teacher Bios

Zachary Carroll

ZACHARY CARROLL (Director, BodyVox-2) Zachary Carroll began his training with the legendary dancer George Zoritch in his native Tucson, Arizona. He continued his training as a full scholarship student with The National Ballet School in Toronto, Ontario. He has performed a wide variety of principal roles as a dancer in Oregon Ballet Theater, Minnesota Dance Theater, and Ballet West. His repertoire includes works by Balanchine, Taylor, Van Manen, Tudor, and many others. Most recently, Zach danced as a member of Portland’s own BodyVox.

Heather Jackson

HEATHER JACKSON (Performer) Heather trained on scholarship at Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet and at 14 became a ballet major at the University of Utah where she earned her BFA. Heather has danced with Utah Ballet and Ballet West performing classic ballets as well as works by George Balanchine and Paul Taylor. Before leaving Salt Lake, Heather was an administrator and instructor at the School of Ballet West. Heather now performs with BodyVox and teaches for The Portland Ballet.

Daniel Kirk

DANIEL KIRK (Performer) Although based in Portland Oregon, Daniel Kirk has extensive performance experience both nationally and internationally. His technique ranges from classical ballet to contemporary to innovative theatrical and aerial work. This eclectic style has enabled him to perform a wide variety of repertory that includes ballets by Antony Tudor, Jean Coralli, Robert Joffrey and Petipa as well as contemporary ballets by Choo San Goh, Georges Balanchine, Gerald Arpino and Val Caniparoli.

Eric Skinner

ERIC SKINNER (artistic associate, choreographer, dancer)
 Originally from Muncie, Indiana, Eric Skinner has been working on the West Coast as both a performer and choreographer for the past twenty years. 

Eric received his B.A. in Dance from Butler University's Jordan School of Fine Arts in Indianapolis. He has danced professionally with the Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Oregon, Pacific Ballet Theatre, Los Angeles Chamber Ballet, and was a founding member of Oregon Ballet Theatre.

Ramman Turner

RAMMAN TURNER Born with a fascination for human movement, Ramman (pronounced: "Rah-mon") has spent his entire life studying dynamic movement systems. Beginning early in his life he studied and practiced various forms of Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan, and Ninjutsu all in a determined search for total mind-body mastery. Ramman's journey has led him to the disciplines of breakdancing, rock-climbing, and gymnastics. He has studied the philosophies and concepts of Pilates, GYROTONIC® and yoga.

http://ripcityfitness.blogspot.com/

http://acrobatictraining.blogspot.com/

Laure Redmond

LAURE REDMOND began her career in the fitness industry in the early 1980’s, eventually owning and operating one of New York City’s well-known fitness establishments. She has endorsed dozens of impressive wellness products and has produced and starred in popular DVD workouts, including Mary Tyler Moore’s Everywoman's Workout. With more than 20 years as a dynamic mind/body instructor, Laure has become one of the country’s most trusted experts. Her book, Feel Good Naked has been profiled in two feature articles in O, The Oprah Magazine.

Melissa Kanavel

MELISSA KANAVEL (dancer, BodyVox-2) Melissa began dancing at age 3 with Beatrice Engles in her home town of Yardley, Pennsylvania. She continued dancing at Rider University with American Repertory Ballet's Princeton Ballet School. During this time she participated in the Professional Training Program and was a member of ARBW, American Repertory Ballet's second company. She appeared in productions of The Nutcracker, Don Quixote and Swan Lake and studied with Maria Youskevitch, Douglas Martin, Mary Barton and Kim Chandler-Vaccaro.

Sarah Carl

SARAH CARL has enjoyed dancing all her life. She graduated from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities with a BFA in dance and continued to perform and teach in the Twin Cities area and Albuquerque, New Mexico. She moved to Portland in 2001 and taught dance for Portland Parks, area schools, and used theatrics and physicality to make science fun for elementary age children with Mad Science.