Spirit in Motion family truly believes in our dancers and through compassionate instruction we achieve their goals!  Our teachers love and nurture every dancer empowering them through the love of dance! 
It all begins with passion not perfection. 

Kate has over 25 years of dance training, which she received throughout studios in North Central Massachusetts. She has extensive training in Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Contemporary and Duncan Dance. Kate was accepted to Fitchburg State, where she studied Theatre and in Special Education. During this time Kate started creating an adaptive dance classes as an independent study to support dancers with disabilities. Kate had the opportunity to study abroad in Australia, during this time she began to explore the concept of dance as a means of non-verbal communication and kinesthetic expression. Soon after, Kate was introduced to Dance Movement Therapy.

She continued to pursue this avenue and was accepted into Lesley University’s Dance Movement Therapy graduate program. Kate used this time to explore movement as an expressive and healing tool and further develop her curriculum that would combine her two passions, Special Education and dance. After developing her curriculum, Kate was given the opportunity to implement her dance curriculum at Belmont S.P.O.R.T. Successfully, she continued with Belmont S.P.O.R.T. for 5 years, where she spent time further developing and fine tuning her curriculum to support the individual needs of each student.

Kate became a Certified Movement Analyst through the Laban Movement Analysis Program at LIMS. Kate believes that everyone should be provided the tools to dance and express themselves. Her goal is to break the stigma that only certain individuals are capable of this talent and allow all individuals to be heard and seen. 

Kimberly has been teaching with Spirit in Motion since the start!  Kimberly has been dancing for 25 years. She grew up dancing at Maria's School of Dance in Ayer, MA where she studied ballet, tap, jazz, pointe, lyrical, and modern. She is also a graduate of the Dance Teachers Training Course through the Dance Teachers Club of Boston since 2012. In this course she learned how to handle a class and different approaches to teaching different levels. 

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Kim began teaching at her childhood studio 11 years ago and has never stopped. She has taught most styles including: Tap, Jazz, Modern, Lyrical, Contemporary, and up to Level 2 Acro. In addition to teaching at multiple studios in Mass over the years Kim has guest taught at studios all over New England. Kim was a member of ECHO Dance Collaborative for two seasons, one of which she had the title of Rehearsal Director. Kim has also broken out of her comfort zone by delving into the theatre community of Central Mass where she choreographed the musical The Fantasticks for Studio Theatre Worcester (STW). She hopes to continue to work in the theatre community and work closely with STW in the years to come.

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She is a firm believer that you never stop learning, she actively takes classes around Massachusetts and NYC to broaden her range and push herself. Kim trains in all styles, although you will see her love for Tap and Contemporary through her classes where she focuses on different textures and quality of movements within the styles.

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Kim is very excited to work more with our competition teams this season where she hopes to reach more students in the studio and make a connection with them. When Kim is not dancing she is a Senior Accountant at a company in Westborough. She believes that comfort zones are a great thing, but nothing ever grows there. She applies this to her everyday life and instills this in her students who are capable of anything they put their mind to.

J'Quan has been teaching Spirit in Motion's Hip Hop since the beginning.  J'Quan started dancing before he can remember. Rhythms, beats, and the art of movement were big interests growing up. Originally learned off the streets of Boston and trained as a martial artist since he was six.

Since then, he has trained extensively in hip hop, contemporary, tap, tricking & parkour. As J'Quan progressed, he looked into different genres of art and dance from different cultures to further expand his knowledge and understanding; to then develop his own unique style.

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J'Quan attended Becker College in Worcester, MA for Game Design with a minor in Psychology. During this time, he helped create the Becker College Dance Program as Captain for the team and President for their club.

He also joined a dance company as a guest choreographer and dancer for 4 years. Currently he is apart of one of the most influential crews for hip hop in Boston known as Phunk Phenomenon.

Living the "Artist Life", he lives and breathes art. While not busy in school, J'Quan trains in multiple forms of art such as photography, digital paint, and traditional drawing. In dance, he combines musicality and story telling combined with fast, intricate movements of a martial artist and acrobatics in his work. All and all, J'Quan believes in training yourself, your mind everyday.

"It's not always about the movement of your body, but the movement of your mind. Don't think outside of the box, because there is no box. Your mind is unlimited, so you must keep it creative and free." 

Aura joined our SIMDA family in 2021.  Aura's passion for dance began at the age of 8 where she trained with Boston Ballet. Aura later expanded her knowledge in the performing arts in 2005 attending the Alvin Ailey Camp. Early in 2007, Aura pursued dancing with Hip Hop alongside local group “Golden Kidz Inc”, within the same year her passion expanded with her acceptance to the Boston Arts Academy. She graduated as a dance major from the Boston Arts Academy in 2011 while working with Jo'Me Dance Company, Chance Dance Company and 4 Star Dance Studio Sr and Jr Performing companies.  Aura continued her education receiving a degree in dance and arts from University of Massachusetts Boston in 2016.

She is an emotionally driven dancer/ teacher/ choreographer who has always felt compelled to teach students to be themselves to enact success. Aura created  S.E.E.D. (Self Empowerment Encountered through Dance) as a student lead club at University of Massachusetts Boston with a focus on using dance as physical fitness focusing on increasing self-esteem, confidence and health; Aura then brought S.E.E.D. to the Boston Community to increase accessibility of experienced young professionals while promoting health and fun. Aura Is excited to get back to teaching dance after becoming a mother, and hopes to grow alongside her students while having fun moving.

We were lucky enough to have Alex join us in 2020.  Alex has been dancing for twenty-six years. She grew up dancing at The Milford School of Dance, MA and Tracey’s Dance Center, MA studying ballet, character tap, jazz and hip hop. She also studied advanced tap and pointe at Steps off Broadway, MA. During these times, she was on the Milford Performance Team being an award-winning team member. She then taught contemporary, hip hop, and directed the Competition Team at her childhood studio for many years afterward.

At Roger Williams University, Alex studied Elementary Education with a Minor in Modern Dance. Alex was on the Dance Team whilst at RWU. She continued her studies at Bay Path University and graduated in 2018 with her bachelor’s degree. During this time, Alex became IBBFA (International Ballet Barre Fitness Association) certified and taught Barre Fitness at local studios and subbed at fitness centers. 

Outside of dance, Alex works as a registered behavioral technician, residential counselor and a teacher’s assistant in Special Education and Social Emotional classrooms/residential facilities. She is also a Special Olympics Coach year-round in her hometown. To merge her two passions, she studied at the Boston Ballet, MA to achieve her certification for Adaptive Dance: specifying in teaching Autism and Down Syndrome.

After taking a few years off, Alex met Kate Amdur while taking the adult class at Spirit in Motion Dance Academy. She then continued on to become a choreographer and dancer in an adult company known as Echo Dance Collaborative. Alex is looking forward to joining the Spirit in Motion Dance Academy team to share her love of dance, dedication and enlighten creativity for all!

We welcomed Kristen into our SIMDA family in 2020.  Kristen has taught all ages and trained dancers of all levels at various studios.  Her dance training began at a young age with La Pierre School of Dance.  Having been a dancer for over thirty years, she has studied numerous forms of the art including ballet, tap, lyrical, and jazz.  Over the past years she danced with the Boston Dance Company, City Ballet, and studied from such notable dancers such as Sam Fiorello, Jose Mateos, and James Reardon.

As an educator, Kristen believes in the artistic potential of every student and emphasizes creative expression as well as technicality with a focus on injury prevention. Her instruction includes demonstrations of movements, explanations of movements and a breakdown on how to execute them successfully.

Her creative work centers on themes of the human experience and influenced by her studies in American Sign Language, Tai Chi, and The Alexander Technique.

Brittany has been dancing for twenty- six years. She grew up dancing at various studios within
Norfolk County in Massachusetts, where she studied Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, Hip Hop,
Creative Movement and Musical Theater. During this time her passion for dance led her to
become a member of a local dance company, preform at Disney World, and various community
events.
Brittany’s passion for dance continued as she worked to receive her BA in Sociology and minor
in dance from Dean College and the Joan Phelps Palladino School of Dance. Brittany went on to
teach at an adaptive dance studio catering to dancers of all ages with social-emotional and
physical challenges. Brittany recently graduated in May 2022 with her master’s in clinical social
work from Boston University. During this time, Brittany never stopped dancing and continued
to take local dance workshops and masters classes.
Outside of dance, Brittany works as a clinician for adolescent children. No matter where life
takes her, Brittany always finds her way back to dancing or teaching dance. Brittany is excited
to join the Spirit in Motion Dance Academy team to share her love and passion of dance with
others.