About Us
Our Instructors
Sabrina Gibson
Sabrina is the owner and director of South End Studio. She has been practicing yoga for years and brings her love of alignment and flowing sequences to each yoga class. She is currently studying with Kathy McNames to receive a 200 hour yoga certification. In the summer of 2008, she recieved a Level I certification from Shakta Kaur Khalsa at Kripalu to teach Yoga to children. And in June of 2010, she completed her Nia White Belt and is certified to teach Nia. Her dance training includes Ballet, Modern and African. Sabrina created South End Studio because she wanted to provide a beautiful, welcoming space for everyone to experience the joy of movement. With her precious free time, she enjoys all Vermont and Burlington has to offer with her husband, Hans and their 2 children; Avena and Ryder.
Bennicent Agbodzie
Bennicent Agbodzie grew up in the Volta region of Ghana where he discovered his love of the rhythms and dance of Africa. There he became a leader of a dance and drum troupe that toured and performed throughout the Volta region. Since moving to the United States in 2006, he has taught and performed in a variety of settings, first at the University of New Mexico, then moving to the Boston area and now in Vermont. He brings a vast and diverse knowledge of songs and drumming to his classes from Mali, Guinea, Senegal and Ghana.
Nina Beck
Nina Beck, of Wingtao Mobility Arts, is a 2nd degree blackbelt, whose background includes martial arts and yoga training/teaching for the past 26 years, as well as working as a physical therapist since 1978. She is also a 1st degree blackbelt in Aikido. Her personal motto for her own practice and in teaching is “Inspire intellectual and emotional development through physical education”.
Brenda BlackBrenda Black has a long history of appreciating bodies in motion. She danced as a child both formally and through every opportunity of creative play. She has taken that love of how bodies move into her practice as a licensed physical therapist for 23 years. Brenda first ‘discovered’ Nia nearly a decade ago and was immediately drawn to the pleasure of moving her body joyfully, both in structured and spontaneous ways. She has taught Nia for 6 years and is currently a certified Nia Brown Belt instructor. She encourages individuals to connect to awareness, both in the dance of Nia and as they dance through life. She is convinced that Nia’s integrated and fluid movements have unique healing qualities not only for the physical body, but for the mind, spirit and emotional body as well. Brenda is excited to have recently moved back to the Northeast after nearly a decade in San Antonio, Texas, where she taught many Nia classes at the Synergy Studio. You can often find her with her family enjoying Vermont’s bounties: skiing, mountain biking, hiking, berry picking, and other outdoor adventures.
Rebecca BoedgesDance has always been a part of Rebecca Boedges’ life and she appreciates the healing that movement brings to mind, body, and spirit. She believes that through embodiment, learning to live fully in our own skin, we access our potential for maximum wellness. Flexibility in movement can translate to flexibility in mind and spirit. Ten years ago, Rebecca walked into a Nia class for the first time, immediately hooked, she began practicing regularly. In Nia, she found a home in her body, a joy for the class which kept her coming back again and again. After seven years of being a Nia student, Rebecca took the plunge and attended a week long intensive training to become a certified White Belt Nia instructor. Rebecca has been teaching for over two years in the Burlington area and continues to expand her class offerings. She is a certified personal trainer. She also holds an M.S. in mental health counseling, and maintains a private practice in South Burlington. During her free time she enjoys dancing, hiking, skiing, biking, and spending time with her husband, a local artist.
Elizabeth Brody
Elizabeth Brody received her B.F.A. in ballet and technical theater from the University of Utah and has choreographed and performed works throughout her career. She has taught ballet in the Burlington area for several years and especially enjoys training young dancers. She also teaches locally for Flynn Arts. When she’s not teaching, she works as an architectural designer and parent.
Joseph Fiacco“It seems most often that life’s main questions are who am I and what am I doing here? I wanted to share with you what I have learned so far. I am spirit temporarily disguised as human, here to remember and share who I am, to love, and learn as much as possible. Yoga reminds me who I truly am, allowing life to have clarity and grace. Yoga is in everything; it is in food, relationships, prayer, and even in the worst day of the week. I am a native New Yorker, having moved to Burlington in 1997, in order to attend UVM and have lived here ever since. I received a Bachelors of Science in Civil & Environmental Engineering and a minor in French. I left the desk behind for carpentry in my later twenties, reconnecting mind and body after lots of sitting and thinking (I used to play all sorts of team sports in high school). In the fall of 2009, I decided to further my mind and body integration by becoming a full time yoga instructor, receiving a 200-hour Kripalu teaching certification. Other related movement healing arts training include 10 years (1st degree black belt instructor) of Moo Gong Do martial arts; a traditional Korean self-defense based martial art. I took yoga for the first time in 2000 while spending a semester abroad in southern France. I had no idea then, but have since begun to understand yoga’s pertinence in my life throughout my twenties as I trained more consistently with my teacher and good friend Emily Garrett.”
Ashley Horton
Ashley began her Astanga practice in 2002 with Kathy McNames and Scott York of Yoga Vermont and has just recently completed two 200 Hour certifications to teach yoga. Over the last 8 years she has come to deeply appreciate the connection and relationship she has created with her body through a strong, honest, comfortable and happy yoga practice. Her teaching style stresses the importance of compassion and gentleness to ones own body and mind, as well as emphasizes the benefits of building energy and heat in the body through an active practice and consistent breath work. In the future, Ashley desires to work with special needs children and adults through the adaptive yoga realm, as well as work with women in pre-natal and post-natal classes.
James GuertinJames Guertin has been practicing yoga since 1999, and has been teaching since 2003. He owned his own yoga studio in Arizona, and from there lived in a spiritual community (ashram) in California for two years prior to moving back to Vermont a year ago January. At the community he practiced Karma yoga (selfless service), taught weekly classes and was an instructor for their yoga teacher training program. He had the privilege of learning the teachings of a guru by the name of Sri Baba Hari Dass, who in the 1960s was integral in bringing Hatha yoga to the West. James is a certified Hatha yoga teacher, and incorporates many different styles and teachings in his classes. Along with teaching yoga at a number of facilities in the area, he is an at home caregiver, Reiki practitioner, student of life, and does one-on-one counseling incorporating spiritual and life guidance, meditation and many other mindfulness practices helping people deal with the challenges of life to live happier, freer and more balanced lives.
Zpora Perry
Zpora Perry was introduced to yoga in college and has been hooked ever since. Yoga has accompanied her in many forms through college, work, treatment for cancer, graduate school, and beyond. She was fortunate enough to spend 4 decadent weeks at Kripalu for her 200-hour yoga teacher training and has loved teaching yoga for the last 3 years. In her own practice, she enjoys slow sun salutations to wake up in the morning and supine stretching to wind down in the evening. Maintaining a focus on the breath and making yoga a moving meditation is important to her, and she has also been known to turn up Pat Benatar and other 80’s ballads for a vigorous flow to let off steam.
Katie B. BohlinKatie B. Bohlin is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with a focus on Vinyasa Flow. What began as a physical compliment to a daily running routine has evolved into so much more. Yoga grounds me and wakes me up to the experience of life. I have been blessed to practice with and learn from some incredible teachers. I completed a 200-hour Vinyasa teacher training with Rolf Gates in 2009 and more recently had the opportunity to train with two Master Baptiste teachers (Claire Este-Mcdonald and Gregor Singleton) at Kripalu. My Vinyasa classes offer a challenging flow of postures that unfold through the rhythm of the breath and promote a peaceful state of mind. I look forward to practicing with you soon.
Linda OatsLinda Oats was introduced to Nia in the late 90s at Nia Space in Austin, Texas. Having been an aerobics instructor in the mid-80s, she was immediately intrigued by and drawn to the music, the movement, the creativity, the play, the bare feet, the toe rings, the JOY of Nia! She feels Nia keeps her connected to her playful inner dancer. Linda is also a certified White Belt instructor.
Jen Reed
Jen leads a powerful vinyasa flow with plenty of room for making the practice your own. She looks to incorporate alignment with heat and energy in her challenging vinyasa practice. Her class focuses on allowing the breath to lead students through a rigorous but balanced and thoughtful asana practice. She believes there is not one right way to practice yoga, but honors each student’s own individual way as the “right” way. She stresses the importance of making each posture your own-remembering that yoga is noncompetitive – and always going at your own pace. It’s Yoga’s dance between mind, body and breath that truly inspires Jen in her teaching and in her practice.
Jen brings power and enthusiasm into all of all her yoga classes. She came to yoga after years of running and cycling and found that yoga brought her body and mind to a place of balance. Jen studied under Kathy McNames of Yoga Vermont. She enjoys the creativity inherent in teaching and likes helping people conquer their fears and push through their boundaries. Jen formerly worked in education doing fundraising and events. She enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters.
Annette UrbschatAnnette Urbschat has been teaching ballet and creative dance to people of all ages for the last 26 years, 20 of them right here in Vermont. She combines her strong background in dance technique with a love of improvisation and free expression through movement to bring you her fun and inspiring classes. Annette is also a dancer and choreographer as well as a member of ‘Women on the Move’, a local improvisational dance theater collective.
Danielle Vardakas-DuckoDanielle Vardakas began dancing at age 3. She continued to study dance at the Creative & Performing Arts High School in Philadelphia. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Temple University and the Tyler School of Art in 2001. Danielle was an intern with Rennie Harris Puremovement and she is a certified Hip Hop instructor through Dance Educators of America in Funk & Hip Hop and the University of the Arts. She has trained in Philadelphia, NYC and LA with Mop Top Productions, Don Campbell and the Original Lockers, the Electric Boogaloos, RSC, Olive and Full Circle Souljahs. Danielle performed at The Glass Fashion Show in New Orleans, The Vans Warped Tour 2004, and The Philadelphia Fringe Festival. She has performed and taught hip hop on both coasts and on two tours in Australia. Danielle has judged dance battles and competitions throughout the USA and she directed and choreographed for the all female hip hop company B-Tru. She has also trained and performed Graham, Horton, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Belly Dance & Group Motion style improv. When she was 15 she fell in love with Yoga. Danielle now has certifications in Yoga 1 & 2 and Pilates 1 & 2 from AAAI and ISMA and she is a registered experienced yoga teacher with her 200 hour certification from Yoga Alliance. Danielle is a Vinyasa style teacher that incorporates principles of alignment with power flows and bliss energy. She taught yoga for Oprah Winfrey’s Minority Women’s Conference in Arizona and for the cast of “The Lovely Bones” (in theatres 2009). Last summer her teen yoga class won “best of the mainline” in Wayne, PA.
Anne Marie Wells
Anne Marie is a teacher and performer of the Middle Eastern art of Belly dance. Her journey began with a belly dance class at her local art center where she completely fell in love with the dance. “The movements came so naturally and it felt as if I found something that had been lost. I was so rejuvenated and excited by the whole experience I had to learn more.” Along with teaching Belly dance as an art form she has taken the dance and combined it with her extensive fitness instruction knowledge to create an all over body workout with a focus on core strength and flexibility. “This class is about having fun, getting a great workout, and we will use props such as veils and canes!” Anne Marie performs as a soloist for events and private parties throughout the north east area specializing in a fusion that combines various styles of Oriental dance including Egyptian, tribal, and Indian styles.
