Meet our instructors
Lucy Bowen, Director
Certified Dance for PD Teacher & Trainer
Lucy Bowen was the Artistic Director, choreographer, and creative energy behind Bowen McCauley Dance Co (BMDC). From the company’s founding in 1996, she created over 100 works, ranging from lyrical ballets to highly physical contemporary pieces set to rock music. BMDC celebrated its 25th season with its final performance at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theatre in September 2021.
Teaching Dance for PD® since 2008, Lucy is a Certified Dance for PD Teacher, founding and leading programs in the greater DC and Mid-Atlantic region. She is also a highly regarded trainer for new Dance for PD instructors.
Lucy currently serves on The Arlington Commission for the Arts. Past board service includes the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and the Arlington Economic Development Commission and the National Leadership Council for Dance under the auspices of Dance USA.
She has been honored with the 2021 Arlington Community Foundation’s Spirit of Community Award, the Woman of Vision Award, the prestigious Pola Nirenska Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, a Lifetime Outstanding Achievement Award in Dance Education from Dance Metro DC, the Alumni Path of Inspiration Award from Interlochen, the STAR Award for Artistic Excellence from the Arlington Commission for the Arts, the Elizabeth Campbell Award for the Advancement of the Arts, and the James B. Hunter, III Arlington Campbell Community Hero Award. (More about Lucy on Wikipedia)
Lisa Startsman, Trained Dance for PD Teacher
Lisa Startsman is a trained Dance for PD® Teacher with a deep passion for making dance accessible to everyone. She discovered Dance for PD over ten years ago and, after attending training at the Kennedy Center and volunteering in adaptive dance and music therapy, became fully committed to the program. Lisa has assisted classes in Fairfax, taught at Shenandoah University, and now leads a class in Ashburn.
Her favorite part of teaching is selecting music that inspires participants to move, smile, and have fun, while watching their creativity shine.
Lisa Traiger, Trained Dance for PD Teacher
Lisa Traiger is a Trained Dance for PD® Teacher and award-winning dance journalist with over 35 years of experience in the performing arts. She holds an MFA in Choreography from the University of Maryland and has taught dance appreciation at both the University of Maryland and Montgomery College. Lisa has written extensively on dance for The Washington Post, Dance, Pointe, and Dance Teacher, and has edited From the Green Room, Dance/USA’s online journal.
Elizabeth Spatz, Trained Dance for PD Teacher
Ms. Spatz was born and raised in the Chicago area, and studied dance at the Ruth Page Foundation with Larry Long and the Chicago City Ballet with Marjorie Tallchief and Maria Tallchief. Upon graduating from Columbia College Chicago where she studied arts management and dance, she relocated to New York City where she danced with Dura Mater, Joanna Mendl Shaw, and Randy James Dance Works (RJDW).
As an educator, she has taught nationally and internationally at festivals, colleges and universities including George Mason University, Roger Williams University, and Northern Virginia Community College, and she completed her M.F.A. at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Elizabeth trained with David Leventhal and Lucy Bowen in Dance for PD®, and enjoys both assisting and teaching with Dance for PD Mid-Atlantic, including leading the classes at GMU.
Demoya Watson Brown, Trained Dance for PD Teacher
Moira Ragen, Trained Dance for PD Teacher
Moira Ragen is a Professional Dancer, Choreographer, and Dance Educator. Moira’s love for dance is unmistakable and clear in her performing, choreography, and teaching. In addition to her experience performing and touring internationally, Moira holds a Bachelors of Arts in Dance and VA Dance Teacher Licensure PreK-12 from James Madison University. Moira’s teaching experience includes teaching a variety of dance styles to various ages, levels, and communities.
Moira is grateful to be a part of Dance for PD, which aligns with her personal goals of spreading joy through dance and bringing people together.
Rachel Goldberg, Trained Dance for PD Teacher
Rachel Goldberg has taught dance to students of all ages, from 2 through 92 while building her own dance career. She started teaching as a teen, and has been teaching in the Alexandria/Arlington area for the last 15 years, including a course for the attendees of Alexandria’s Adult Day Services program. Rachel joined the Dance for PD world with the beginning workshop at the Kennedy Center in 2023 and volunteering in the Falls Church class since that time. She is excited about teaching Dance for PD after seeing the positive benefits of dance and community on people living with Parkinson’s Disease.
Outside of the dance studio, Rachel enjoys the outdoors, needlework, reading, and spending time with family.
Rachael Coad, Trained Dance for PD Teacher
Rachael grew up dancing in Northern VA, trained at the Virginia School of the Arts through high school and received a BFA in Ballet and Modern Dance with Honors from Texas Christian University. Other training highlights include Ballet Austin, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and Dallas Black Dance Theatre. She has 15 years of experience as a dance educator across DFW Texas and in the DC area, mainly for Texas Ballet Theater and The Washington Ballet. She has performed professionally with Epiphany Dance Arts, wild goose chase dance, Zion Dance Project, Printz Dance Project, Mei/Co Dance, EdW and dancers, Aru Dell’Arte, Louisa Mejeur, and The Lion’s Den; and continues to currently perform with UpRooted Dance and Claytor Company. She truly believes that dance should be accessible, meaningful, and inspiring for all and is blessed to spend her time teaching various styles of movement in the Fairfax County and DC public schools, adaptive dance at Virginia Ballet Company, contemporary ballet for 55+, Dance for PD Pro at The Washington Ballet, and Dance for PD at Dance Exchange.
Rhea Racho, Trained Dance for PD Teacher
Rhea has worked in health policy and advocacy since 2013, but her lifelong love of dance and personal connection to Parkinson’s disease led her to becoming a Trained Dance for PD Teacher. After starting out in ballet and tap at an early age, Rhea grew to love many more styles of dance including jazz, contemporary, social dance, and even clogging. In 2021, Rhea participated virtually in her first Dance for PD class alongside her dad, who lived with Parkinson’s disease. That class inspired her to learn more and get involved with Dance for PD Mid-Atlantic.
Outside of dance and work, Rhea enjoys hiking/exploring with her dog, sewing, and learning to play the ukulele. She was born and raised in Texas and has lived in DC since 2017.
Become an Instructor
Dance for PD instructors are crucial to our Mid-Atlantic program and are what make classes possible. We are always looking for new teachers! If you are interested in joining our team, please reach out to Lucy.
You can also learn more about the training process on the Dance for PD Website.
