Hello,

My name is Gabrielle Rivero, I am the Lead Founder and current Chief Movement Officer (CMO) of Express & Release Therapeutic Dance.

I began my dance career in 2005 learning lyrical and hip-hop dance in religious spaces. After performing and training in Florida, I began my own non-profit organization, Heartbeat of the Arts, teaching the arts to at-risk youth while simultaneously receiving my Bachelor’s in Recreation and Event Management, and a double minor in dance and non-profit leadership. During my time leading Heartbeat of The Arts, I saw how the children used dance to find healing, safety, and refuge from their constantly changing world.

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After serving as the Founder and President of this organization, I moved out to Los Angeles to train in my craft as a dancer and to research societal perceptions of the body and of movement. In LA, I trained with Athletic Garage Dance Center in the styles of ballet, salsa, hip-hop, and contemporary dance while also pursuing a Master’s degree in Theology focusing on the Euro-American rejection of movement and the body, to better understand how we can embrace and embody movement within our American culture.

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My hope was to one day create spaces in the community, where dance was normalized in being used for stress relief and coping with life’s daily transitions. Where we use movement to cultivate healthier societies that foster relationships with the self and the community. I want the people of my community to freely express themselves and not be afraid to feel overwhelming emotions. 

As founder of the Lenae Release Method, a technique to guide participants through releasing emotions stored in the body to help reduce stress and anxieties and improve their well-being, my hope is to help kids and adults find hope, healing, and restoration in their bodies through movement.