I am a contemporary dancer, born and raised in Slovenia, Europe.
I took my first creative dancing class when I was 3 years old. At the age of 6 I’ve joined one of the main dancing schools in Slovenia. For the next 14 years we’ve toured all over Slovenia, Italy and Switzerland and I have performed and choreographed for various cultural and dance events, recitals, evening performances and competitions (awarded 2nd and 3rd place in a national dance competition “Opus 1“ ). By the age of 15 I started teaching my own classes.
I have trained under various renowned teachers from all over the world. Michele Pogliani (Italy), Jana Hicks (USA), Max Stone (USA), Joe Alegado (USA) to name a few. My style is influenced by different types and dancing styles, I also have an extended knowledge of ballet, yoga and pilates, but I definitely found my heart in contemporary. Dance pieces that I choreograph are always meaningful and I put an extra effort to help my dancers express the story through their movement and emotions.
I have a master’s degree in special and rehabilitation pedagogy (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia). Inspired by my mom’s work as kindergarten teacher and Ana Vovk Pezdir (my dance teacher and mentor) I have soon discovered that I can connect both professions. I love working with kids so I’ve started teaching dance classes for children with mental disabilities. I joined a dance group Society of Students with Disabilities. Together we’ve created a successful performance »Watch out« on wheelchairs that was filmed for a National Television of Slovenia. My next step was getting a Certification for Transponation of Dance Technique for Dancers in Wheelchairs, by Kitty Lunn, artistic director of Infinity dance theater in New York.
In 2013 I’ve moved to the Bay area, found contemporary classes at Dance Identity and I loved everything about them from the very first moment. Shaira Bhan helped me get me back in shape after having my baby, immediately saw my dancing fire and gave me an opportunity to teach again.