• 6260 N. Lockwood Ridge Rd. Sarasota, FL 34243
• 941-359-YOGA(9642)
• contact@ReflexArts.com

Where every class is a moving experience

Our Staff

Ginny East
Director and Dance & Yoga Teacher

To read about Ginny East Hendry, see Our Director page

 

Charles Glunk

Charles Glunk has been dancing since the age of twelve, beginning his formative years of dancing at Flex Dance Studios in Sarasota, Florida. After five years of training at Flex, Charles left his first dance studio to train under a full-paid scholarship at the Harid Conservatory of Ballet in Boca Raton, Florida.

While at Harid, Charles primarily studied Classical Vagonova, a technique from St. Petersburg, Russia. After a year of intense ballet specific training, Charles was accepted to Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he spent the next four years training. At SMU, Charles studied ballet, including the Martha Graham technique. Furthermore, he had the opportunity to increase his knowledge of the jazz idiom.After graduating cum laude with his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from SMU, Charles returned to his home town of Sarasota, Florida, to begin his career as a professional dancer.

Charles was immediately aligned with the Sarasota Ballet of Florida. Charles danced with Sarasota ballet over the course of 4 years. With the company, he had the opportunity to learn more of the Vagonova technique as well as enrich his knowledge of the "classical ballets."  During this time, Charles also taught dance for Flex Dance Studios; he taught ballet, modern, jazz, and lyrical forms of dance. He also served as the modern teacher for the Sarasota Ballet's International Summer School.

Next stop: Las Vegas, Nevada where Charles danced in the world famous Jubilee! at Bally’s Hotel and Casino. He also had the opportunity to meet there, director Bernard Gaddis of the Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater (LVCDT) and was invited to be a founding member. Under Gaddis, Charles danced for two years, sharpening his mastery of the craft. Gaddis choreographed innovative and groundbreaking choreography for the Las Vegas community and Charles gained the understanding, the depth, and the strength it takes to master the art of dance performance. Now, Charles has once again returned home to Sarasota, Florida to spread his love of dance to the next generations of dancers.

Jackie Brenes Velazquez

Jackie has been a dance instructor for over 8 years teaching jazz, ballet, hip hop, gymnastics/acrobatics and tap.

She trained in the Kiddance Methods at FLEX dance, teaching full time there from 2003-06. After the school changed ownership, she taught for several other studios, the YMCA, Smart Start Boys and Girls Club, and she taught tumbling to area preschools as a weekly guest teacher.

Her gift for communicating with young children motivated her to pursue a career teaching preschool in 2007, and she earned her National CDA in 2009.

It is with sincere joy that we welcome Jackie back as part of the ReFlex dance education program. As a long time student of yoga, she understands the value of adding yoga concepts to a traditional youth dance program. She enthusiastically embraces every opportunity to expand her qualifications and knowledge and is now pursuing her youth yoga certification.

Margie Pacher

Margie believes yoga is instilled within us all at birth. The moment we are born we are faced with the question, "Who am I?" Just that question has the ability to spark a path to spiritual enlightenment.

Margie was an original yogin herself as she was standing on her head at 5 years old and spending time alone in quiet observance. Her compassionate disposition naturally transitioned her to become a vegetarian by the time she was 18. She experienced her own emotional suffering at a young age so her heart longed to bring peace to all living beings who suffer. A long journey lied ahead for Margie as she was stricken by panic attacks from her teens to early twenties.

She found past turmoil sticks with us through life bringing about negative cyclic thinking that interrupts our lives by way of psychological and physical ailments. The first yoga class she attended in 2004 cracked the door to the removal of these impurities. Pranayama (breathing exercises), asana (physical exercises), and relaxation immediately relieved her of the unbearable panic attacks.

The spiritual healing she longed for came in with regular practice that incorporates Hatha Yoga, Jnana Yoga (Self-Knowledge), Raja Yoga (Control of the mind), and Bhakti Yoga (Devotion). During the first year of her Yoga teacher training in 2006 she began to learn yogic philosophy and she readily applied the ancient yogic principles to her daily life. Margie continued her studies by reading ancient spiritual texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and the Ramayana.

She still longed to experience the ashram life so in the summer of 2010 Margie spent two weeks at Yogi Hari's Ashram in Mirmar, FL. Every day she meditated at 6am, practiced Bhakti Yoga (sacred chanting), experienced Nada Yoga (divine vibration), practiced logical sequences of asanas, ate sattvic vegetarian meals, practiced Karma Yoga (self-less service), and absorbed the divine wisdom of Shri Yogi Hari. The experience was purely divine, transforming, and liberating. Those who practice yoga with dedication will experience the same profound transformation by uplifting the mind, healing the body, and awakening the soul. Her hope is to pass on this magnificent yogic knowledge to all who long for peace and healing.

Margie has completed YogaFit's 200 hour Teacher Training as well as Sampoorna Yoga's 200 hour Teacher's Certification Course. She is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance.

Allison Kummery

Allison Kummery comes to us as an Exercise Science graduate from the University of Florida. She is passionate about fitness and wellness and tries hard to help others achieve health and happiness in their lives.

Moving to Sarasota five years ago from Orlando, where she was a ballroom dance instructor for Arthur Murray Dance Studio, she started teaching pre- and post-natal fitness to area moms and their kids through Baby Boot Camp.  Having had her first child just a couple of years ago, Allison is even more driven to lead a healthy lifestyle and is taking her fitness education to yet another level with the addition of yoga training and a strong interest in youth dance education. Just this summer, she formally completed the Kiddance Training at ReFLEX to become a certified youth dance instructor.

Her life's mantra is to find balance everyday, while stiving to be a successful mother, a teacher, an individual. Yoga brings her the serenity and patience she needs to deal with daily struggles, while dance allows an outlet for the creative expression and excitement that drive out the ordinary in life. When not teaching dance or yoga, Allison can be found in the ReFLEX office trying to organize the ever-evolving studio! 

Amanda Main

Amanda Main is a certified Reiki Master Teacher. She has been practicing Reiki for years and became a Master in 2008.  She has studied under several Reiki Masters including Laurelle Gaia from Infinite Light in Sedona, AZ who is affiliated with the International Center for Reiki Training. Amanda has had success treating many conditions with massage and Reiki including:  fibromyalgia, cancer, asthma, arthritis, mercury poisoning, insomnia, anxiety, depression, muscle aches and pains, headaches, chronic pain and chronic fatigue syndrome.  In addition to Reiki and massage, Amanda has certifications in Yoga and meditation. She has also studied Ayurveda and Aromatherapy extensively. Amanda is a wife, a mother, an artist, a traveler, a teacher and a student.
Massage Therapy License #MA61516

Rachel Ekeroth

Rachel Ekeroth built a solid foundation in Hatha Yoga as a student of internationally acclaimed teachers Lilias Folan, Diana Guy, and Julie Lusk.

After decades of practice, she was inspired to attain her Yoga Teacher certification in the classical tradition of Swami Sivananda at Yogi Hari's Ashram in Miramar, FL. Understanding the healing benefits deep relaxation and guided imagery techniques could bring to her students, Rachel continued her training at Discovery Yoga in St. Augustine with "Leading Relaxation, Guided Imagery & Yoga Nidra."
When teaching her classes, Rachel emphasizes what she calls, "ABC Yoga." Her intention is to demystify the basic principles of Hatha Yoga and make them accessible to everyone, regardless of their level of experience. She explains, "A is for Awareness and Alignment, B is for Breath and Balance (that is, finding the Balance between Ease and Effort in each pose), and C is for Calm Consciousness."

In her 30-year professional career before quasi-retirement to Sarasota, Rachel worked as a legislative aide in the US House of Representatives; earned her master's degree from Georgetown University; became a researcher, writer, editor, and program administrator at a public policy research institution; managed international training programs for the US Department of State; worked internationally for a public multi-national corporation, and domestically for a private international company; and also founded a university accredited educational tour company.

Stephanie Cole

Stephanie is a certified yoga teacher and is registered with Yoga Alliance. Formerly a personal trainer and nutrition consultant, she has been practicing yoga on the Treasure Coast for the past eight years, where she owned and operated geoYoga Studio.

Her yoga journey has included a blend of Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Yin, and Bikram traditions. Stephanie's influences include her studies with Kino MacGregor, Govinda Kai, Scott Feinberg, and Sarah Powers. She takes these teachings, and others, and blends them with her own caring style for a wonderful yoga experience.

In April 2011, she was the first one in line to participate in ReFLEX's aerial yoga training workshop and has since been hanging upside down in her home studio perfecting her craft. She now shares her vast knowledge of yoga with our students here as our evening aerial instructor.

Chelsea March- coming soon...

Jonathan Cunningham

Jonathan Cunningham, born in Greensboro, NC, began his internal arts training in August of 1997 with his teacher, Master Sunyata Saraswati. He received his first degree black sash in 2003 after intensive study and practice, focusing mostly on the rare Tibetan White Crane Internal Arts System, which is comprised of Tai Chi, Chi Gung, Meditation and hands-on healing. Because his master’s style was developed mostly in isolated temples throughout China, India and Tibet, most of the systems Jonathan has learned are not yet even familiar to western practitioners. He is also able to teach Heavenly Dragon Pakua Chang, a classical Chinese internal art based on the I Ching, Book of Changes.

To complement his tai chi training, Jonathan became a third degree Reiki practitioner in the Raku-Kai system of Tibetan Reiki. His teacher, Master Sunyata, also initiated him into the varma marg path of Tantric Kriya Yoga. Beyond this, he continued on to train in Shaolin Five Animal Gung Fu, a martial art utilizing various animal characteristics to develop speed, power, and internal strength and received his second degree black sash from the Nei Wai Chia Kung Fu School in Austin, TX.

He is delighted to teach Tai Chi here at ReFLEX and looks forward to passing his knowledge on to our many students looking to attain balance in their lives, improve mental clarity and decision making, develop internal energy, and increase circulation.

Kerry Tice-coming soon...

Cinde Carroll-coming soon...

• Our Director
• Our Staff