Kenna Crouch- Artistic Director of the kriya collective
Kenna began dancing at a young age and has been a moving arts aficionado ever since. Her dance experience spans a myriad of forms, including classical ballet (trained in the Royal Academy of London school), American jazz and tap, contemporary, West African dance, and the Argentine tango. After moving to La Jolla from the SF Bay Area in the fall of 2004 to attend UC San Diego, Kenna soon fell into the sweet, smooth groove of life here by the beach—surfing, modern dancing, and yoga, which she has been consistently practicing for the past four years. Kenna has trained in various styles—Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Bikram and Anusara—and they have brought to her life a positively serene consciousness that she intends to expand and spread to others! Kenna has been teaching yoga classes in the Encinitas and Solana Beach communities for over a year, and she graduated cum laude from UCSD in December 2008 with degrees in Dance & Sociology. Currently, Kenna dances with the Patricia Rincon Dance Collective and the Colette Harding Contemporary Dance Company, and she is the Artistic Director of the recently formed kriya collective. Kenna is passionate about healing arts, ocean waves, music and meditation, and she blends these elements into her personal practice as well as her classes. The blend of yoga and dance is her newest interest and she intends to hold workshops on the subject this fall. Details coming ;)
ANNA SPALDING (BA Dance, UCSD)-
Anna Spalding is a performer, choreographer, teacher, and yogini. Her work has been presented at Lobero Theatre (Santa Barbara), Center Stage (Santa Barbara), Santa Barbara Court House, and UC San Diego. Originally from Nebraska, Anna has trained in all genres, specializing in contemporary and hip-hop. She has trained with Karen McWilliams, University of Missouri Kansas City, Santa Barbara Dance Academy, Unity San Diego, and UC San Diego. Anna has worked with Fusion Dance Company (CA), Trolley Dances with Monica Bill Barnes (CA), Margaret Marshall, and is now with the kriya collective in San Diego. Anna’s love of dance, art, and yoga inspires her to continually explore, create, and pursue her passion for bodies in motion.Daniel Salerno-
Daniel found the auspicious practice of yoga in 2006, which instantly inspired him to make yoga his life passion. Since the discovery of yoga Daniel has studied and practices Vinyasa flow yoga, Anusara Yoga, and AcroYoga. To the many teachers that have lovingly added to Daniels growth: Tara Judelle, Michael Fukumura, Sianna Sherman, Dharen Rhodes, John Friend, and Acroyoga teachers Jason Nemar and Jenny Saur-Klein.
Anusara yoga and its tantra philosophy have allowed him to view the world and himself in a way that connects mind, body, and spirit. He has an inspiring and encouraging teaching style with an awareness of precise biomechanical alignment and accepts the premise that the spiritual effects of the yoga practice are more important than the physical effects. Students learn to practice their yoga from the inside out so that they ultimately find their own teacher deep within themselves. Going beyond the mat, Daniel believes that through limitations of the mind we discover that our true nature is boundless goodness and vast luminous Consciousness connected to everyone and everything. Life is truly a gift
GUEST ARTISTS FROM OTHERWISE ENTERTAINMENT:
Jacqueline Witt- Jacquie is a circus artist and dance enthusiast. She began performing at a young age with the Triton Trouper Circus in Chicago. She continued her movement training as well as costume/fashion design at Columbia College Chicago, where she received her BFA in 2003. Jacquie's talents have been featured in Circus Jenzac, Forms in Motion, Triton Troupe Circus, and most recently in Aerial Revolution, Otherwise Entertainment and the kriya collective. You may find Jacquie bustin dance moves while educating on the amazing clothing line that is lululemon athletica in its Carlsbad store.
Alex Dial- Alex's continuing journey through performance has been a process of evolving and expansive multimedia. He began performance at 14 with poetry and spoken word in the idyllic Ashland, Oregon, before moving onto the stage for such plays as Shakespeare's The Tempest and Last Leaf, as well as independent films and sketch comedy. At 16, Alex studied Capoeira under Mestre Amen Santos via instructor Jennifer Fletcher. At 20, he diversified into fire dancing, specializing in Staff and Swords, eventually mastering double-staff and Contact, as well as fire breathing. This led him to join and work for two years with Hades Ladies and Company of San Diego's North County, all the while honing his Kung Fu skills in Choy Li Fut. Alex's strengths are primarily in crazy acrobatics, flexibility and fearlessness. He spent a year in circus working with Kazum (www.kazum.org) and Wanderlust Circus as an acrobat. His goal is to push the limits, safeguard and protect the members of Otherwise Entertainment, and most of all, to have and create fun, everywhere he goes!
