Our Dance Facilitators

Tracy Collins
Read About Tracy…

Kathleen Fallon
Read About Kathleen…

Gay Rathman
Read About Gay…

Alec Walling
Read About Alec…

Tracy Collins|Creative Director|Embodydance Santa Fe
 

Transformation Through Dance

As a life-long dancer and deeply seasoned explorer of heart-centered, nature-based wisdom, Tracy’s journey has taken her around the world. That journey culminated in the realization of a long-held vision: the co-founding of Embodydance Santa Fe in 2000. The experiences leading up to that event are multifarious.

With a B.A. in Dance Production from Mills College in ’82, Tracy capped off a professional show-dance career, performing and choreographing, with a year studying and participating in the sacred world of Bali. Being chosen as apprentice to an indigenous high priestess in ceremonies and earth-based rituals versed her in working with the energetic forces of nature.

Tracy emerged from this life-changing experience that, in her words, “turned her inside out,” understanding that harmonious community (beginning from within) is essential. She knew it was her dharma to return to America to be a link for this consciousness of inter-connectedness. Recognizing dance pioneer Gabrielle Roth’s work as a map for embodying this consciousness, Tracy deeply immersed herself in the exploration and study of the 5Rhythms® with Chris Werner. She then devoted herself to “moving from the inside out” as her own healing and spiritual path.

In an old church she renovated in Taos, New Mexico, Tracy founded the “Dance of Life” Center in 1992 and was the Center’s Artistic Director until 1995. There she produced monthly multi-media happenings, performance art, and taught intensive workshops such as “Primal Memory,” “Feminine Archetypes,” and “Instinctual Movement.” She also took another 5Rhythms® workshop intensive with Gabrielle Roth in 1994. Her scope of instruction widened, and she began teaching both in Taos and the Railyard in Santa Fe from 1995 to 1999.

Shortly after relocating to Santa Fe in ’99, Tracy was approached by Austin Body Choir folks to co-found what became the community-owned and operated non-profit organization of today’s Embodydance Santa Fe. In 2005, Tracy conceived of the name Embodydance: Dancing your Journey from the Inside Out. Tracy has committed herself to rooting, cultivating and shaping the community in myriad ways. Serving as a Core-Facilitator since the inception of Embodydance Santa Fe, she was key in forming its mission statement as well as defining the roles of Facilitators and Coordinators.

She also has trained new facilitators and planned and led the annual retreats. Tracy pioneered many of the creative concepts that have made Embodydance Santa Fe more than merely an intentional dance. Exercises, visualizations, ceremonies, rituals, elaborate altars, and presentations, as well as workshops on the Tree of Life, Kabbalist and Indigenous Wisdom through movement and sound, and craft projects such as Body Maps; Group Tree of Life; Underworld Ally/Guide dolls; and Masks of our Divine Selves have all been realized under her direction. She has, in addition, co-sponsored 5Rhythms® weekend workshops with teachers Jonathan Horan, Kathi Altman and Sara Pagano, among other special events.

Ever attuned to the pulse of the community’s growth, Tracy has the ability to tap into what is relevant NOW and bring it to the group through her themes. She inspires with a passionate spirit and shares humor and compassion for the human condition. From a space that holds the paradox, Tracy alchemically blends her extensive experiences to create transformational journeys. Recently named Creative Director, Tracy has stepped up her service in steering the community’s vision.