Instructors

Erin Ehlers

Yoga

Erin Ehlers, a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher, is a graduate of Yoga Spirit Studios. Erin is trained in an Iyengar background with exposure to many styles of yoga. In addition to her formal training, Erin has lived at the Kripalu Center for yoga and health. Her intention in teaching yoga is to supply her students with a practice that can alleviate tension and bring peace to their lives.

Drika Overton

Jazz Tap, beginner through advanced

"Her dance style is fluid, intensely musical, long-legged, long-armed, long blonde hair flying, reflecting a passion for jazz tap rhythms and counterpoint. She has a wicked sense of humor and whimsy that adds a layer of spice to her work." - Dean Diggins

Drika's career as a jazz tap artist has spanned over two decades and includes work as a producer, director, educator, performer and choreographer.

She is the creator and artistic director of the internationally recognized Portsmouth Percussive Dance Festival and Clara's Dream: a jazz nutcracker and works throughout New England and the US.

Drika has received numerous awards for her work including an Artist fellowship from New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and Art Builds Community! funded by the Lila-Wallace Readers' Digest Fund.

"You don't forget her performance, it is always dynamic. Drika's clear taps hit very interesting, fresh and inventive syncopations when she is dancing her own choreography. Her tall and very expressive body punctuates the rhythms her feet are playing. The last time I saw her dance to classical music in choreography created by Dean Diggins to the Goldberg Variations, she seemed to float effortlessly across the floor with the control and sensitivity that only a master tapper can achieve with a lifetime of practice and performance." - Brenda Bufalino

She has been a featured artist at the New York City Tap Festival; the Southeastern TapExplosion in Atlanta; the Bates Dance Festival; the New England Artist's Congress; Liz Lerman's Dance Exchange's Shipyard Project; Public Television; and numerous jazz clubs, concerts, and festivals.

Drika is the artistic director of MaD Theatricals, a unique collaboration of nationally and internationally recognized jazz and tap artists, and co-directs and choreographs for the Youth Jazz Dance Project.

Adriana Pinto

Argentine Tango

Adriana started dancing Argentine tango in her native country of Brazil at Escola de Danca Edson Nunes, performing on stage after one year of studies. After moving to the United States, she continued her studies intensively, participating in workshops and taking private lessons with various acclaimed tango teachers from Buenos Aires.

Adriana has danced and practiced tango intensively in the Boston area, developing her technique and skill on the dance floor. She has also danced in New York, Miami and Denver. She began teaching tango in 2000. Most recently, Adriana taught a special tango program for parents at the Cambridge Montessori School. Adriana is known for her energy and sense of humor, bringing her Latin heritage and knowledge of rhythm to the dance when teaching. She is currently teaching Tango in Arlington, MA, Portsmouth, NH, Rochester, NH and Kittery, ME.

Photo by David Liu, www.daylightpix.com