"Dreams come in a size too big so that we may grow into them."
- 6260 N. Lockwood Ridge Rd. Sarasota, FL 34243
- 941-359-YOGA(9642)
- contact@ReflexArts.com
Where every class is a moving experience
"Three qualities are required if one is to become an artist: One must have aptitude, or the ability to acquire mastery of the art; one must have tremendous love for one’s art in order to work on it with determination, effort and concentration, and one must have imagination and creativity to develop the art along new and unknown paths."
Director
Ginny East trained as a dancer in Manhattan, where she was named one of the top ten teacher & choreographers in NY by Dance Pages Magazine.
She spent a year directing Universal Studios in Canada and later became the founder of FLEX Dance Studios in Sarasota, a school that became Florida's largest and most established dance schools which she co-directed with Mark Hendry for 18 years.
She is the author of an international newsletter of creative dance concepts called KIDDANCE, as well as the KIDDANCE Syllabus, videos, CD's and educational workshops, a program used nationwide by many studios today.
Specializing in dance teacher's training and studio consultation, Ginny has been on Dance Masters of America national staff, featured at the Kent State University teacher's training school, the Boston Teacher's Training School, and has been a master teacher at over 17 chapters of DMA and for many of their national conventions.
She's been a teacher and/or judge for Dance Educators of America, Dance Masters of America, Showstoppers Competitions, I Love Dance, Chicago Dance Teacher's Association, and other regional dance teachers associations, conventions and competitions. She has been a featured master teacher at the Florida Dance Festival and several of her choreographic works were selected for performance there by the West Coast Dance Project, a regional contemporary dance company. She has also choreographed for the Gateway Ballet Company of St. Louis.
Among the professional schools in New York she has taught for are Steps, The Broadway Dance Center, Vassar College, New York University, and Raoul Gelebert Studios. Before concentrating on teaching, Ms. East had an extensive background as a dancer and choreographer and among the many shows she choreographed were the Off-Broadway hit Tracers, at the Joseph Papp Theater in NY and the feature film, Whatever it Takes. She has received numerous awards for her innovative choreography and has trained nationally recognized competition winners, with many of her students performing on Broadway, in National tours, with the Rockettes and in national and/or regional companies, including the Martha Graham Co., Houston Ballet and others.
Ms. East has authored many other articles on youth dance education, dance theory and yoga in dance periodicals and health and wellness magazines, such as Dance Teacher Now, Dance Pages, and Dancer Magazine. A writer as well as a dancer, she won the Royal Palm Literary award for historical fiction and the New Southerner Literary Award for non-fiction. She has a Masters of Fine Arts from Lesley University and has been a guest speaker at several writing seminars. She guest teaches writing for various organizations.
In areas of fitness, Ms. East is a certified Yoga Teacher through the Yoga Alliance of America and she is currently working on her master's level certification. She has attended numerous Yoga workshops, including workshops targeting therapeutic techniques and Yogakids, the leading program for youth yoga methods. She is a certified aerobics instructor from AAFA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America) and has BA in Business Management from Eckerd College and an MFA in creative writing from Lesley University. She enjoys combining her training in writing, yoga & meditation, dance and fitness for an all-encompassing approach to health and wellness.