As part of the “Bridging Creativity & Care” Series, this webinar highlights the powerful role of dance and movement in supporting health and well-being across clinical and community settings. Through presentations and experiential activities, we’ll explore shared values, key distinctions, and opportunities for collaboration across sectors. Whether you're a dancer, healthcare provider, educator, or simply curious about dance’s role in health, this session will offer valuable perspectives on how dance and movement supports mental, emotional, and social well-being at all levels of care.

Speakers

Born and raised in San Francisco, Vicki Alvarez began dancing at a young age, training in multiple styles and performing on platforms like America’s Got Talent and So You Think You Can Dance. She holds a BA in Psychology with a minor in Dance from Cal State Northridge and an MS in Dance/Movement Therapy from Pratt Institute. As a board-certified dance/movement therapist, Vicki has worked with diverse populations—from children to seniors with dementia. She is the co-creator and program director of Let’s Dance It Out, a therapeutic dance/movement program for teens and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Guided by the belief that the body is the unconscious mind, she uses movement as a powerful tool for deepening connection, empowering individuals, and promoting healing throughout communities. 

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Ricka Glucksman Kelsch is the Founder and Executive Director of Dance and Dialogue. She started her dance, choreography and teaching career while still in college at UCLA. Additionally, she studied with Jaime Rogers, Joe Tremain, Claud Thompson, Joe Bennett, Jackie Sleight, and Billy Goodson, to name a few. She spent most of her time studying at the Roland Dupree Dance studio assisting Hama, and studying with Roland Dupree, and other amazing teachers on staff. She was one of the handful of dancers sent out from the studio for auditions and work.

Ricka’s choreography career started when Roland gathered all of the top choreographers in Los Angeles together to create one great performance. Ricka was a student with a dream and a little bit of chutzpah. She auditioned for Roland and her piece, “Hot Voodoo,” made its debut in the show. Following that was the birth of student choreography showcases in Los Angeles. Ricka has choreographed over 40 musical productions many of which were equity Productions. She had the honor of working with the L.A. free public theater. She has choreographed and danced in many commercials for television and film in the United States, France, and Japan, where she worked for Sun Tori. Her choreography was featured in a production of Return To the Forbidden Planet at the prestigious Fringe festival in Scotland, and her choreography was featured in a film made for Showtime called “Shakespeare High.” She choreographed a televised New Year’s Eve Gala at the Shrine auditorium in Los Angeles. Ricka has worked with many great performers, directors, and choreographers including Louis DaPron, Jerry Blatt, Carl Anderson, and music greats David Pomerantz, Peter Schless, Sam Harris, and more. Ricka also choreographed an independent film called “Requiem,” and the music videos “Broken Wings,” and ” I talk to God” for Japan. She also choreographed for the stand up comic Etta May.

Ricka has taught in studios and dance and theater programs all over Los Angeles over the last 30 years. She co-taught the musical theater workshop at UCLA and choreographed their musicals during that time. She started a dance program at Notre Dame Academy High School in L.A. She was also the Middle School Dance Company director and teacher for 22 years at Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica where she was awarded the prestigious Bravo Award for Excellence in Teaching the Arts. Ricka is a certified council facilitator, PEERS provider, (a social skills program offered through UCLA Semel Institute), a Social Emotional Arts Facilitator through Arts & Healing Initiative, and an Autism Movement Therapist. Those studies have helped her to be a better teacher to all students, even those considered to be neurotypical. While she is proud of her career experiences, Ricka is most humbled and excited by the daily accomplishments of those students who discover for the first time that their bodies can move, which she considers to be the most rewarding work she has done.   

Ricka's work has garnered recognition from previous Los Angeles Mayor, Eric Garcetti, current Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass, and the Violence Prevention Coalition of Los Angeles. She has also been the recipient of the Lester Horton Award for Community Leadership from the Dance Resource Center of Los Angeles. In 2022, she was named to the Advisory Board of the Tarjan Center at UCLA.

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