The Team

Who We Are

Changa

Owner / Breaking Instructor / Poet

Changa is a performance artist, community organizer and friend in the Boulder and Denver area. Changa started as a b-boy at the age of 12 and now he’s an administrator and owner at a dance studio called Mi Chantli. Mi Chantli is a community space located in Boulder and Changa was one of the many that built the space and has been helping out for 8 years now.

Changa is now mainly a poet that always brings humor, rhymes and all kinds of stories to the mic. You can also find him hosting the weekly poetry slam at The Mercury Cafe and Changa is also one of the organizers for a weekly poetry workshop called Writer’s Block. Lastly, Changa is always doing his best.

Bobby Chan

Breaking and House Instructor

With over 20 years of experience in breaking, Bobby loves keeping it funky fresh on the floor using creative movements to any beat. He started dancing with the CU Boulder Breakin’ Club in 2005.

Representing Worm Tank Crew and Blowup Kingz, he strives to become a better dancer through consistent training and keeping an open mind. He loves flowing in the cyphers and getting down in battles. He shares his passion and experience with others as a mentor, instructor, director, performer, and competitor.

Cara Leone

Strength and Mobility Instructor

Cara is a mover, mom, physical therapist and so much more with enthusiasm and love for all things movement, nerding out about the human body and having fun! Originally from the Boston, MA area, Cara has lived in Boulder since 2016, with her husband and 2 children.

Cara is also an ambassador for Physiology First University, bringing body based education to kids through playful movement to support youth mental health and help them develop skills for resiliency.

She was a competitive gymnast in her earlier years and now dabbles in many different types of movement (mountain biking, climbing, dance, running, strength training, capoeira, etc). She worked in a rehabilitation setting for ~10 years with people with spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, stroke and many other neurological and orthopedic injuries.

Since moving to CO she has taken a deep dive into respiratory (breathing) & gait (walking) mechanics and the autonomic nervous system and their role in complex movement and resilience. She is also certified as a postpartum corrective exercise specialist and loves working with all bodies on optimizing how they move and feel in their bodies.

She is passionate about people and helping facilitate safety and joy within our own bodies through body awareness, breath, intentional movement and play.

Cara welcomes any and all people to her classes, and truly believes there is no being “good” or “bad” at something, but rather being where you are in YOUR process. Her hope is that people will feel welcome and have fun, while learning about themselves and growing as individuals and a community.

Carolina Brizuela

Modern Contemporary Instructor

Carolina is a modern-contemporary choreographer and assistant director. She has worked with Rites of Passage processes in her community.

Carolina works toward empowering those who have felt out of place or have experienced trauma in the realm of creative expression. She offers a gentle push for those to take up space and explore their individualism while being a space holder using story-line focused movement to challenge our inner selves and have a sense of connectedness and liberation.

Elise Silva

Waacking Instructor

Elise Silva started her dance career as a teenager, practicing salsa and other Latin dances socially and competitively. Along the way, she fell into breaking and has been bgirling since 2007.

That same year, she moved to New York City and was introduced to a range of funk and club styles, including waacking and house. She continues to study, train, and teach each of these styles today, and for her, they inform one another.

Iya Okii

K-Pop Instructor

Iya trained in ballet for over 12 years, as well as other dance styles including contemporary, jazz, modern, and tap. She started learning k-pop in 2022 and has been teaching k-pop since 2023. This k-pop class is open for everyone to have fun and find community.

Juliet Seskind

Ayre Dance Instructor

Juliet Seskind launched Ayre in 2012, and has been teaching dance movement classes for over twenty years. Juliet has a formal background in dance, having been a member of the Boulder ballet community for many years. Her original choreography draws from world, hip hop, disco, jazz, ballet, contemporary and martial arts.

Kylie

Burlesque Instructor

As an adult Kylie immersed herself in the club industry and hte local Burlesque scene. She grew up competing for over a decade in companies across Southern California and Northern Arizona. This allowed her to train in an array of styles that she still uses to this day. She has performed venues such as Summit Music Hall, Temple, Denver, and Clayton Members Hotel. Kylie is now in community with and has worked alongside many queer sex workers across Denver. Those experiences inform the structure and focus of her class.

Lauren Beale

Flux Contemporary Instructor

Lauren Beale is a performing artist, choreographer, improviser, contemplative teacher and yoga instructor. She holds an MFA in Dance from The University of Colorado Boulder with an emphasis in collaborative, interdisciplinary performance. Lauren has performed nationally and internationally with Colorado based companies Michelle Ellsworth Performance, Gesel Mason Performance Projects, Helander Dance Theater, 3rd Law Dance/Theatre, David Capps/Dances, Interweave Dance Theater, Kim Olson/Sweet Edge, New York City companies Curt Haworth and Dancers, Ellis Wood Dance and Peter Sciscioli, and Seattle based Wade Madsen. Lauren has co-created and collaborated on interdisciplinary performances with Brooke McNamara, Ondine Geary, Kate Speer, Mark McCoin, Jessica Hendricks, and Amanda Leise. Her creative work has been presented in Colorado, New York City, Costa Rica, Mexico and Hungary. She has been on faculty at the Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop, the University of Colorado-Boulder and facilitates dance and movement classes nationally and internationally. Lauren co-founded Eunice Embodiment, with Brooke McNamara, an umbrella organization engaging performance, movement education, and mentorship to unlock creative capacity and source our fundamental human aliveness. Their CULTIVATE~ Creative Practice series are regularly offered to a growing community of badass artists and creative thinkers.

Lexi Nutkiewicz

House Instructor

I’m Lexi (she/her) and I teach Open-Levels House on Monday nights. I’ve been training in House since 2018 and have competed in battles around California, Colorado, and even Amsterdam! My mission as an instructor is to help people find confidence and joy through dance. If you want to connect, send me a DM on Instagram.

Sara Swain

Hip Hop Instructor

Sara Swain is a dancer, zinester, and activist born and raised in Colorado. Sara is passionate about hip hop, house, and hip hop storytelling. Sara provides accessible hip hop history materials in her classes to emphasize the impact and artistry of women in hip hop. Sara has had the honor to learn from many mentors including Rennie Harris, Larry Southall, Vivian Kim, Danyel Moulton, and Jillian Amadi Roberts. Mi Chantli feels like her home and she is honored to have the opportunity to teach and train at this art sanctuary.

Nathan Bala

Breaking Instructor

Nathan Bala grew up in Colorado. Started dancing when he was 19. Received a BA in Dance at the University of Colorado Boulder. Fell in love with Breaking when he first came to Mi Chantli. Nathan loves the community at Mi Chantli, and you’ll find him there at all the events.

Taino Postigo-Hassin

Breaking Instructor

Taino is a bboy from Colorado. Competes competitively across the nation. And wants to teach your kiddos how to become beasts!

Zhuldyz Tokbulatova

Hip Hop Instructor

Zhuldyz is a freestyle dancer, that was born in Kazakhstan and lived in Russia. She offers new concepts for exploring dancing as well as fundamentals from Hip-Hop and other street styles. She’s passionate about creating safe and fun space for everyone to express themselves and feel good about their dance journey.