About Me
Hi, I'm Mercedes Rivera. I'm a movement artist, creative educator, and somatic researcher with a deep love for community, choreography, and the everyday magic of embodied living. My background blends dance performance, Pilates instruction, and sports medicine research, connecting the worlds of science and art through movement as both a tool for healing and a medium for innovation.
My approach is shaped by years of training in classical and contemporary dance forms, along with academic and professional experience in human performance, injury prevention, and neurodivergent learning. I focus on rethinking how we teach movement, with an emphasis on inclusivity, body awareness, and play.
Right now, I'm exploring new ways to integrate somatics and sensory learning into both studio settings and everyday environments. I'm developing research that centers proprioceptive feedback, wearable technology, and motor learning to support dancers and movers of all kinds. I'm also passionate about designing spaces and programs that invite curiosity, support emotional regulation, and empower people to move with purpose and ease.
In everything I do, I'm asking how movement can become a deeper expression of self and a tool for connection, something that builds community, fosters belonging, and supports collective well-being.
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