Lucy Bowen, Director
Certified Dance for PD Teacher
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
Demoya Watson Brown
Trained Dance for PD Teacher
Moira Ragen
Trained Dance for PD Teacher
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.