I love teaching ballet - especially the incredibly diverse group of people I teach.  You’ll find all levels and all kinds in my class - each and every dancer a unique expression of a common passion.  That combined passion generates a contagious energy that seems to propel one through class, warming the heart as much as the muscles. 

Dance has been the enduring passion of my life - and I’ve been blessed with an immense variety of colorful influences throughout my career.  I try to bring the tastes and textures of those various influences into class - to share with others some of the many delights I’ve enjoyed. 

I tend to focus more on movement and musicality than on technical discussion - as I believe you learn more from doing than from talking.  And while technique is imperative for mastery, one doesn’t need a perfect body or perfect technique to experience the joy of dance - and to express that joy in a beautiful and meaningful way.  We strive for technique - but only for its liberating capacity - and in the meantime, WE DANCE.

I consider myself a novice at Yoga, and I teach only to share what I’ve learned - which could be compared to a grain of sand in the mighty Sahara.  But that tiny grain has so enhanced my life that I feel obliged to pass on what has been shared with me.

As with ballet, I bring to my yoga class a variety of influences - both physical and spiritual.  Physically, emphasis is placed on proper alignment - to prevent injury, to develop strength and flexibility, and to deepen one’s experience of the practice.  Spiritually, emphasis is placed on the Unity of Life, the Immediacy of God and the practical application of spiritual principles in daily life - since a spiritual path is only as valuable as the mundane path upon which it is put to good use.  The dancer in me adores the fluidity of “vinyasa” practice - combining the flow of breath with the flow of movement to experience the euphoria of meditation in motion. 

Reid Olson, a native of St. Anthony Idaho, began his ballet training in Los Angeles with Mahri Coshever, Stanley Holden, Margaret Hills and Irina Kosmovska.  He continued his training at the School of American Ballet in New York under a full Ford Foundation scholarship.

As a principal dancer with the original Los Angeles Ballet (1974-1985), he performed an extensive repertoire of lead roles - not only in classics such as Nutcracker and Coppelia, but also in a vast number of George Balanchine masterpieces - including The Four Temperaments, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Rubies and Tarantella.  Artistic Director John Clifford created many original roles for him, as did numerous guest choreographers.  Reid also performed as a soloist with the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle - and with Ballet Chicago.  He danced as a guest artist with regional companies throughout the US and Europe.

Reid can be seen on the DVD “Pas de Deux” dancing Balanchine’s “Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux” with Patricia McBride of the New York City Ballet.  He has also danced in several film and television productions.

Reid also coaches and choreographs, and has assisted in the staging of ballets for companies around the world - including the Rome Opera Ballet and Ballet del Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.  Matthew Bourne, artistic director of “Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake” (et al) regularly invites Reid to teach company class for his dancers whenever they are performing here in Los Angeles.

Currently Reid teaches advanced professional ballet classes at the Dance Arts Academy in Los Angeles.  He lives with his partner Randy and their four dogs.

My career in yoga is much shorter than in ballet - as I discovered yoga only a few years ago.  But when it found me, it grabbed me with a vengeance - bringing my love for God and my love for physical activity into happy matrimony.  I had already entered into that marriage through dance - but yoga added new and delicious layers to the relationship - giving me much to savor and explore.

The more I learned, the more I loved it - and in an effort to sate my voracious appetite, I took the 200-hour Teacher’s Training program at City Yoga in West Hollywood - under the excellent guidance of Anthony Benenati and Noah Maze.  I entered the training with my own self-interest in mind - assuming that if some was good, more must be better.  But after gleaning so much of value, it seemed selfish to harbor what I’d learned - and I felt compelled to share my gains with others.  I’ve been teaching for a few years now - enjoying it immensely - and every class makes me glad of my decision to pass it on.