My mission and vision:

I am inspired to prove that everyone can dance, everyone deserves joy, and everyone can heal. So I use the power of the performing and healing arts - Dance, Qigong, Bodywork - to support people and strengthen communities worldwide.

Please read my story below.

What I talk about when I talk about my dance journey:

I grew up in Seattle, doing Seattle things - hiking, skiing, cycling, camping, playing baseball, basketball, and doing theater.  I began dancing before I could walk as my mother rocked around the house to Janis Joplin records with me bobbing in her arms. Later, as a little kid my mother enrolled me in creative movement classes where I got to walk like a crab, crawl like a bear, and make scary lion sounds. Next, I took control of my own dance journey and watched MTV with a VHS tape ready to record all the new Michael Jackson choreography.

I then left dance behind for awhile, and returned to it in college, after giving up my dream of playing professional baseball. I had this void in my life of physical movement. I joined the cycling team, but quit after one year because it was physicality without expression. So one day my friend told me, “Hey, come take a dance class with me. You are always dancing at all the parties, and you told me you loved it when you were a kid.” So I consulted with my 5-year old self for some wisdom. He said to take the class, and I never looked back.

I came to a life cross-roads when I graduated college with a degree in Mathematical Economics and a love for dance. I remember the day I got the call from the hiring manager at the Los Angeles consulting firm. He told me, “Congratulations, I would like to offer you a job at our firm.” I felt nothing. Not happiness, not relief, not pride, not success, nothing. After 5 years of studying for a career, this was not the sensation I wanted to have. It was clear. I couldn’t keep lying to myself. Or anyone else. So I called him back and told him, “Thank you. I am grateful for your offer, but I need to humbly decline.” He said, “But nobody says no to this.” I said, “Well I’m not trying to make history, but it would be dishonest to you and to myself to accept this position.” He said, “Okay, but why?” And I replied, “Because I need to dance.” He paused, and said, “Great! This is LA, you can take dance classes on the nights.” And I said, “Thank you for the idea, but I need to pursue dance more as a career.” And he replied once again, “Yeah, but you know that you can also take classes on the weekends!” And I replied one last time, “Thank you, but I feel that dance is my spiritual path, my calling. And I need to answer that call.” He paused and said, “I understand. Good luck.”

This is all to say that I have always been a dancer. Before I could even walk. I am a dancer in the ancient sense of dance as healing, dance as ritual, dance as storytelling, dance as music, and dance as community. My current practice fuses Contemporary Dance, House Dance, Breaking, Qigong, and Somatics.  I have performed, taught, and directed throughout Europe, Central/South America, and the United States since 2008. 

My Description of my best self in 5 words:

• Fun

• Simple

• Free

• Sincere

• Wise

My 5 most influential books:

• “The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin

• “Walkabout” by Bruce Chatwin

• “Letters to a Young Poet” by Maria Rainer Rilke

• “There, There” by Tommy Orange

• “Being Peace” by Thich Naht Hahn

My 5 most influential movies:

• Beasts Of The Southern Wild

• Little Miss Sunshine

• Shawshank Redemption

• Cinema Paradiso

• All Charlie Chaplin Movies

My 5 most influential TV SERIES:

• The Wire

• Treme

• Chernobyl

• Westworld (Season One only)

• Squid Game

My 5 most influential Musical artists:

• Bon Iver

• James Brown

• Radiohead

• Led Zeppelin

• John Coltrane

My education and professional development:

• Certified as a Full Instructor in the Universal Healing Tao program from Mantak Chia.

• Certified in the 3-year Contemplative Action program from Daria Fain, which integrates Qigong and Dance Improvisation.

• Certified in the dance techniques of Flying Low and Passing Through (From 2009-2010 I was the assistant to David Zambrano, creator of these two techniques).

• Certified in the Touch Training for Trauma Therapist course taught by Kathy Kain.

• On track to be certified from the School of Body-Mind Centering as a Somatic Movement Educator in 2024. (I have also studied Body-Mind Movement and Body-Mind Centering with Mark Taylor and Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen.

• In 2007 I was awarded the Watson Fellowship, given to 50 graduating senior every year in the USA.

• In 2006 I graduated from Pomona College with a degree in Mathematical Economics and a Minor in Dance.  

• I have been lucky to learn from some legendary mentors, including by not limited to: David Zambrano (Contemporary Dance/BELGIUM), Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen (Body-Mind Centering/USA), Peter Shmock (Fitness/USA), Members of the Massive Monkees and Circle of Fire (House Dance/Breaking/USA), Kathy Kain (Touch Therapy/Trauma), Daria Fain (Qigong/FRANCE), and Irene Lyon (Feldenkrais and Somatic Experiencing/CANADA).

My work in the healing arts:

• From 2013-Present, I have collaborated with Irene Lyon in Vancouver, Canada to lead intensive movement retreats that blend Feldenkrais, dance, Somatic Experiencing, and playful movement in a safe and supportive environment. We have offered our unique workshop “Up & Down" internationally - in Canada, USA, the UK and Sweden.

• In 2016 & 2019, I was invited to the National Association of Professional Chaplains to give a workshop on embodiment practices to help chaplains with patients and hospital workers.

• From 2010-2014 and 2016-17, I led workshops for movement professionals and non-professionals at Club ZUM in Seattle, a boutique movement gym.  I was a personal trainer, a professional development director (teaching trainers), workshop leader, manager, and directed projects combining community with fun and movement to make dance and fitness accessible to all. 

My work in the performing arts:

• From 2012 -2022 I have created the 5 evening-length pieces, and toured them through the USA, Mexico, South America, and Europe.

• From 2016 - 2020 I co-created the event called Performance and a Party, and toured this evening-length improvised show and after-party in Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

• From 2022-23 I have been a choreographer and teacher at the Gibney Professional Program in New York.

• In 2018 & 2019 I choreographed and taught at the Hubbard Street Professional Program under the direction of Alexander Wells.

• In 2016 & 2017 I was selected as an Emerging Choreographer and Teacher for the Springboard Danse Montreal, an international platform hosting leaders in contemporary dance under the artistic direction of Alexandra Wells.

My work in community-building:

• In 2012, 2016, and 2017 I designed and implemented the first community-building health/wellness/art program of its kind, called The 40/40™.  This 40-day movement program helped people with lifestyle changes through movement classes, dance, and social bonding.  The 40/40 was offered at Meadowbrook Community Housing in San Diego in 2016, and at a community of elderly and differently abled residents in Atlantic City in 2017.

My organizational leadership:

• I am the founder of my own artistic company dedicated to the performing and healing arts - Elia Mrak LLC.

• In 2020, I founded amoventmovement®, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing movement-based healthcare programs to communities worldwide.