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.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach because health is as individual as your fingerprint. I’m here to help you feel lighter and brighter in your body. I want people to leave feeling they play a big role in their own healing because that’s my own experience. After I sustained an injury as a professional dancer, chiropractic treatment was the only lasting relief I found. And that’s why I became a doctor myself. In practice since 1997, I see clients from teens to retirees in both San Diego and San Francisco. 

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.