Center For Movement Arts Faculty

Tim Ryan, Director , has taught dance since 1977 in public and private schools in both Portland and Eugene, Oregon. He was a recipient of a Graduate Teaching Fellowship and earned his M.S. and B.S. in Dance pedagogy from the University of Oregon. He completed his post-graduate study, as one of five students accepted from a pool of five thousand applicants, at the Royal Academy of Dance Teachers College in London, UK. Students of Mr. Ryan have gone on to study in the dance departments of the University of Utah, Goucher College, Belhaven College, the University of Oregon, Interlochen Arts Academy, San Francisco School of Ballet, Joffrey II, and the Boston Ballet.

Sherie Blankenship Ryan, Director , Ms. Ryan is a veteran musical theater performer and choreographer whose credits include: Oklahoma, Camelot, The Sound of Music, Annie, The King and I, South Pacific, The Fantastiks, Kiss Me, Kate and Brigadoon. She has also co-written, directed and choreographed a variety of original musical productions for children. Ms. Ryan has performed with the Mary Miller Modern Dance Company and Skandia Leikerring, a Scandinavian folk ensemble. Ms. Ryan is an experienced teacher of ballroom dance, folk dance, tap dance, modern dance, and ballet. She holds a Masters degree in Arts Administration from the University of Oregon and is chief administrator and co-founder of CMA.

Margretta Hansen, Senior Instructor A native Oregonian, Margretta received her primary ballet training with Toni Pimble at the Eugene School of Ballet. She additionally studied under Barbara Remington, Josephy Wyatt, Elena Carter, James Canfield and Melissa St. Clair of the School of Pacific Ballet Theatre, Rick Van Winkle of Willamette Ballet, and Susan Zadoff at the University of Oregon. Margretta has performed in the Portland area with Ballet Oregon, Portland Opera and Pacific Ballet Theater, as well as in Eugene with Dance Theatre of Oregon, Susan Zadoff, and Eugene Ballet Company. She currently performs with Oslund+Co/Dance in Portland. In addition to teaching ballet at CMA, Margretta has taught for American Dance Theatre, Eugene School of Ballet, Oregon City Community Schools, and Conduit Dance, Inc.

Jeri Clark started dancing as a child and has taught yoga, dance fitness and Pilates in numerous health clubs and studios in the greater Portland metropolitan area since 1998. Before moving to the Pacific Northwest, she co-directed a youth ballet company for the Lawrence (Kansas) Arts Center, where she also taught creative movement and ballet classes for both children and adults. Jeri has performed with the Prairie Wind Dancers, the University of Kansas Dance Company and Kaw Valley Dance Theatre.

Taryn Johnson began her dance training at the British Dancing Academy in Renton, WA, where she studied RAD-style (Royal Academy of Ballet) ballet, modern and jazz with Sandy Baca. She continued her studies with Marcia Quigley-Neel, formerly of Ballet West, at the Maple Valley School of Ballet where she also began teaching. Taryn is a former member of the Agniezska Laska Dancers; she has additionally taught ballet at the Multnomah Arts Center and at Bellas Artes in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

CMA Guest Teaching Artists

Amy Bennet Gaehler (modern dance) has been teaching and choreographing in the Portland/Vancouver area since 1978. Her teaching experience includes Reed College, West Linn High School, Dancers Workshop, NW Dance Center and the Vancouver School District. She taught for seven years at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics and for the past nine years has been a creative dance specialist in many Vancouver elementary schools.

Laura Haney (pilates mat) studied dance at noted institutions including Walnut Hill School for the Arts and the Boston Ballet School. She was a member of the prestigious Hubbard Street Dance in Chicago for seven years, performed on the national tour of Fosse for two years, and also danced as a soloist with River North Dance Company. Laura is a certified Pilates instructor who has taught numerous jazz dance workshops and master classes across the country. She currently oversees the dance program at Multnomah Athletic Club and performs in Portland with BodyVox.

Agnieszka Laska (modern dance) has performed nationally and internationally for over 20 years as principle dancer and choreographic assistant in Balet Form Nowoczesnych, one of Poland's premier modern dance companies. She holds an MA in Dance Pedagogy and has received prestigious awards from the Polish Ministry of Culture & Arts and Ministry of Education. Agnieszka has been a guest teacher at various schools and institutions, most recently at the State University in Queretaro, Mexico. She is artistic Director of Agnieszka Laska Dancers.

Eric Zimmer (jazz dance) began his formal studies of jazz, ballet, and modern at the University of Montana, where he completed his Bachelor's Degree in Health and Human Performance. In his ten years as a resident of Portland he has immersed himself in diverse dance experiences including teaching jazz at the Multnomah Athletic Club, instructing and performing Argentine tango, and choreographing annual student showcases at Century High School. Eric has also kept busy performing with the local modern dance company Kinetic Images since 1999. His interests and abilities also extend into musical theater and he recently enjoyed participating in the Broadway Rose Theatre Company's stage adaptation of Chicago. Eric's unique style of jazz instruction reflects his classical and modern training, complemented by his natural gifts of rhythm and funk.