Hey there, I’m Al!

I’m the Co-Creator of Inspired Dance, a choreographer, and a retreat leader who is passionate about helping you feel vibrant and vital in body, mind, and spirit.

Vitality is all about energy and sensing our aliveness.

When we're full of energy, we can create real, long-lasting change. Our body is not separate from our mind – they're part of an interconnected web, and we can use one to help up-level and condition the other. I should know: I've used my movement practice to heal joint injuries, an eating disorder, a bodyboarding accident, and so much more.

My Inspired Dance classes will energize you with deep cardiovascular conditioning using dance and martial arts, and also help relieve stress and improve flexibility through yoga and mindfulness techniques. The best part is, you don’t need a background in any of these forms or amazing coordination to participate.

You’ll sweat. You’ll make sound. You’ll simulate your body with a diversity of movement. You’ll move alongside other incredible, non-judgmental humans…

And rediscover the Joy of Movement.

The whole experience is one beautiful flow, from beginning to end.

Ever felt left behind in dance classes from all the sequencing? Me too.

That's why I give you digestible movement patterns you can sustain, then I build them from simple to complex, giving you infinite options along the way for personalization. You'll dance to inspiring music from around the world – latin, african, funk, middle eastern, pop, bollywood and beyond. It's my personal goal to teach you how to hear music with your WHOLE BODY.

It's also my mission to make sure you leave sweaty and inspired, and fall in love with sensation along the way.

So bring everything you are to class. Bring your excitation. Your exhaustion. Your peace. Your stress. Your desire to transform through movement. 

Showing up is literally 50% of the work – we'll take care of the other 50% together.

See you in class!

"To learn, read. To know, write. To master, teach."

–Hindu proverb

My Training

I’m a Black Belt in the Nia Technique, a former Nia Technique Teacher Trainer, and MELT Method Instructor.

Attending 3 different colleges 4 years gave me a diverse education: I have a BA in Holistic Psychology from Lesley University, studied Behavioral Neuroscience at Northeastern University, and jazz piano and Music Therapy at Berklee College of Music. I like to tell people I got the full Boston college tour ;)

I've been studying and teaching somatic movement, mind-body practices, and mindfulness since I was 17. I fell in love with teaching instantaneously, and this love has inspired me to devote continuous attention to developing my skills.

In 2010 I moved to Portland, Oregon and (unknowingly) met my future partner and Inspired Dance Creator, Vickie Saito. We’ve choreographed multiple routines together, including Touch, Ground, Ecstasy, and Lotus, and began leading teacher trainings and retreats to Mexico, Panama, and the Oregon Coast. Somewhere in that magical mix, we fell in love, and have been co-creating in life ever since.

When I'm not teaching, you'll find me trekking through the Columbia River Gorge with my twin golden retrievers, adventuring to lush tropical places, jamming on my handpan drum, or reading five non-fiction books all at once–with a guarantee that a Brené Brown book is somewhere in there :)