Kinetic Arts Tucson

Courtney’s relationship with physical fitness began at a very young age, growing up in the gym her parents owned and operated.  She is dedicated to living actively, her interests beginning with ballet at four and expanding outward exponentially. Courtney found her affinity for yoga as a young adult.  She became an ardent student, reaping benefits both on and off the mat. She was particularly captivated by the mind-body connection she developed as a result.

Courtney completed her training at Awakened Life School of Yoga in Amorgos, Greece in 2016.  Subsequently, she has been instructing various forms of yoga, Pilates, stretching and barre classes in our community to individuals ranging in age from toddlers to the elderly.  She genuinely enjoys inspiring others to improve wellness and assisting the achievement of long-term health initiatives.

Linda has had a long relationship with movement. After dancing for about seven years as a child and teenager, she developed a love for weightlifting at 21 but soon felt that something was missing. When she discovered pole dance in the summer of 2019, she finally felt like she found an art and workout that perfectly combined graceful movement and strength. She has been obsessed with pole ever since.

 After struggling with PCOS and an eating disorder for most of her youth, Linda has made it her mission to spread self-love and positivity and to help other people gain confidence, no matter where they are in their fitness and body-image journeys. Her goal with Kinetic Arts Tucson is to help people embrace the unique things their bodies and minds can create through her knowledge of performance, acting, and now pole!

 Linda is thrilled to join the amazing KAT instructor family and can’t wait to learn as much as she can from her students! When she’s not at the studio, you can find her at The University of Arizona, where she studies Film Production, Psychology, and Theatre.

Katie developed a love of dance as a teenager after reading about the life and career of famed dancer, Martha Graham. Her love of dance transformed into a passion for performing as she danced with a local troupe as a young adult. Expression through movement became a life-long focus. In 2010, Katie found a new niche as a fitness instructor. She took her dance experience into the fitness industry as a cardio dance instructor. As a certified personal trainer, Katie spent the next several years helping people improve their strength and overall fitness level leading group fitness and cardio dance classes. In 2014, Katie discovered a form of fitness which allowed her to combine her passion for dance and performance with her love of fitness after taking her first pole class. From there, she began to also train on the areial hoop (Lyra) which quickly became her favorite aerial apparatus. Today, she continues to train as an aerial artist. Katie is excited to share her passion and knowledge with KATstudents.

Monika Szumilak is an Expert Level Myofascial Release therapist. She has helped hundreds of chronic pain patients to get back hope and stop chronic pain from taking over their lives.  She has helped them move with ease again and enjoy their everyday lives. She has worked with athletes, post-surgical patients and clients affected with chronic conditions and illness with equally positive results.

Monika is the owner of Freedom Therapy, MFR in Tucson, AZ. She started her practice in 2011 to dedicate herself exclusively to treating clients with John F. Barnes Myofascial Release Approach therapy.  Monika is also a passionate educator and experienced presenter, having left behind a career in higher education to devote herself to healing work. She has completed Myofascial release training with nationally recognized founder of MFR approach, John F. Barnes PT and achieved expert level in this healing modality, as well as has assisted in teaching official MFR seminars. Monika continues to up-level her education by repeating MFR courses on a regular basis.  She has studied various forms of bodywork, such as trigger point therapy, aquatic massage, craniosacral therapy and Shiatsu, but finds Myofascial Release work to be the closest to her heart and unquestionably the most effective for her clients.

For information about Myofascial Release, treatment and self-treatment please visit 

Www.Freedomtherapy.Net 

Cat is a born and raised Tucsonan who discovered acrobatics when a friend introduced her to Kinetic Arts Tucson in 2019. She had never considered herself an athlete, but always an artist, and aerial was the perfect way for her to be both.

Shawn Calendine has enjoyed a lifetime of athletics participating in an array of sports such as baseball, wrestling, diving, and running.  However, Shawn’s most notable athletic endeavor was gymnastics. During 3 seasons with Coach Yoichi Tomita at Gym World in Tucson AZ, Shawn learned the process of success through rigorous training and self-determination.  In 1987, Shawn won the Arizona State Championship for gymnastics and went on to compete at nationals. Following his competitive years, Shawn developed a love of coaching and spent the next 15 years as a competitive woman’s gymnastics coach and USGS judge.   Many of Shawn’s teams and gymnasts went on to win state and regional championships.

In 2009, Shawn’s daughter Sage introduced him to the sport synchronized swimming.  Seeing the connection between synchronized swimming and gymnastics, he began working with the girls on strength training and basic gymnastics skills that would improve their performance in the water.  Shawn then went on to become a figures judge and levels judge and now judges synchronized swimming events in the state of Arizona.

Professionally, Shawn studied Environmental Science and Biology at Northern Arizona University and Portland State University before beginning a career in the geosciences.   

'My goal is to instill others with self-motivational skills, promote acceptance and respect for all people and support ideas that make the world a better place.'

Brenna 

Anna was born and raised in Tucson, which she loves and will always come home to, no matter where she might travel. Her biggest passions are the environment, writing, biking, animals, art … and of course pole, which she started in 2015 and has been hopelessly addicted to ever since.

Pole has made Anna a lot more outgoing. She loves meeting new people and spreading the word about how this art and sport has changed her life. Building strength and flexibility through pole sport—and learning tricks she'd have never thought she could do in a million years—has made her infinitely more comfortable with her body and more confident all around. And now she's excited about the sexy side of pole, too—despite some bad club experiences in the past, trying exotic pole with people she loves and trusts (and has a blast with!) has turned everything around. In the studio, she's either barefoot or in 8-inch heels.

Pole has also helped her physically and psychologically recover from an accident in which her left leg was run over by a semi truck. Sometimes that leg still hurts, but she can forget about it when pole gets her off the ground and flying in the air instead.

She's still learning about all aspects of pole, but that’s one of the best things about it, in her opinion: "You never stop growing because pole is a process, a neverending story that’s usually exciting, sometimes hard, almost always fun, and fulfilling without fail.

“I hope you join me on my journey by starting your own.”

Rori's love of fitness came at an early age. From doing Richard Simmons videos and “Sweatin' to the oldies” with her mom, to rock climbing and surfing, she always loved to stay active. This busy mama of two runs a food truck, an aspiring graphic design business, and teaches little ones to swim. Her favorite part of the day though? Pole class, of course! if you could wear hats while hanging upside down, Rori would be wearing them all! Knowledgeable, personable, and full of energy, Rori has a passion for helping people to realize their goals and stayoptimistic despite any obstacles that may come their way. When she's not spotting a student, creating a campaign, or helping our wonderful clients, you can find her crafting magical creations, watching her husband and son on the baseball field, or choreographing cool pole routines with her daughter.

Mary Owen is from Raleigh, North Carolina. She is an elementary school teacher here in Tucson. She loves wind, dirt, rivers, deserts, woodlands, bugs, absurdity, artistic self-expression, self-discovery, overcoming shame, and humor. She spends most of her days hiking, backpacking, singing in a band, pole dancing, lazing in a hammock or pool, and whining about the apocalypse (jk). 

She started her pole journey at Kinetic Arts Tucson and has stayed with the KAT family for the past two years. She is thrilled to be teaching so that she can help others find the inner and outer strength that comes with training pole skills. She is passionate about allyship and advocacy and is committed to bringing those welcoming, non-judgemental values into her teaching. 

Valerie was born a fifth-generation Tucsonan—nurtured by our towering mountains, supple soils, and the sweet smell of creosote.  Always an adventurer, Valerie found ways to get out and experience the world, leaving home at the age of 16.  Throughout her early journey, she found much about human civilization challenging and painful. It was when she planted her first garden that she finally connected with a profound source of hope that sustains her to this day. This set Valerie on a path to explore growing food, living in community, permaculture, ancestral arts, and wilderness skills.  Aerial acrobatics and dance emerged in Valerie’s life in 2011 through balancing in Douglas fir trees and tying a sheet to the top of a barn rafter and rolling herself up in it.  She then continued on to find aerial silks, acro yoga, break dancing, and now pole. 

 Finding pole has been a kind of homecoming for Valerie, uncovering places of belonging within herself she had not known before.  The same way a pea plant knows to spiral up the trellis, the movements and experiences of pole feel innate and deeply natural.  It is a spiritual practice where she can find her center and test her boundaries.  She is greatly honored and excited to share a pole with her community not only as a practitioner but also as a teacher.

 No matter what Valerie is up to, she hopes to be contributing to a regenerative human culture that will support the restoration of the waters of her birthplace and a world free of borders.