Board of Directors
Richard E. Sims
MSME, MSMT, CTP
President
Evanston, Illinois, USA
Rich is a Somatic, Embodiment & Mindfulness Educator, Instructor in the Art of Aikido (a non-violent martial art), Certified Trauma Professional and a Somatic Specialist in the areas of stress, fear, anxiety, trauma, depression, resilience, pain and empowerment.
He uses his skills while teaching adults, children and teens empowering approaches and tools to improve their emotional and physical wellbeing. His somatic approach combines the connection between our minds, bodies, emotions and distress responses with methods that include Being In Movement® mindbody education, Body Awareness, Breathing, Meditation, Embodiment, Somatic Education, Trauma Informed Mindfulness, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and the principles of the Art of Aikido.
He has a private practice, teaches in person and online globally, and has presented at some of the world’s largest and respected Somatic and Embodiment Conferences. Rich also works with organizations, schools, non-profits, first responders and companies working with their clients, volunteers and employees with the challenges that affect their relationships and performance personally, professionally and academically.
Some of these organizations include MenHealing where he serves as a facilitator, providing complimentary support for male survivors of sexual trauma, as well as, the Cancer Wellness Center where he helps patients, caregivers and their families through their cancer journeys and the State of Illinois, USA where he and his somatic work have been certified to help first responders with the many challenges they face personally and professionally.
Richard E. Sims
Kehinde Ishangi
MSME, RSDE, MFA
Vice President
Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Kehinde Ishangi is a dance artist, educator, scholar, and somatic practitioner. She is an Assistant Professor in Studio Practices and Dance Science at Florida State University. Ishangi holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Pedagogy from Brenau University. Ms. Ishangi is a Level 3 Franklin Method® Educator, certified GYROTONIC ®, GYROKINESIS®, STOTT PILATES™, CoreAlign® Instructor, and completed Zena Rommett Floor-Barre® in August 2021. Founder and director of The Ishangi Institute, created to further her research and application of movement science. Her pedagogical approach aims to integrate functional anatomy and somatic techniques within dance studio practices. She is included in the 2021 anthology (Re:)Claiming Ballet.
Ishangi has been an international dance soloist. Within The United States, she has performed with Ballethnic Dance Company, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, and KM Dance Project. While residing in Paris, France, Ishangi was a performing artist with Compagnie James Carlès and Compagnie Georges Momboye.
Kehinde Ishangi
Ray Schwartz
MSME, MFA
Treasurer
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Ray Eliot Schwartz attended high school at the North Carolina School of the Arts, received his BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University and his MFA in Dance from University of Texas-Austin. He is the founder of Performática: Foro Internacional de Danza Contemporánea y Artes del Movimiento and a consultant and teaching artist for ArcDanz International Dance Workshop. Ray co-founded four contemporary dance projects in the southern U.S.: Sheep Army, The Zen Monkey Project, Steve’s House Dance Collective and THEM. He has been a guest artist for diverse populations in the U.S., South East Asia, Turkey, South America, and Mexico. He has served on the faculty of the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, MELT, the ZMP Summer Dance Intensive, the Colorado College Summer Dance Festival and SFADI, among others. His somatic studies include certifications in Body-Mind Centering® and the Feldenkrais Method®.
Additional studies include Zero-Balancing®, Gross Anatomy, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, and Traditional Thai Massage. He is a research associate at the Center for Mind Body Movement and a published scholar who writes in Spanish and English about the interface of somatic movement education and contemporary dance practice. He served as Academic Coordinator of the Dance Program of the University of the Americas-Puebla in México from 2008-2018.
Ray Schwartz
Margaret Rennerfeldt
RSME
Secretary
Clarksville, TN, USA
Margaret lives and works in Clarksville, Tennessee and divides her time between Austin Peay State University as a professor of dance and as the owner of Mindful Movement LLC, http://www.mindfulmovementtn.com. She is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, a certified Somatic Movement Educator from the Center for BodyMind Movement, a member of Somatic Experiencing International (SEI) and a member of the International Somatic Movement Educators and Therapists Association (ISMETA). Margaret is a dancer, choreographer, dance educator and reading specialist as well as a Reiki practitioner. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and a Master of Fine Arts, in Dance & Performance from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and a Master of Arts in Teaching Reading from Rockford University.
Margaret Rennerfeldt
Florian Filtzinger
MSME
Executive Committee Member-at-Large
Berlin, Germany
Florian, a certified master therapist and educator, has studied Anthropology & Communication Science and worked on various projects in Berlin since 2007. His professional journey has led him to explore the nuanced connections between technology and somatics.
Throughout his experience, Florian observed that bodies were often viewed merely as tools to be used or fixed when malfunctioning. This realization sparked his interest in somatics, which he began studying at the Somatische Akademie Berlin. Now, as a certified practitioner, he offers classes and experiences that elevate the body as a true resource of wisdom, joy, and depth in our lives.
Florian's main research focuses on ableism and working with youth, as well as individuals with traumatic histories and experiences of discrimination and violence. He is currently working in the German psychosomatic clinical field, where he applies his expertise to help patients navigate the complex interplay between mental and physical health.
Florian Filtzinger
Madelanne Rust-D’Eye
MSME/T
Executive Committee Member-at-Large
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
Madelanne is a somatic mentor, an experiential educator, and a facilitator of complex group processes. She holds an MA in somatic counseling psychology from Naropa University (2012), with a dual concentration in Body Psychotherapy and Dance/Movement Therapy. She practiced as a somatic psychotherapist for years with both youth and adults, and with a particular focus on trauma, before shifting to work primarily with organisations in 2016.
Madelanne is a managing partner at RISE Beyond consulting, where she works with corporate leadership teams to enable collaboration in complexity. She brings her work to the general public through the training programme she developed called Body-Informed Leadership, as well as to grassroots groups and communities through a non-profit she co-founded, called Culture Garden.
Madelanne Rust-D’Eye
Robin Aronson
RSME/T
Director
Hattiesburg, MS, USA
Robin Aronson is a Professor of Voice and Acting at the University of Southern Mississippi and a Registered Somatic Movement Educator. As a Lessac Kinesensic Voice and Body Certified Trainer and Miller Voice Method® Certified Trainer, Robin has taught voice and body workshops around the globe at such Institutions as Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England; Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Theatre; The Gaiety School for Acting, The National Theatre School of Ireland in Dublin; and The National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Australia. Robin is a Past President for the International Lessac Training and Research Institute® and was the recipient of the 2020 Lessac Service Award.
At Southern Miss, Robin serves as Head of the Performance Program. Robin has over two decades of teaching experience on both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In addition, she developed the first and currently only Lessac-based graduate training program, which allows MFA performance students to be eligible for Level 1 certification candidate status. (https://www.usm.edu/theatre/lessac-kinesensics-training.)
Robin Aronson
Bibiana Badenes
MSME, MSMT, MA
Director
Benicassim, Spain
Bibiana graduated in Physiotherapy from the University of Valencia (1988) and mastered in Physiotherapy (2013). She studied in USA, Switzerland, England, Italy, New Zealand and Germany, where she trained in the Rolfing© Method of Structure Integration (1995) and Advanced Rolfing© (2005). She is a teacher of Movement Rolfing™ (2009), and the first physiotherapist in Spain to be trained in these methods, applying a personal and humanistic touch with her clients and patients.
She has continued training in different methods of body movement, osteopathic techniques and experiential anatomy. Since 1998 she has been working with Swedish companies, with rheumatic and chronic pain patients, and since 2002 with Swedish consulting companies, where she applies her body intelligence program to people suffering from stress, anxiety, depression and burnout. A co-creator of Aquatic Integral Therapy, Bibiana also trained in Mindfulness in 2011 and relaxation techniques, and she is a specialist in posture and musculoskeletal injuries. She trained in Somatic Coaching in the 2016 London EFC course, Leader as a Coach: Coaching as a Leadership Approach, Mindset, and Process at Columbia University NY (USA, 2018), and Being in Movement with Dr. Paul Linden. She conducts seminars on Leadership and Body Intelligence.
Bibiana Badenes
E.E. Balcos
MSME, RSDE, MFA
Director
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
E.E. Balcos is a Registered Somatic Dance Educator and a Professor of Dance at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance.
In 1982, he began training with modern dance pioneer Hanya Holm while also engaging in contact improvisation. A successful performer and choreographer for over 35 years, he danced with companies including Zenon Dance Company, Shapiro & Smith Dance, and the Demetrius Klein Dance Company. He worked directly and performed in the works of renowned choreographers and dance artists including: Chris Aiken, Danny Buraczeski, Sam Costa, Ping Chong, Sean Curran, David Dorfman, Joe Goode, Daniel Gwirtzman, Dwight Rhoden, David Rousseve, Stephanie Skura, Jan Van Dyke, and Bill Young. He is currently working on a project with Bill Evans. E.E. was the Artistic Director and choreographer for his own company E.E. MOTION from 2007-2013.
E.E. Balcos
Ellen Barlow
MSME, MSMT
Director
Washington, DC, USA
Ellen Barlow is a Master Somatic Movement Educator with more than 35 years of experience teaching, designing and managing programs in the fields of health and wellness, education, and dance.
Ellen studied modern dance in Washington DC as a child with Pola Nirenska, a former Mary Wigman company member in Berlin, and then resumed her studies as an adult to complete a BA in Dance Education. She pursued several spiritual traditions that incorporated somatic practices, and Hatha yoga training with Swami Vishnu Devananda to become a certified teacher in the Shivananda tradition. While in college her mentor and dance professor, Carol Boggs, introduced her to the work of Irmgard Bartenieff, F.M. Alexander, Mabel Ellsworth Todd, and Lulu Sweigard. She then studied the Feldenkrais Method and Alexander Technique before meeting Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen in 1979. Ellen moved to Amherst, MA the next year to study Body-Mind Centering®, completing certifications as a Practitioner in 1982 and a Teacher in 1985. Further studies included fitness training, Zero Balancing, and Cranial-Sacral Therapy. Together, these influences directed her career toward somatic movement practices as a basis for consciousness, learning and wellness.
Ellen Barlow
Becky Dyer
RSME/T
Director
Phoenix, Arizona, USA
As an associate professor at Arizona State University, I have the privilege of instructing both graduate and undergraduate students in somatic movement inquiry and dance teaching praxis while coordinating the dance certification programs. Driven by my interest in exploring the social somatic threads of teaching, learning, and wellness, my 26-year journey in this field has been enriched by certifications as a Laban-Bartenieff Movement Analyst (CLMA), Dynamic Embodiment Practitioner (DEP), and ISMETA registered somatic movement therapist (RSMT), alongside a secondary dance education certification.
Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to a variety of publications, including Research in Dance Education, Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, Journal of Aesthetic Education, and Journal of Dance Education, and I have authored several book chapters.
Becky Dyer
Servaas Mes
Associate Member Organization
Director
Smithers, BC, Canada
Servaas Mes is the founding director of The Human Health Project, an initiative to bring hope, health, rehabilitation and wellness to individuals, schools, organizations and communities. His knowledge about how the body works is unique. Being dual trained and integrating international knowledge, research and experience, he has seen the advantage of bridging western medicine with holistic medicine, resulting in a more complete and up to date model of health & wellness in which you become empowered to take control over your health.
Servaas is known for his easy and fun style of teaching, presenting workshops and lectures worldwide. He has taught post-graduate education programs to health professionals in Europe. His teachings are filled with personal experience that is necessary for the participant to embody the learned. He is the founder of Mobilizing Awareness® Somatic Rehabilitation & Education.
Servaas Mes
Amaranta Jacome Moreno (Amar)
RSME/T
Director
Mexico City, Mexico
AMARANTA JACOME (México City, 1979) . Amaranta is a movement researcher, dancer, and somatic educator. She studied Political Science with a desire to understand the power of movement in the human collective. The people known as “Gypsies” captured her attention from an early age, and when scientific tools proved insufficient, she decided to study dance to further explore how these communities relate to the world. For over 20 years, she has researched, performed, and taught the repertoire of “Gypsy” dances.
In the same vein, and with the intention of delving deeper into the transformative potential of body movement, she studied somatic education. She is certified in the Feldenkrais Method and is currently in her final year of Body Mind Movement training.
Amaranta Jacome Moreno
Jurgita Ramanauskaite (Gita)
RSME/T
Director
Maynooth, Ireland
Gita Ramanauskaite, RSMT, RSME Dublin, Ireland. Gita is a Dynamic Embodiment Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator with over a decade of experience guiding individuals through transformative movement, dance, and somatic re-patterning. She is a certified teacher of Azul Conscious Movement, BodyMind Dancing, and Moving for Life, and regularly facilitates group classes and individual sessions.
Her integrative approach combines neurodevelopmental re-patterning, Laban Movement Analysis, bodywork techniques, and ancestral healing. Rooted in the belief that conscious movement awakens creativity, expression, and authenticity, her work supports deep emotional and physical healing.
Jurgita Ramanauskaite
Kim Wilson
RSME/T
Director
Missoula, MT, USA
Kim Wilson, RSME, Missoula, Montana. Kim is a Certified Advanced Rolfer™, a Registered Somatic Movement Educator, a Certified Rolf Movement® Practitioner and a Board Certified Structural Integrator. She has trained extensively in Rolfing® structural integration, somatic education, biodynamic and structural craniosacral therapy, along with osteopathic and energetic modalities. Her original training was in manual therapy, structural bodywork and myofascial therapy. She has enjoyed a long career in bodywork and body-based therapies, continuing to pursue training and education to further her ability to help her clients and those around her. Kim enjoys studying both somatics and somatic movement, and exploring creative vitalistic approaches to elevate possibilities, potential and perspective. She believes in complementary and integrative medicine and enjoys working with clients to find the right approaches to suit their bodies, minds and souls.
