Laura Armenta

Laura Armenta is a Mexican-born choreographer, performing artist, speaker and educator, as well as holistic practitioner and artistic entrepreneur.

In just over 20 years, she has created a body of work, collaborations and advocacy, that has contributed significantly to the Performing and Holistic Arts in West Michigan. Her reputation has been built on the success of bringing diversity of movement disciplines, diversity in culture, and a consistent vision of making Performing and Holistic Arts highly accessible to everyone in the community.

She’s an instinctive and natural educator with over 30 years of professional experience. Having been faculty (locally) at institutions like GVSU, Grand Rapids Ballet, Civic Theater, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Holland Arts Council . She has also been invited as guest faculty at Calvin University, Hope College and GRCC.

Ms. Armenta has experience with corporate organizations like Amway – where she was a dance, yoga and  fitness instructor for over a decade. She continues to work with staff at Steelcase, various Law Firms and DDS offices as a mobility coach.

Her professional experience allows her to combine dance styles and techniques, with various holistic disciplines, whether on stage, in the studio, or in the classroom. It has also driven her growth and expertise as an ethnochoreologist.

Being the owner and artistic director of Armentality Movement Arts Center since 1998, Laura Armenta has created a vast amount of recreational to professional dance programs, as well as yoga and holistic arts seminars accessible to everyone. She also welcomes to Armentality emerging movement professionals and creatives in need of space to create, teach and rehearse.

Since 2004, her outreach programs, keynote presentations and artistic collaborations bring the experience and awareness of somatic movement, yoga and dance labs to school districts and non-profits. She has collaborated with organizations like Artist Creating Together, YWCA West Central Michigan, Juvenile Detention Center-Grand Rapids, City of Kentwood, Association for the Blind and Visually Impair, Children’s Advocacy Center of Kent County, C3 West Michigan, Spectrum Health Hospice , Gilda’s Club and many others.

As an expert on movement, both individual and artistic, she explores her skills and passions through her many endeavors: as a contemporary dancer she was a member of Ballet Teatro del Espacio under the direction of French choreographer Michel Descombey. Later on, she officially became a professional choreographer and director in 1992, when she founded Ad Libitum Dance Company back in CDMX with dancer friend Jesus Laredo.

During her time living and training in NYC, Washington DC and Detroit area, Ms. Armenta kept the company name until 2005, when she changed the company name to At-Neemrah Dancers – adding world dance elements to her contemporary themes.

And, while getting ready to celebrate 30 years of artistic career, Laura was ready for another transformation, moving her studio to a new home, and changing her dance company name to Laura Armenta Dance Company.

Ms. Armenta holds a degree in fine arts and humanities with specialty in contemporary dance and choreography from INBA-Mexico City (national institute of fine arts). Plus, she has trained with master teachers like Miguel Anorve, Daniel Nagrin, Nancy Stark Smith, Jeremy David Nelson, Steven Iannacone, Milton Myers to mention some.

Laura has been a devoted yogini since 1991 and certified teacher since 1997, with education from the White Lotus Foundation/ Ganga White, and has learnt from teachers Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Sri Dharma Mittra, Rod Stryker, David Life, Ravi Singh, Tracey Rich, Shiva Rea, Jimmy Barkan, Rodney Yee, (even Birkaram Choudhury).

Always a student, Laura added to her education Ayurvedic studies and Thai Yoga, and since 2002, she has been a Yoga-Thai Therapy practitioner and Ayurvedic wellness consultant.

Ms. Armenta has vast training in various styles of Middle Eastern Dance, Indian Bharatanatyam, West African, as well as Afro- Caribbean Dances, and contemporary social dances from South America.

In a few words, Laura Armenta is a visionary, multi-skilled dancer, choreographer, healthy living enthusiast, and experienced master teacher.