Teachers and Facilitators
Jenny Macke
Open Floor Teacher • Founder of Presence Studio
Jenny founded Presence Studio in 2008 as a home for conscious and embodied dance in Bellingham. She is a certified Open Floor teacher and serves on the Open Floor Curriculum Circle, offering movement practices that support presence, authenticity, and embodied awareness.
Ruby Koa
Sound Baths & Holistic Movement
Ruby offers sound baths and holistic movement experiences that support relaxation, insight, and well-being. She creates sacred, welcoming space for participants and teaches from the heart to make each class a deeply holistic experience.
Robert Bates
Wild Goose Qigong
Robert is a Qi Gong teacher and licensed chiropractor in Bellingham, Washington. Since discovering Qi Gong in 1994, he has used the practice to rebuild his own energy, health, and joy. Over the decades, he has developed a simple, step-by-step teaching approach that helps students learn quickly and experience these benefits for themselves.
Soleil Chappelle
Contemporary Modern Dance • BRD Collective Member
Soleil teaches contemporary modern dance at Whatcom Community College and with Bellingham Repertory Dance (BRD), where they have been a collective member since 2019. Their classes blend contemporary technique, improvisation, floorwork, and somatic movement, supported by a deep background that includes Kaleidoscope Dance Company, a BFA in Performance from Naropa University, and extensive practice in contemplative and community-centered dance.
Kelsey Maloney
Open Floor
Kelsey Maloney is a certified Open Floor International Movement Teacher. She teaches in a style of receptive response to what is emerging in the moment, inviting students to deepen their self-awareness, expand their capacity for connection, and practice re-humanizing our relationships. She bridges curiosity with an embodied awareness.
Darrah Blanton
Children's Dance – Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Creative Movement
Darrah has taught children’s dance since 1999, offering ballet, tap, creative movement, parent–toddler, beginning jazz, and musical theater. Her classes incorporate the BrainDance and weekly creative concepts. A UW Dance graduate, she trained locally at The Dance Studio and the Morca Academy and has performed widely in the Seattle dance scene.
Matt Van Dyke
Wild Goose Qigong
Matt is an Acupuncturist, Herbalist, and Qi Gong practitioner dedicated to supporting long-term vitality and well-being. A student of Dr. Zhang Dong Xun OMD for over 20 years, he has trained in Jingui Golden Shield Qi Gong and Fit 150 Intended Evolution. He has taught Qi Gong since 2007 and has also studied Dayan Wild Goose Qigong deeply with Robert Bates, exploring over 20 forms and meditations together.
Kaleigh Jeffers
Irish Dance – Penk-O'Donnell School of Irish Dance
Kaleigh Jeffers is the only certified Irish dance teacher in Whatcom County, accredited by An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha (The Irish Dancing Commission) in Ireland. She offers training in traditional Irish step dancing for youth and adults, combining strong technique with joy, discipline, and cultural connection.
Daelinar
Family Dance
Daelinar teaches from a place of loving kindness rooted in nature. His classes foster connection among humans and the more-than-human world, empowering children to move with confident creativity, curiosity, and a sense of belonging—free from shame.
Adriane Rodrigues
Brazilian Beats – Samba & Afro-Brazilian Dance
Adriane was born into a musical family in Minas Gerais, Brazil, where she began dancing at a young age. After moving to California, she trained at the World Dance Center in Berkeley, focusing on Samba, Afro-Brazilian forms, and Orixá movement. Adriane brings deep technique, expressive artistry, and a joyful teaching style that encourages students to discover their own rhythm and embodied expression.