Functional Awareness & Yoga

9780190863920.jpgNancy Romita (MFA, AMSAT, RSME, RYT) educator, author, and dance artist is a Senior Lecturer at Towson University. Romita will be releasing a book this December: Functional Awareness and Yoga: Anatomical Guide to the Body in Reflective Practice, Oxford University Press, 2018. This book is preceded by: Functional Awareness: Anatomy in Action for Dancers, Oxford University Press, 2016. (available on amazon.com)

41-shHQIkKL._SX348_BO1,204,203,200_.jpgRomita has presented workshops and keynote speeches on her research in movement efficiency and embodied anatomy to movement educators, doctors, physical therapists, and dancers worldwide from New York City to San Diego, from Florence Italy to Hong Kong China. She has presented workshop sessions at the Association for Theater in Higher Education (ATHE), the American College Dance Association (ACDA), the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS). She was a keynote speaker for the Somatics and Dance Conference and the Maryland Dance Educators Association.

She has taught at the American Dance Festival at Duke University in Durham, NC, Connecticut College, State University of New York at Purchase, University of Maryland at Baltimore County, Peabody Conservatory of Music, Stevenson University, and is currently on the faculty of Towson University. Ms. Romita has facilitated workshops in embodied leadership for The Private Industry Council, JP Morgan Bank, IBM, and Center for Poverty Solution, and The Annie E Casey Foundation.

Through her work at Towson University, she is currently involved in collaborative research with Johns Hopkins Medicine, entitled Strategies for Balance: Engaging the Mind to Balance the Body through Anatomical Visualization & Reflective Practice to be presented at the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science in Helsinki Finland in October 2018.

LABYRINTH3.jpgFinally, Nancy’s over 30 years of choreography and artistic work often combines humor as well as somatic and reflective processes as seen in her collaboration with Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center to design and build a labyrinth at the medical center to support a reflective movement process to support wellness and healing.

OneBeat + Shodekeh

41949905_10160830925605331_8771073115426914304_o.jpgOneBeat 2018 brings together 24 adventurous musicians from 17 countries to reimagine NASA’s landmark Voyager Golden Record through the lens of digital culture and global folklore.

38003751_10160633875320331_4204914403172155392_nEarlier this Spring I was invited to come on board as a Baltimore representative & music collaborator for OneBeat, a musical ambassador cultivation program, which is an extension of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs + the legendary New York-based music organization Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation initiative.

Teaching young musicians how to serve as ambassadors of sound across the globe, while staying rooted in their original source of personal & professional cultural context? Twist my arm why don’t you?

They’re coming to the Creative Alliance & the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center, right here in Baltimore next month, so stay tuned for much, much more.  – Dominic Shodekeh Yalifero, Professional Beatboxer, TU Department of Dance & Board Member for TU Asian Arts + Culture Center

“Now in its seventh year, OneBeat brings musicians (ages 19-35) from around the world to the U.S. for one month each fall to collaboratively write, produce, and perform original music, and develop strategies for arts-based social engagement. OneBeat begins with an opening residency, when Fellows collaborate to create original material, record new musical ideas, and incubate their projects. OneBeat fellows then go on tour, performing for a wide array of American audiences, collaborating with local musicians, and leading workshops with youth. During the month, each OneBeat musician also sets out their plans for the future, developing projects in their home countries linked to a mutually-reinforcing network of music-driven social enterprises…” – OneBeat