Prof. Deidre Cavazzi, MFA, E-RYT-500

Deidre received both a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance and a single-subject English teaching credential (with a supplement in Dance) from the University of California at Irvine, and completed her teacher training in Vinyasa Yoga through the White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, and her Foundations of Yoga Therapy training at Be the Change studio in Irvine. She has supplemental training through Duke University Integrative Medicine (yoga for cancer patients), and with Elisa Browning Miller (Iyengar yoga for scoliosis) and David Kim (Yin Yoga).  She also has a background in several somatic practices (including Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals and Therapeutic Yoga) and an interest in expressive arts therapy.  She is the chair of the Dance Department, and she currently teaches Modern Dance, Choreography, Repertory/Production, Philosophy of Yoga, Teaching of Yoga, Meditation, Mythology of Yoga and Honors Humanities (Renaissance Societies and Post-Modern World) courses at Saddleback College. In addition, she creates choreography for both faculty dance concerts and campus interdisciplinary arts projects.  She is also honored to have choreographed some of Saddleback's theatre productions including Legally Blonde, Dead Man's Cellphone, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Godspell, She Loves Me, Beauty and the Beast and Little Shop of Horrors. Prior to becoming faculty at Saddleback College, she danced and toured with several contemporary dance companies (including Louise Reichlin & Dancers, Yorke Dance Project, Auricle Ensemble, and Regina Klenjowski Dance Company), Princess Cruises, and several national-level multi-media industrial shows.  She taught dance and yoga courses at UC Irvine, Mira Costa College, Santa Ana College, Fullerton College, Orange County High School for the Arts, and Santiago Canyon College, and also taught high school English and Humanities classes in both IUSD and OUSD.  Deidre's academic research interests include therapeutic applications of dance and yoga, media studies of the body and dystopia, dance theatre and community, and technology in the arts.  She has presented papers at national and international conferences for the Society of Dance History Scholars (SDHS), Congress for Research on Dance (CORD), International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR), and the Popular Culture/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA), where she also served as the national co-chair for the Dance & Culture Area for five years.  She has been invited for artist residencies in Svalbard, Iceland and Ireland, and is particularly passionate about science communication through dance theatre and multi-media installations. She loves working with students, both in the classroom and the studio, and is always excited to meet people who share her passions for dance, theatre, art-making, reading and yoga!