Rachel Kahn is a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher (NCPT), a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and is in school to become a certified massage therapist (CMT). She has worked with people who have physical disabilities for over seven years. Rachel co-founded a nonprofit called No Limits Collaborative in 2015 that provided outdoor recreational activities and educational workshops for people with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities. She also helped in starting the Absolute Endeavor program at Absolute Center in Lafayette, which uses Pilates for people with physical disabilities. Rachel uses an amalgamation of strength training, Pilates, functional movement, floor work, and breathing techniques to help her clients re-establish the mind-body connection, re-train their nervous system, and reach their movement goals.

JanpiStar was born and raised in Puerto Rico where they worked with different artists performing in plays, dance performances and teaching movement workshops. JanpiStar moved to Oakland in January 2018 to join AXIS Dance Company and had the opportunity to work with artists like Robert Dekkers, Arthur Pita and Jennifer Archibald. Their most recent work was for QDF, “FROLIC” in 2019.

Carina Ho is a choreographer and former company member of AXIS Dance Company. Originally trained in contemporary dance and ballet, she has developed adaptive ways to teach and choreograph for dancers with and without disabilities. Carina has performed and taught throughout the US, and recently returned from teaching at the national dance conservatory in Montevideo, Uruguay as a Fulbright Fellow. Her goal is to make dance education accessible to any body type or ability.

Tina Ybarra travelled as a teenager with BORP all over the USA to compete in basketball and track & field, and you could always catch her with a boom box, socializing and dancing. Her love of dance and music led Tina to create a small dance group with her BORP teammates, The Dynamics. Now, 34 years later, Tina’s passion for socializing, music and dance led her to create, Rumba With Tina a high-energy aerobic workout. The class creates a space for her to feel like a teenager again, while connecting with those who want to have some fun and exercise!