Healthy Dancers' Clinic Consultation

Oriana is a Bay Area native from San Jose, CA. Oriana’s dance background is rooted in cultural styles; it evolved in high school when she began learning jazz, joined the color guard, and started exploring other genres. Now, she primarily engages in contemporary dance. After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology at San Jose State University, she earned her doctoral degree in physical therapy from Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, CA. She has completed an orthopedic residency program and is currently engaged in an orthopedic manual therapy fellowship with Agile Physical Therapy, practicing in Fremont, CA.

Dr. Karah Charette is a physical therapist, Pilates instructor, yoga teacher, and dancer from Buffalo, NY originally. She attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Dance. She received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Columbia University. Karah now owns her own practice called Bodyful Physical Therapy and Wellness in the Bay Area. She is a specialist in pelvic health physical therapy. A dancer for more than 20 years, Karah believes in the power of movement and its connection to expression and the human experience.

After earning a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Kinesiology from Chapman University, Nick moved to the Bay Area and attended the World School of Massage, earning his CMT in 2019. As a dancer, he was attuned to his body during training which allowed him to more easily tap into the sensation and experience of others on the table. He works with a mix of modalities, including Swedish and Deep Tissue massage, as well as therapeutic bodywork that integrates techniques borrowed from structural footwork, craniosacral therapy, vibrational healing massage therapy, and myofascial release with an eye toward postural alignment and kinetic chains.

Before becoming a physical therapist, Dr. Noe performed professionally as a contemporary ballet dancer in NYC and Miami. Her own choreography has been presented at La Mama Theater NYC, SUNY-Purchase Buffalo, and the Colony Theater in Miami. During her time as a dancer, she sustained an injury that would inspire her to pursue a career in physical therapy. After receiving her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Florida International University, she completed 2 years of Residency and Fellowship training in Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy from the Ola Grimsby Institute. Additionally, she completed Didrik Sopler’s nutrition for healing course work as part of her continuing education. Dr. Noe utilizes skills developed during her years of training and practice to enhance traditional physical therapy approaches, expanding the limits of holistic care. She is excited about treating patients who struggle with injuries, helping them to get back to doing what they love to do.

Dr. Leddy completed his Bachelors in Physical Therapy in the Netherlands in 1988, his doctorate in Physical Therapy at Rocky Mountain University in 2017 at RMU (Provo, Utah). 

Dr. Leddy has worked with dancers over the past ten years. His specialty is looking at how breathing and optimal balance is linked. He teaches a three-day course in breathing and postural control and uses the principles in his therapy work (based on the teachings of Dr. Mary Massery PT, DPT, DSc)

Dr. Leddy also likes to teach strain-counter-strain to dancers in the healthy dancer clinic called total body release (TMR, developed by Tom Dalonzo-Baker). 

His passion for dance comes from his daughter Natascha (19) who continues to train as a professional ballerina at OBT in Portland. 

Dr. Monica Horowitz attended University of the Arts in Philadelphia PA, and graduated with a BFA. in Dance Education. Monica was a professional dancer and worked with companies such as; Walt Disney World Tours, Floyd May-Weather’s Filthy Rich Records, The Latin Grammys, Dancesport Ballroom competitions, and Cirque du Soleil. After receiving a back-injury that caused her to stop dancing, Monica decided to go back to college. Dr. Monica Horowitz graduated from John F. Kennedy University (JFKU) in Pleasant Hill CA, with her Master’s in Sport Psychology and her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Monica has done Mental Skills workshops for, the ODC dance company, Hope College MI dance department, UFC Gym Personal Trainers, Silver Creek high school track and field teams, Leadership public high school basketball and volleyball teams, Concord Youth Center (CYC) dance students, and Orin Allen Youth Rehabilitation Facility.

Dr. Priscilla Park, DPT, is a physical therapist and naturopath, who brings into her practice a wealth of knowledge with over 25 years of experience and passion for helping her patients heal from their injuries and illnesses naturally with integrative care. She is a founding member of the ODC's Healthy Dancer's Clinic, since its inception in 1999.  She was the Director for University of California Irvine's Dance Medicine clinic between 1997-1999, and has worked on many Broadway shows in NYC, including Lion King, 42nd Street, Aida, Hairspray, etc.

As a professional dancer, Pilates instructor, yoga practitioner/teacher, she has a keen eye for even the most subtle movement compensations or malalignment that can contribute to pain and injury and/or lead to recurrent/chronic injuries. She is an expert in movement and biomechanical analysis, and can help identify your movement pattern faults, complex biomechanical problems, and muscle imbalances that are keeping you in pain and preventing you from dancing fully.

Jess Fu, PT, DPT, is an expert in pelvic and orthopedic physical therapy. She completed her Bachelor's degree at the University of California, Berkeley and her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of Colorado. With extensive clinical experience, Jess is highly regarded for her hands-on approach to treatment.  She also has certification in massage therapy and pilates, adding to her impressive skill set. Jess is fluent in both Mandarin and English. In her free time, Jess likes hiking, volunteering with wilderness search and rescue, and dancing at ODC.

Dr. Lance is the team chiropractor for USF Athletics, St Ignatius Athletics, and the owner of Golden Gate Chiropractic.

He has worked with pro athletes, world champions and Olympic medalists. He healed his own herniated L5 disc naturally. He now helps people release stress-related tension and heal through chiropractic, movement, breathwork, and education.

Dr. Patrick Chu is a chiropractor and movement specialist with a background in professional dance training. Before entering chiropractic, he pursued dance in Los Angeles while studying psychology at the University of California, Riverside. From 2007–2015 he trained extensively throughout the Los Angeles dance community in hip-hop, groove, and R&B styles, including training at Boogiezone Utopia (now Epicenter).

During his early years in the dance community, Patrick saw fellow dancers navigating injuries and neurological conditions without much support or understanding. These experiences sparked a deeper commitment to study the body and eventually pursue chiropractic care so he could refine his language of movement and better serve the communities he had been part of. Wanting a profession that aligned with his passion for anatomy, biomechanics, and performance, he pursued chiropractic training at Palmer College of Chiropractic West.

Patrick entered chiropractic with the goal of understanding the body well enough to continue dancing himself. His work focuses on spinal alignment, joint mechanics, and neuromuscular function while recognizing the deeper integration of mind, body, and intention required for high-level performance.

His perspective is informed not only by clinical training but also by lived experience within the dance world. During his time in Los Angeles, Patrick worked in immersive performance environments, including seasonal performance work at Universal Studios Hollywood, experiences that reinforced how disconnection between mind and body can contribute to injury. These moments strengthened his commitment to helping performers cultivate greater awareness, alignment, and purpose as they move in their bodies.

Today, Patrick works with a wide range of patients while maintaining a particular interest in supporting dancers, athletes, and movement artists. Through chiropractic care, he aims to help individuals better understand their bodies so movement can occur with functionality, integrity, and artistry.

Celina de Borja, MD, is a Primary Care Sports Medicine physician with a special interest in dancers and performing artists. She is dedicated to advancing health through clinical care, education, and community engagement, with a focus on injury prevention, active lifestyles, and improving access to care. Dr. de Borja collaborates with multidisciplinary and community partners to enhance wellness and safety and is committed to evidence-based practice, mentorship, and bridging clinical medicine with community health impact.

Emily is a Guild-Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner® and ISMETA-certified Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist. She helps people tune into the guidance their bodies are ready to give.

She’s danced professionally in New York City and San Francisco since 2017. Along the way, somatics became essential — not just for refining technique, but for meeting life’s turning points. As a teenager, it helped her remember her spark and her place in the world. As a late-starting dance student, it offered a kind, effective way to rewire habits. In New York’s hustle, it helped her deepen her bond with the wild within. And in grief, it gave her space to move what words could not.

Emily guides others to meet their own thresholds through the body — turning challenges into curiosity, and curiosity into new possibilities for movement and life.

Leah is a certified personal trainer specializing in core and pelvic floor health, and she created and co-founded Every Mother, formerly The Dia Method. Leah’s exercise method earned medical validation in 2013 when researchers at Weill Cornell Medical School collaborated with Leah to conduct a pilot study with 63 women, all of whom achieved full resolution of diastasis recti, a common yet under diagnosed condition that compromises core strength and function. They published their findings in the May 2014 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In 2021, Hospital for Special Surgery collaborated with Leah on a prospective clinical trial of her online program and published the full manuscript in the Journal of Women’s and Pelvic Health Physical Therapy. The clinical trial found that Leah’s program significantly improved diastasis recti and related symptoms, including stress urinary incontinence and low back pain.

Leah has been a lover of dance her entire life and a member of the ODC community since her daughter began dancing at ODC in 2017 at age 3. Leah holds an MA in English and a BA in Psychology, and she has been featured as a women’s health expert by major media outlets, including NPR, goop and Good Morning America. She lives with her husband, two children and their sweet family dog in San Francisco.