Embody Instructors
Alicia
Alicia started her pole journey with Embody in 2013 with zero dance experience. Her previous athletic background has helped adapt her strength as she discovered her own style, flexibility and flow. Over the years Alicia has developed a hardcore passion for pole, and is constantly encouraging newcomers to experience this empowering sport. She hopes to share her experiences to help a variety of students discover their potential and celebrate their achievements.
Alyssa
Alyssa comes with a very diverse movement background. First, she started Hula and Tahitian dancing at the age of 8 and continued that for over a decade, and along the way, she added dance team and classical ballet to her skill set. Having entered the competitive dance world at the "very late age" of 14, Alyssa knows how frustrating and unwelcoming the dance world can be to adult-beginners, so she was very scared when she first came to Embody. She fell in love with the way everyone at the studio celebrated and encouraged each other. In her classes, you can expect a strong emphasis on safety and technique, tons of encouragement, and loads of accessible combos!
Analy
Analy started her journey at Embody Alternative Fitness in October of 2014 after wanting to try something new. She first began with aerial silks and hoop, but had to wait 8 months for her 18th birthday to take a pole class. She hated pole at first but eventually fell in love with it. She has a background in figure skating and dance. She loves to spin as fast as she can and her pole style is a mix of flexy and strength moves. Analy continues to train on all apparatuses Embody has to offer and strives to be even stronger and bendier than the week before. In addition to instructing pole, she is a history major at a local university.
Audra
After finding Embody in 2016, Audra became inspired with the studio’s welcoming and empowering environment. Shortly after, she became a intern at Embody. She is passionate about pole, burlesque, and hoop; but most of all loves twerk. She is best known for making it “clap”. In 2017, she became a twerk instructor and loves every minute of it. “It’s exciting to see to what you can achieve here at Embody. I love helping students find their “bounce” after they say that they can’t twerk!”
Grace
Grace discovered Embody in 2012 and was instantly drawn to Barre. In 2018 after taking barre consistently for over 5 years, Grace completed the Embody Barre Instructor program and has since become an amazing and motivating Barre Instructor! She is excited to be joining the Fembody instructor team and looks forward to sharing her passion for barre fitness with her students.
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Jamie
Once Jamie started pole dancing in 8 inch heels, she knew there was no turning back! She started pole in 2015 and became obsessed with movement fluidity which incorporates heels, body waves, and body rolls. She loves to feel strong and help others do the same through mastering body control. Jamie has a background in personal training, a degree in Kinesiology, and a diverse movement background ranging from triathlon, to kickboxing, to acro, to her first aerial apparatus - aerial silks. She loves to teach and share with others what she has learned, and her greatest satisfaction is giving her students the tools to express themselves freely through movement. When Jamie isn’t teaching or practicing pole herself, she is probably filming or editing videos of pole dancers or other aerialists.
Kate
Kate first got involved in pole fitness back in 2012. Following her very first pole class, she was hooked! Kate is an all levels pole instructor who first started teaching at Vertical Fusion in 2013. She moved out here to California and now has become an instructor here at Embody. Kate has a background as a competitive gymnast, is an avid yogi, and enjoys an active lifestyle. Kate is known for her gymnastics style and loves strength and power pole moves. As an instructor she strives to share her passion for pole and to help others find their own connection with pole fitness.
Laura
Laura started her pole journey in San Luis Mexico in 2013. When she moved to LA she fell in love with Embody and all the classes. In April 2017 she competed in PPC in the Champion category. Laura loves conditioning and making sure the foundation for pole tricks is strong. She took a year off when she became a mom and knows just how hard it is to start over and how important condition is to unlocking tricks. She know practice makes progress and always wants her students to know pole can be for anybody.
Priscilla
While living in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2015 Priscilla discovered Pole Dance and Aerial and immediately fell in love. She competed in pole after one year of classes and began teaching both Pole Dance and Aerial Fitness two years after she began. When she moved to LA in 2018 from Miami, her career as an instructor and competitor continued and her performance career began. She now resides in Santa Monica, CA and teaches a variety of different fitness & aerial classes, while also performing and coaching. She specializes in Pole Dance, Aerial Silks, Lyra, Fire Eating, Flexibility, and Acrobatics.
Alona
Alona started her aerial journey at Embody in December of 2017. She first fell in love with silks and knew right away she wanted to become an aerial instructor. Alona would attend every open studio to train and after six months of training silks, she decided to try hammock and loved it. After a year of training aerial she also found her love for lyra and dance trapeze. Alona enjoys teaching and sharing the beautiful art of aerial. She’s excited to grow with her students to their fullest potential.
Amber Wolf
Amber Wolf is an all level instructor at Embody specializing in floor work and flexibility. Amber has a background in gymnastics and yoga and began competing in pole fitness in August 2013. Amber's honey-like fluidity and contortion style transitions mark her signature style. She is determined to continue pushing the boundaries of her strength and flexibility through pole and hopes to inspire her students to do the same.
Annette
Annette started her pole journey in 2012 and knew immediately she was hooked. She fell in love with how strong and confident it made her feel and was the catalyst that pulled her out of some pretty dark times and knew this was her calling. Sensual, exotic, and low flow movement quickly became a love she knew she couldn’t live without and has since curated empowering workshops & classes for all to safely tap into these spaces within themselves. She believes that movement is medicine and has the power to heal, and always encourages her students to “lean in with an open mind” and think outside the box when dancing. Her classes are always full of laughter and encouragement, and of course a ton of sweat!
Christina
Christina started her pole journey in 2013 after yearning for a new creative outlet. As a graphic artist, Christina strives to create clean lines with fluidity and musicality in her dance and appreciates the small details of a performance. Christina is a self proclaimed “slow poler” taking her time to learn each move with precision and correct technique (even if it takes her longer to achieve!). She is known for her sexy and sultry moves and she hopes her students gain the same confidence and sense of belonging as she has at Embody.
Jean
What started off as a simple way to support a friend turned into a passion Jean never thought could exist. She has a background in lyrical and contemporary dance, but took many years off until May of 2017 when she started taking pole, aerial, and barre classes at Embody Alternative Fitness; She soon realized she found her second home. She hopes to share her knowledge and give students the same feeling of empowerment and confidence with themselves.
Jelly Ranger
Jelly discovered the art of feminine movement and flow in 2013 utilizing pole dance as her outlet to express her emotions. Due to her extra curricular fitness activities she excelled very quickly in strength and flexibility. She came to Embody December 2014 in search of a challenge and knew immediately that she found her new home. Jelly newest passion is the style of "Russian Exotic" pole and teaches classes sharing this powerful sexy style. Jelly wants share her empowering experience with students and give them a safe place to discover their own inner beauty and strength.
Katie
Katie started as a Work-Study at Embody in 2018 and then completed the Fembody Barre Instructor program in 2019 and has since become an amazing and motivating Barre Instructor! Katie is a also new mom and is excited to be joining the Embody instructor team. She looks forward to sharing her passion and enthusiasm for barre fitness with her students.
Melissa
Melissa was immediately hooked when she first tried silks in early 2011. One week later she tried lyra, and then six months later, she began training on the flying trapeze (and hasn't stopped since!). As an instructor she loves to encourage students to notice the progress they are making no matter how big or small. Melissa feels the same sense of accomplishment she felt as a beginner each time a student completes a new challenge. Her motto: "Just keep flying!"
Rie Rie
Rie-Rie Bell is dancer, aerialist, choreographer, competition coach and competition judge. Rie-Rie first began teaching dance and aerial classes in 2007. She quickly found that teaching is where her heart lies! However, in 2010, a back injury forced Rie-Rie to take a break from dancing. After a two-year hiatus, Rie-Rie was able to return to dancing, and was overjoyed when she began teaching dance and aerial again in 2013. Rie-Rie's journey back to dance has given her a unique perspective which helps her relate to the feelings and challenges that many students may experience.
Rielle
Rielle began her pole journey at Embody in 2016. She instantly fell in love with pole’s capability to connect fluidity and strength. She finds beauty in the many styles of pole art, but mainly focuses on simple shapes, sensual flow, and musicality. She is constantly inspired by the encouraging and empowering instructors and peers. Rielle’s gradual pole progress taught her safe and proper technique that she is excited to share with her students. Her ambition for her students is to explore their unique movement and fly, literally and figuratively, with confidence when they leave class.
Samantha
Samantha started her aerial journey at the University of California Santa Barbara where she studied movement theater and stage combat. Inspired by her professor and determined to conquer her fear of heights, Samantha decided to pursue aerial arts. Gradually as she became stronger and more confident she began to trust herself and her ability to fly. Samantha continued her training at Embody in 2016 and slowly moved to hammock and hoop as well as silks. Samantha has found that if she can fly on it, she wants to try it. Now she enjoys watching her students take their first steps off the ground, challenging them to trust in themselves, and watching them take flight.
Taylor
Taylor discovered aerial arts when she was 19 at this very studio! She learned at a very quick pace, and eventually went from assistant teaching to leading her own aerial classes. While attending university, she was also involved with other circus art forms like partner acrobatics and handstands. It was when she first encountered world class contemporary circus companies like 7 Fingers and Circa that she knew immediately, this is the type of artistic-athleticism work she wanted to pursue. She has taught and performed nationally and internationally - both as an acrobat, actor, and aerialist - for the past six years with her physical theatre company, Bossy Flyer. Her mission is to provide a safe, inclusive, non-judgmental environment that fosters community and a creative practice where students are encouraged to embrace and explore their own unique style.
Yvonne
Yvonne is a Norwegian pole athlete who recently moved to California. She started her pole journey in 2012 when she became a student of Sometimes Pole Studio in Oslo. With no dance or gymnastic experiences, she entered her first competition and won Battle Of The Pole Amateur 2014 in Sweden. She was honored to receive the title of All Around Winner of Pole Theatre UK Professional the same year. She placed 4th in The Norwegian Pole Sport Championship 2015 and was also a finalist in Norwegian Got Talents and Pole Art Italy in 2015. Yvonne is an X-Pole certified level 1-4 instructor and has been teaching since 2013. Yvonne is passionate about pole dance, photography and her chow chow. Yes, she is a crazy dog mom.