Our community // teachers
Tobias Link
Tobi is an artist, musician, sound explorer, educator, dreamer of worlds, & explorer of new narratives for how we live together.
Trained as a trombone player & improvising artist, he developed an interest in how we come together as human beings; how we communicate with each other; how we learn & evolve to be who we are; & the possibilities of exploring territories beyond what we've been socialized to think is possible or the norm. His research in human behavior & learning led him to explore somatic bodywork & he trained in the Feldenkrais Method & the Ilan Lev Method, both of which he practices & teaches regularly.
What fascinates & drives him in everything he does is human connection, collaboration & love - creating new ways of relating to oneself, to others & to the world around us; & creating opportunities & spaces that deconstruct reality as we know it & provoke new ways of experiencing the world.
To find out more about Tobi’s practice visit his website.
Hugh Stanier
Hugh is a highly-experienced movement facilitator, educator, & bodyworker, dedicated to creating spaces where individuals can explore movement with a sense of safety, curiosity, & connection. Starting his dance journey in breakdancing, Hugh transitioned into contemporary dance, studying at Northern School of Contemporary Dance. He has since performed with acclaimed companies such as Wim Vandekeybus/Ultima Vez & 2Faced Dance. Hugh is passionate about helping others explore the transformative power of movement. He specializes in body-mind connection, offering personalized bodywork sessions, weekly classes, & intensive trainings for both individuals & groups. He is an expert in Contact Improvisation (CI), & teaches at festivals, events, & workshops across the world. As a trained teacher of Tai Chi Movements for Wellbeing (TMW), Hugh integrates the grounding principles of Tai Chi & Qi Gong into all his work, inviting participants to discover their bodies through mindful exploration. His approach centers on fostering environments that feel secure & nourishing, allowing each person to connect deeply with themselves. Guided by an ethos of presence & play, all Hugh’s work emphasizes listening to the body’s innate wisdom & exploring movement that feels organic & authentic. His classes & trainings offer a gentle yet powerful space to reconnect with breath, awareness, & the freedom of self-expression.
To find out more about Hugh’s practice visit his website.
Akeim Toussaint Buck
Akeim is an interdisciplinary performer & maker, born in Jamaica & raised in England. Graduating from The Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 2014, Akeim began creating his own work in 2016 with the intention to create moving, thought-provoking, accessible, & free-spirited projects. His work explores a variety of themes that challenge, enlighten & entertain audiences in a visceral way by calling on multiple art forms to weave a spectacle. Audiences are invited to not just observe, but to feel the experience. The work aims to reflect on the past, present, & hopeful future of our reality, looking at ongoing socio-political issues, with a humanitarian intention. Akeim's work has been supported by Yorkshire Dance, Leeds Playhouse, Leeds Inspired, Geraldine Connor Foundation, The Arts Foundation Futures Award, IRIE! Dance Theatre, Spin Arts, RJC, Deda, Fabric, Streatham Space Project, Serendipity, NSCD, Sadlers Wells, & Arts Council England etc. Akeim’s movement practice has a myriad of inspirations that include Capoeira, Martial Arts, Contemporary Dance, Contact Improvisation, Caribbean Dance, Hip Hop, & Yoga. His performance focus expands from the physical to vocal expression - current explorations of beatboxing & vocal improvisation build on an interest in the voice’s expressive qualities, in the form of the Beatmotion Practice. He is an experienced teacher & facilitator, leading sessions in a wide range of contexts, including morning class at organisations such as The Place & Independent Dance.
To find out more about Akeim’s practice, visit his website
Flora Wellesley Wesley
Flora is a dance artist & Laughter Yoga leader who lives in London. Through her facilitation & teaching practice she helps people discover their capability to self-induce laughter & embodied states of happiness. She is passionate about supporting people into more hopeful, sensuous, wonder-filled, & confident relationships with their bodies & themselves. She facilitates laughter, embodiment, dance, & improvisation workshops across community, corporate, & university/conservatoire settings. Flora studied dance & performance at London Contemporary Dance School. During that time an influential educational exchange to California Institute for the Arts stoked her appetite for interdisciplinary experimentation & collaboration. Over the next decade she went on to complement her vocational dance education with courses in Clown Devising & Clown Studies at London Clown School; Living Anatomy at the Craniosacral Therapy Education Trust; & Laughter Yoga at United Mind. Flora has long staged her own solo & ensemble performances alongside dancing & performing in the work of choreographers, theatre directors, visual artists & filmmakers. Since 2015, she has co-directed Nora with dancers Eleanor Sikorski & Stephanie McMann. As a trio they create, perform & tour new pieces made with invited artists. Supported by Sadler’s Wells, DanceEast, & Arts Council England, they have so far worked with dancemakers Eleanor Bauer, Deborah Hay, Liz Aggiss, Simon Tanguy, Jonathan Burrows & Matteo Fargion.
To find out more about Flora’s practice visit her website.
Kate Sagovsky
Kate is Director & Co-Founder of STUDIO SOMA. She is an international artist specialising in somatics, movement, & live performance. Her work facilitates embodied experiences to help people connect better to themselves, others, & the world. Kate trained in movement & dance at both RCSSD & Laban. Subsequently she completed a four-year professional training programme to become a Qualified Feldenkrais Practitioner, & is a member of the Feldenkrais Guild UK. She also works across theatre, dance, & live art as a director, movement director & choreographer; as well as doing extensive work as a teacher, writer, & workshop facilitator. She has been teaching movement in a range of contexts for well over a decade including as Resident Movement Practitioner at the Royal Shakespeare Company; & at venues such as the National Theatre, The Barbican, & Shakespeare’s Globe. She is Artistic Director of performance company MOVING DUST; & also works with people from a range of backgrounds in both community & corporate settings through The Present Self Method. Her first book Laban’s Efforts in Action was co-written with Vanessa Ewan & published by Bloomsbury in 2019.
To find out more about Kate’s practice visit her website.
Benjamin Black
Ben is Director & Co-Founder of STUDIO SOMA. He is a Qualified Feldenkrais Practitioner & professional musician based in Stockholm & London. He is the current vice chairman of the Swedish Guild of Feldenkrais Practitioners & runs Stockholm Feldenkrais Center where he works with clients from a wide range of backgrounds. Benjamin has over 14 years experience of training in somatic practices, including the Feldenkrais Method, Yoga Asana, meditation, breath-work, & contemporary dance. He first encountered the Feldenkrais method in 2006 while dealing with chronic pain. Years later he went on to complete the four-year professional training programme with Elizabeth Beringer & Scott Clark in London. He completed his yoga teacher training with Noah McKenna in Mysore, India. Previous to that he trained both as a dancer/performer & as a musician at the National Institute of the Arts (el ISA) in Havana, Cuba & in Sweden at Malmö University of Music. He has a special interest in working with people with chronic pain, stress, & disability, as well as athletes & people in the performing arts sector.
To find out more about Ben’s practice visit his website.
Liz Allan
Liz is a yoga instructor & sound bath artist based in the Netherlands. Liz’s classes combine traditional Hatha yoga with modern, post-lineage practices & somatic enquiry. She aims to guide students on an inward journey towards their deeper selves, encouraging feelings of balance, calm, embodiment, & empowering them beyond the yoga mat. Liz began teaching yoga full-time in London (UK) in 2013 & has taught in some of the capital's most respected studios, including The Life Centre & Yoga on the Lane. In 2014, she opened Leyton Yoga, a still-thriving boutique studio for authentic practices in East London. Now based in Rotterdam, Liz is currently a Master Teacher at Yogaground, & a lead asana teacher on the Yoga Vidya Rotterdam Teacher Training program. Liz has completed over 1300 hours of professional training with some of the world’s most respected teachers including Judith Lasater, Ben Wolff, Donna Farhi, Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, Diane Bruni, Anodea Judith, Richard Freeman & Swami Govindananda of the Sivananda Yoga Vidya Peetham in India.
To find out more about Liz’s practice, visit her website.
Nina Wehnert
Nina lives in Berlin, Germany. Her background is Contact Improvisation, Contemporary Dance, & Yoga. Her passion has always been the physical understanding of anatomy through movement & experience which led her to Body-Mind Centering®. She has taught more than 15 years of Yoga & Contact Improvisation before shifting to Body-Mind Centering® only, which she is offering in daily classes, workshops & dance festivals around the world. She is certified as Somatic Movement Educator, Practitioner, & Teacher of Body-Mind Centering® & has assisted Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen several times. She teaches at the European Licensed Certification Training Programs of the School for BMC® & is part of the regular teaching team of moveus, the German Certification Training Program, where she has mainly studied. She is also offering her own Training Programs in Berlin & Bavaria (Germany) & also gives private sessions.
To find out more about Nina’s practice visit her website
Sarah Scharf
Sarah is a teacher, mentor, writer & performer. Her work to empower through yoga & movement more embodied & mindful lives has taken her around the world. Flow & Restore Yoga is Sarah’s signature yoga style, blending the relaxation of Restorative Yoga with slow & alignment-focused Vinyasa Flow. This style is becoming more popular as our world becomes faster & has taken off in busy cities like London where she created it. Attention to detail & safe alignment are key elements of her teaching, as well as adapting poses for various needs & bringing heartfelt philosophy to each session. Now based in Vienna, Sarah continues to teach abroad & locally. Her qualifications include: Forest Yoga, Esalen Yoga, Esalen Massage, Pregnancy Yoga, Relax & Renew™ Advanced Level Trainer, Yoga Alliance CE provider. She holds trainings for Restorative Yoga, Prenatal Yoga & the Art of Voice & performance skills to enhance communication. She enjoys mentoring new teachers & leading international retreats and workshops. Sarah is inspired by Pema Chodron & her main teacher Judith Hanson Lasater, whom she works with as a Senior Assistant. Her new book Holding Space: The Creative Performance & Voice Workbook for Yoga Teachers was published by Singing Dragon Press in 2020.
To find out more about Sarah’s practice visit her website.
Kat Hesse
After a career as a university lecturer & journalist, Kat trained as a Pilates teacher with the Pilates Foundation, & a Yoga teacher with the British Wheel of Yoga (Level 4). After health issues including back & knee pain, cancer, & osteoporosis she felt she had realised that knowing how to relax is just as important as physical fitness. Somatic movement practices helped her connect with her body & mind in a different way, & research into different movement practices became her passion. She discovered a way of moving that helped her to see beyond restrictions & instead focus on movements that felt good & healing. Kat completed a four-year professional training programme to become a qualified Feldenkrais practitioner, & also trained as a somatic movement educator in Body-Mind Centering®. She holds a diploma as an insomnia practitioner, as well as various qualifications in relaxation techniques. Her aim is to pass on a sense of ease & lightness, strength & personal empowerment to her students.
To find out more about Kat’s practice visit her website.