A certified instructor of the Nia Technique (blue belt), Cathy has more than 10 years' experience teaching this high-energy fusion of modern, jazz and Duncan dance, martial arts and yoga. When she came to Rutland in 2003, she was the only Nia teacher in Central Vermont, and she introduced Nia to the region. Through the influence of Studio Bliss, Vermont Nia has grown steadily: There are now 4 Nia teachers in Rutland alone, and many more Nia teachers and venues in the surrounding areas.
Cathy has training in ballet, modern and jazz dance; she also holds a yoga teaching certification, and has studied massage therapy: Her classes bring together all her knowledge of dance technique, anatomy and kinesiology, helping students to develop body awareness and self-expression as they grow stronger and more fit. As a highly experienced poet and performing artist, Cathy helps guide her students out of their inhibitions and into a more embodied sense of freedom and well-being poetry in movement; finding "your body's way" to dance through life!
In addition to teaching Nia and directing Studio Bliss, Cathy teaches dance and Body Awareness at the Community College of Vermont (CCV); also a widely published poet, she is on the graduate faculty of Lesley University (Cambridge, MA), where she teaches poetry in the Department of Creative Arts in Learning. She founded and directed the award-winning performance ensemble Vox Pop, for which she won a 2007 performance grant from New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA).
Also a passionate dancer of Argentine Tango, Cathy created the newly popular tango-based dance workout, TangoFlow, which she now teaches regularly both here at Studio Bliss and at other venues throughout the Northeast, including:
- South End Studio, Burlington, VT
- New England Tango Academy, Boston, MA
- Air de Tango studio, Montreal, QC.