About Me.
I am Larissa Velez-Jackson, a creator of performance and educator in fitness and wellness. I am a cancer survivor of multiple myeloma and share my strategies for healing in an array of body-mind-spirit services.
Feel free to get in touch with me to learn more about my work and how we can collaborate.
My Story.
I am an award-winning choreographer, performer and movement educator, AFAA certified Senior Fitness Specialist, RYT 200 Yoga Instructor and Kane School Pilates Instructor with a BFA in Dance Education and 20 years of experience teaching. Following a multiple myeloma cancer diagnosis and the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago, I formed a home business of rehab-informed Pilates, gentle yoga and older adult remote fitness. Alongside cancer treatment, I continued to teach workshops in dance for amateur movers and professionals in the field; teaching as an adjunct professor of improvisation and composition at The New School, Bennington College, Princeton University and Sarah Lawrence College between the years 2018 and 2022. Recent training at the Creative Institute in NYC, which partners artists with healthcare and community institutions, has further supported my classes and workshops to serve all ages with various abilities, with special attention to the benefits for the older exerciser and those in recovery of an kind. Notably, my first experience with the Creative Center was as a longterm cancer patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, benefitting greatly from the artistic collaboration with the artist resident on the hospital floor. My foray into the sound healing arts is informed by my daily spiritual practice and my yogic and ayurvedic studies. Sound Healing brings together my artistic, wellness and intuitive skills. My recent fellowship with AXIS Dance Co. in 2024 allowed me to research disability artistry with professional dancers of mixed abilities and further understand how to make performance engagements accessible to disabled and non-disabled audiences.
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