq@gmail.com to sign up for these dances
Cash or Venmo accepted
Carla Genoni
Music and dancing have been vital parts of my life for the past 40 years. In the decade-plus since I have been dancing Nia religiously, they have also become actively therapeutic. Earning my White Belt in Nia in 2017 and, more recently, participating in Ecstatic Dance at Studio Sway have opened me up to the truly profound changes dance can inspire. Friday Night Freeform comes out of my desire to share more fun and moving dance experiences with others in this great community!
Elyse Fahey
Elyse is a professional dancer and independent choreographer who took ownership of Studio Sway in 2018. She has trained extensively in multiple dance and movement disciplines for 34 years, and enjoys continued study through rigorous class-taking, teaching, and performing. Elyse is passionate about collaborating with other professional artists throughout Albuquerque to produce quality dance experiences for the community to enjoy.
Ecstatic Dance ABQ
Elizabeth Luna Cervantes
Tue 7-8p, $15
Ecstatic dance is a spontaneous, expressive, and meditative movement practice. It occurs in a safe and non-judgmental environment where creative possibilities are infinite, and freedom and joy preside. Dancers move barefooted and without verbal interaction. Elizabeth Luna holds sacred space by setting a focus, and offering a poem or movement suggestion. The music sequences are crafted to take the mover on a journey and evoke spiritual connection through movement. The eclectic music gradually builds to a high energy level then winds down to a meditative, relaxing finish. Be prepared to sweat. Dance the way your body wants to—without choreography or judgement, and discover the innate body wisdom you possess. No experience is needed—just a willingness to move and be moved.
For more information, contact Elizabeth Luna Cervantes, facilitator of Ecstatic Dance ABQ at ecstaticdanceabq@gmail.com or visit the Ecstatic Dance ABQ on Facebook
Free flowing spontaneous heart centered movement is my sacred movement practice. I began teaching NIA in 2005. As my movement practice expanded, my heart was drawn to free-form movement expression, known as conscious dance. Both 5-Rhythms and Souldance served as inspiration for dance facilitation as it is expressed through me today. I began facilitating Souldance in April of 2009 and established Ecstatic Dance ABQ in 2010. If you want a safe place to move and be moved - join us.
Feldenkrais
Tue 11a-12p, $20
Qi Gong
Wed 11a-12p, $20
Karen Swift
Studio Sway welcomes Karen Swift!
Starting in the new year, Karen will teach Feldenkrais on Tuesdays at 11am, and Qi Gong on Wednesdays at 11am.
Stay tuned for more details!
Gong Bath
Kristen Loree
Monthly Sundays, 9-10a, $25
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
12/22/24
2025: second Sundays
A gong bath is an immersive auditory environment created with a variety of sound healing instruments in order to rebalance the body, mind and spirit. The experience begins with the participants getting comfy in their own space often with a mat, pillow, blanket and eye pillow. I will guide you in setting an intention for how you would like to be after the bath is over. During a sound bath our brainwave state shifts from the awake state, then relaxed, then dreamlike, and finally the restorative state. Sound Baths affect every person differently; some are energized and some are ready for bed. Some find that symptoms of stress, fatigue and depression are lessened or gone. At the end of the bath we slowly adjust back to the world and reflect with a cup of tea.
Kristen Loree, MFA, Certified Sound Healing Practitioner (Sound Healing Academy '21), Certified Shamanic Healing Practitioner (Foundation for Shamanic Studies '22), works with gongs, drums and Tibetan bowls: therapeutic sound tools that both feed and strengthen the being as a whole, rebalancing body, mind and spirit. Natural waves of unadulterated sound can help us to transcend ordinary mental consciousness, can heighten our perceptions and can help us to experience blissful states of being. Intention, combined with sympathetic resonance, creates therapeutic sounds that inherently go to where they are needed.
Modern
Sat 11a-12:30p, $15
Ballet
Sun 12-1:30p, $15
Diana MacNeil & Bianca Lily
Studio Sway is home to two classes from Bianca Lily Ballet
Modern: learn the fundamentals and essential building blocks for sound modern dance technique, from the ground up! This completely beginner level modern class is taught by former Bella Lewitzky dancer and master teacher, Diana MacNeil. Enjoy authentic modern dance in a warm and welcoming environment.
Ballet: this novice/intermediate class features a floor warm up, center barre, across the floor, jumps (optional), and ending stretch. Modifications are welcomed and encouraged.
$15 drop-in (cash or check only) or contact info@biancalily.com about tuition/class cards
Bare feet, socks, or ballet flats with no rosin, please.
Sign up is required for both Modern and Ballet via this Ubindi link
Please email Bianca at info@biancalily.com with any questions!
Diana MacNeil
A California native, Diana was a long time professional modern dancer and member of the Lewitzky Dance Company. She was also the head of dance at the Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts and has taught and choreographed for the the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Loyola Marymount University, Occidental College, The Cerritos Center for the Arts and the Yorke Dance Project, to name a few. Her choreography, costuming and performance skills have reaped several Horton awards. She teaches pointe and ballet as well as the occasional modern dance class and choreography workshop. We are honored and lucky to have this special legacy dancer as part of our New Mexico community!
Bianca Starr
Bianca Starr, MA & MSc, is an alignment and safe dance specialist with an expertise in teaching adult beginning ballet.
Originally trained as a classical ballet dancer, Bianca's extensive training included a summer in England under the tutelage of Madame Monzani, who was ballet instructor to members of the Royal family. She went on to study modern Martha Graham technique under the renowned Diane Gray (a modern dance icon) and has extensive Argentine Tango experience. In more recent years she has studied contemporary dance in Berlin and Paris culminating in a dance residency there in the summer of 2019. Her program, Bianca Lily Ballet (Bianca Lily Productions, LLC) began its adult Intro Ballet course in 2010 and has sold out every time it has been offered since August of 2013! Currently Bianca Lily Ballet offers ballet and stretching classes for adults of all levels, backgrounds, and body types. Since earning her MSc in Exercise and Nutrition Science Bianca has also provides one-on-one plant based, microbiome focused nutrition and functional wellness consultations.
Nia
Anna Pentler, May Sagbakken, Kate Davis
Thu 11:30a-12:30p, Friday 11a-12p, $10
The Nia Technique™ draws inspiration from dance arts, martial arts, and healing arts for a workout that is challenging and stimulating, yet easy to follow. Nia students improve strength, balance, cardiovascular stamina, flexibility, and joint mobility. Students are encouraged to pay attention to their sensations; experience the joy of movement; and fall in love with being in their bodies. A typical Nia class includes some elements of free dance in which students are encouraged to move however they please. Nia offers us the opportunity to explore, play, and get sweaty. The hour spent in class is our time to recharge, connect, let loose, and get fit.
We dance in bare feet to build strength and awareness from the ground up.
Anna Pentler
Anna began dancing ballet at age three and has been dancing ever since. She was thrilled to find Nia as a new way of moving. She earned her White Belt in 2011, her Blue Belt in 2013, and her Green Belt in 2015. For Anna, Nia brings back a childlike, joyful, and uninhibited love of movement, and she enjoys sharing the delight of Nia with students. Her classes are athletic, playful and fun. She believes that students of all abilities, ages, and stages of fitness can benefit from Nia, and explore their body's potential. Come share the Joy of Movement!
Kate Davis
A dancer since childhood, Kate Davis discovered Nia in 2005, earned her White Belt certification in 2008 and started teaching soon after. Since then she has earned several belts, and has trained in various Nia programs including the 52 Moves, FreeDance and Move It. Skills learned from twenty years as an English teacher and fifteen years as a licensed professional counselor inform Kateʼs classes as does her love of play and her commitment to offering a rich, pleasurable experience grounded in the science and craft of the Nia technique. She looks forward to sharing her passion for Nia with the community and helping others discover a pathway to joy and health through movement.
Som∂lchemy Movement
Erin Damour
Sun 10:30-11:30a, $15
Som∂lchemy is an inspiring, grounded, dance fitness practice that provides for safe and effective exercise fused with a hearty dose of play and a sacred deep connection to ourselves and our community.
Som∂lchemy is typically a barefoot movement program designed to increase our awareness of sensation, develop our knowledge base around “body literacy” and using that movement as a path to change and wholeness for ourselves. And we do it to great music!
The Nia Technique™, which I taught for over 17 years, is the primary group fitness format from which my work was born and from which I hold a Black Belt Certification. I also hold a certificate of “Movement for Trauma Level 1” from Jane Clapp’s Jungian Somatics program. I am also a licensed massage therapist.
Facilitating these gatherings reinforces my belief that we can find wholeness, dynamic ease, relaxation, pleasure and a sense of appreciation for life when we move and dance together.
I enjoy guiding people to find joy in living life in a body. For 11 years, I've shared Nia with hundreds of students, including eight years as adjunct faculty in UNM's Physical Education Program. Through my work as a movement facilitator and massage therapist, I encourage people to find dynamic ease, relaxation, and a captivated sense of gratitude for their body. I hope my education and experience can nurture others' sense of curiosity and how to heal with movement. Come enjoy great music, fun and movement exploration!