unleash the wild within

Wolf Pack

“We have never been Little Red Riding Hood. We Are the Wolves.
We must wander off the path and blaze a new one: together.”
— Abby Wambach
 
 
 

Directors

 
 

Julie Brannen (she/they)

Founder, Executive Artistic Director

Julie is passionate about creating intimate, transformative spaces for alte/ared states. Her mission is to restore, rewild, + reunite humanity with nature via the intersection of art, alchemy, + activism.

Her greatest joy comes from guiding folks into an organic + compassionate practice of fiercely approaching vulnerability + embodying whole-hearted living.  Her goal is to create brave, inclusive spaces in order to allow for radiant expression, courageous liberation, + uplifting connection.

She is a Certified Reiki Master Teacher (Usui + Holy Fire), Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Registered Dance/Movement Therapist, with a Master of Arts in Dance/Movement Therapy + Counseling, + Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis from Columbia College Chicago.

As the honored + proud to carry the name “Mama Wolf” of this incredible community.

Kristen Perry (she/they)

Operations Director

Kristen is an Arts and Healthcare professional. A graduate of The University of Florida's Arts in Medicine masters degree program, Kristen strives to pair her experience as a life-long theatre fanatic, technician, and stage manager with nonprofit programming and development know-how to create vibrant spaces where artistic healing can thrive.

In addition to her work with SheWolf, Kristen is a founding member of Girls Rock Camp St. Pete, a grassroots movement that uses music as a medium to promote self-confidence, creativity, and a strong sense of community among girls and gender non-conforming youth in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her love of music has also given her over a decade of experience managing concerts and festivals of all styles and sizes, including Gainesville-based The Fest. Kristen relocated to the Chicago are in 2017 and is excited to continue growing her wolf pack here.

Gaby Martinez

(she/her)

Associate Artistic Director

Gabriella, Gaby, Martinez is a first generation Afro-Dominican descendant and Multi-disciplinary Performing Artist living in Chicago. She has a Bachelor’s of Science in psychology and dance. In pursuit of Dance Therapy Higher Education, Gaby continues to find connections between her practices, nature, and teachings.

She has experience in clinical settings working as a group facilitator for youth and adults who seek support for their behavioral health. Gaby also works as a teaching artist, focusing on creating an inclusive and accessible community.

Her recent work includes dancing with: Self-Reclaimed: Reclaim Your Story, Freedom From and Freedom to Improv Group, Ritual Rhythms, and spinning as an Ignite Fire Keeper. She also led customized workshops at The MCA and in Cleveland, OH Youth Theatre programs. Gaby embraces her new role at She Wolf Sacred warmly and is ready to manifest with Self-Reclaimed for the upcoming program: Together, We Rise. Namaste.

Vanessa De Leon (she/her)

Development Director

Vanessa De Leon is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Registered Dance Movement Therapist, Life Coach, and Registered Yoga Teacher with a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology. She also possesses a clinical history of working with people with developmental disabilities, children with autism spectrum disorders, and adults with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, sexual trauma, severe mental illnesses, chronic homelessness, eating disorders, and other mental health symptoms.

Throughout all of her clinical experiences, Vanessa had always empowered the people she worked with through a model of survivorship rather than prey victim to circumstance. Through a strengths-based approach with an emphasis on the body-mind connection and the power of community, Vanessa firmly believes that healing is not only generated but sustained for a long period of time.

 

Creators

 

Krystle Aguilera, Choreographer

Krystle Aguilera, originally from Miami, Florida, began exploring structured movement through classical dance training at the age of 7.

She went on to receive her BA in Dance Performance from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Since then, she has danced professionally for Modern Dance companies in Oklahoma, Arizona, North Carolina and now dances with and choreographs for Shewolf Dance Company in Chicago. While living in the enchanting mountains of North Carolina, she received her 200hr Yoga Teacher Certification at the Asheville Yoga Center. After Yoga Teacher Training, she launched her own small business, Krystle Collective. To share her love of guiding others to leading an intentional lifestyle and integrating a holistic approach to incorporating full activation of mind, body and spirit is a deep passion of hers and truly lights her up!

Now living one year in Chicago, she humbly brings her gifts of being a Movement Artist, Dance Instructor, Choreographer, Yoga Instructor, Reiki Level Master level energetic healer/ practitioner and writer to our beautiful movement to cultivate, integrate & embrace love, positivity and true human connection.


Radia Ali, Choreographer

Dance is a form of Identity, and I seek to spread awareness of different cultures and stories through dance. My sincere hope is that this will spark curiosity and expose people to the different ways in which humans connect through Movement and Rhythm globally.

I grew up between South Asia, UK, and US, and am currently based in Chicago. I am trained in Kathak, Bengali, Persian and Turkish dance styles, as well as Samba, Flamenco, Bachata and Tango. I have performed with hip-hop and dancehall troupes in Chicago. I am also a fire performer and organizer at the Chicago Full Moon Fire Jams. I am currently the dancer for the Bangla folk music group Ochin Pakhi.


My true passion and personal style is fusion choreography. I am always ready for an opportunity to improvise with diverse musicians. I use fire props, silk veils, swords, and anything that comes to my mind! I call on the influences of the cultures that raised me, or that I have moved through. My mission is to light a spark in your soul, and leave you wanting to explore the world through rhythm. No matter who we are, music can unite us!

Victoria Boateng, Drummer

Victoria Boateng graduated from Western Illinois University in December 2012 with a bachelor's degree in communication and minor in theatre. After graduation, Victoria Boateng studied West African drumming at Old Town School of Folk Music from September 2013- October 2018. Victoria is now a substitute teacher at Old Town School Of Folk Music and drum teacher at New Rhythm Arts Center. She is also now an apprentice performer and drummer in an all female drum and dance company Ayodele Drum and Dance.

Brandice Manuel, Choreographer

Brandice Manuel began her love of dance at four years old and began teaching at the age of thirteen. She graduated from The Chicago Academy for the Arts, where she studied dance under the tutelage of Randy Duncan, Claire Bataille and Anna Paskevska. She continued her artistic journey at Howard University where she studied Musical Theatre and graduated with a BFA in Theatre Arts.
Brandice continued teaching and became a children’s ballroom instructor with the, Dancing With Class, program. She opened Indie-Art Media, an arts space and media center where she wrote for and trained young performers and recording artist.
In her return to the stage after a five year hiatus, her inner-most desire is to be vulnerable, honest and present.

Laksha Dantran, Choreographer

Laksha Dantran is an artist with a powerful vision. Rooted in the forms of Indian classical dance and theatre, Laksha believes in using her artistic creations to enlighten and move audiences into action—to find the humanity and essential value of communities of all abilities and experiences. Laksha has produced original theatre works that feature LGBTQ perspectives, with a focus on emboldening her female soul trapped in a transgender identity, and her strength and beauty as a woman. Even as we continue growing as a society or culture, or within our own journeys, Laksha wants audiences to understand “we are still small.” Laksha has been dancing for over thirty years, initially training in her home state of Kerala, and later in Chennai. She has received her education and gone on to perform and teach with prestigious arts schools, where she mastered technique and music (vocal percussion and composition), and continues to offer glimpses into these rich methods in her classroom and work. Still, Laksha’s greatest education and inspiration are her experiences, which emerges in her work. Laksha’s choreography and direction focuses on bringing out the natural expression of her artists; she creates movement that is clear and elegant, effortlessly conveying a mood and story without excessive decorum or abstraction. Often taking new spins on ancient Hindu mythology, she believes in creating ancient characters embedded in modern reality, often urging artists to delve into their own experiences to bring truth into their portrayals. Currently, Laksha is working with Mandala South Asian Performing Arts in Chicago, a not for profit arts organization that promotes ancient cultural arts and their modern progressions. Also Laksha is associated with Second city outlaws , Chicago (an LGBT country line group ) as one of the members and performers of line dancing group heading seasonal shows throughout Chicago and other states as well. Laksha feels connected to Mandala and Second city outlaws, which will serve as a platform for her to push forth her work in the United States and international community. Laksha is an established artist who has toured throughout India, Belgium, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the United States. Her work has received critical claim: as a performer, curator and director. Laksha’s intention is that her work is fully realized at a human level. She believes humans in their natural state are trusting, loving, and ready to understand. She is actively pushing structures away to open space for true visibility and realization.

Sondra H. Malling, Choreographer

is a dancer, choreographer, dance/movement therapist, and movement analyst. She graduated with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Dance and Psychology from Beloit College, where her choreography was adjudicated to the informal concert of the American College Dance Festival. She obtained her Master’s degree in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling from Columbia College Chicago, where she also trained in Laban Movement Analysis. Sondra works full-time as a dance/movement therapist in outpatient behavioral health at a Chicago hospital. Her research on dance/movement therapy and culturally affirmative practices with Deaf adults who have mental illness was published in the American Journal of Dance Therapy. Sondra feels she has truly found her artistic home in SheWolf, and is honored and empowered to return as a choreographer in this sacred space. When not dancing or working as a therapist, she can be found going for long walks with her husband or snuggled on the couch with her cat and a cup of tea.

Tracy Mihaljevic, Choreographer

Tracy Mihaljevic was born to grow and express love through dance, music, art, teaching, and community. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, she spent her childhood dancing, learning musical instruments, and playing in nature. After graduating from Trinity Christian College with a teaching degree, she moved to Plainfield, IL to begin a career in teaching students with special needs and to raise a beautiful family of three. Throughout her journey, she has obtained a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. Interwoven through it all has been a continual search for connection to divinity and a desire to express love. In 2013, Tracy began a return journey to the arts and her child within. She has been blessed to dance with the Desert Flames, SheWolf, and reignite her passion for music and art through the study of guitar, voice, and painting. Tracy is beyond grateful to have an opportunity to express the divine feminine within through dance in the SheWolf Community.

Jen Halman, Choreographer

Jen Halman has been a dancer, mover and a lover of rhythm since she was three. Her first ballet, tap, and MOMING (a modern dance movement class) experiences happened at Loyola Park District in Rogers Park, Chicago. Her first dance floor was at the beach on the shores of Lake Michigan. Her love of music and dance comes from the influence of her grandmother, Estelle Spoo, who danced as an original Adorable at the Chicago Theater in the 1920s. Jen began majoring in Musical Theater at Columbia College back in 1994 and then switched to Elementary Education when she became a mother. In 2003, while teaching Science for the Chicago Public Schools, Jen had the experience of traveling to the Amazon Rainforest to teach her seventh graders about the River and the Cultures that reside there. She immediately was drawn to the natives of the magical forest and ,their ritualistic drumming and dancing.

When Jen returned from the Amazon, she began teaching theater and was introduced to West African rhythms while hearing them played at the Old Town School of Folk Music. In graduate school for Interdisciplinary Art, she began taking lessons in drum and dance and her passion for the rhythms of Senegal, Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Mali was ignited. She performed her thesis HEAL, in 2010, based on the story and rhythm MORRIBAYASSA from Guinea, West Africa. The rhythm pays homage to women and was created for a woman who has endured trauma in her life. In a healing ritual, the woman dances wildly underneath the Morribayassa Tree and buries her clothes in the earth. This culmination included the dance to the backdrop of Jen's EEG (electroencephalogram) which showed significant calming of her brain waves due to the binaural beats from the live drumming. Jen's journey of healing and diagnosis of PTSD in 2005 has included and continues to involve the sounds and movement of West Africa.

Currently Jen teaches dance classes and facilitates drum circles in and around the Chicagoland area. She continues to study the movement and rhythms from Guinea and Senegal, with a trip to study the rhythms of Sabar in January 2019 to Casamance, Senegal. She was honored to be invited to choreograph for She-Wolf this year and feels the importance of bringing women together to share and heal through rhythm and expression.

E’a Williams, Choreographer

I am naturally gifted and a trained dancer from Ballroom to Belly Dance who is a teaching artist in underserved CPS schools for Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Chicago Ballet & Old School Town of music. Also a self taught percussionist using my One Love Drum Circle to build unity throughout communities. Outside of that I am also a divinely gifted massage therapist traveling all around the city to deliver healing. I attended Howard University as a psychology major and danced as an "Ooh La La" in their prestigious "SHOWTIME" Marching Band and was a ROTC Ranger. Lost interest in college, dropped out lived some life did the starving artist thing in NYC, had a couple kids(boys), lived through traumas of life like surviving 362 days homelessness from May 2016 - May 2017 and the heart's BIG BREAK UPS yada yada blah blah....
Having always been a self employed and a freelance artist in a variety of arenas from private homes, gym facilities, schools, camps, hospitals, tv/ film sets, community events and street performer. I tried it for a good while as a brick and mortar, formerly known as Be Fit Tri Wellness in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood. That was a great learning experience that helped me redirect my intention on being even GREATER. I can better do that with my Gypsy Wellness :-) CURRENT PROJECTS: I just wrapped up my official 200RYT training at Zen Yoga Garage to be legit and keep up with the competition after having been a self taught yogini for 10yrs. Newly partnered with I Grow Chicago who are using all of my talents to provide service to their Peace House in Englehood as their Manager of Mindful Movement for their afterschool and summer program. Its as amazing as it sounds. School years is over now I can focus on some personal projects like performances, ceu's and arranging community classes. And my fingers were crossed for another wonderful Gypsy Wellness opportunity THAT I GOT....TWICE Blessed to be teaching for Lululemon and New Arts & Community Wellness Program Coordinator at Old Town School of Folk Music for Music Moves Chicago .......visit often this section always changes.

 
 

Facilitators

 

Ellen Dancer, Facilitator

Ellen has been studying and teaching belly dance for over 15 years. She fuses elements of hip hop, modern and middle eastern dance to create a unique and honest style that reflects her life's journey. Her energy is infectious and she loves connecting to people through dance. Ellen teaches out of Arabesque dance studio in Chicago and directs the fusion dance company Venus Vibrations. Ellen describes her obsession with "Belly dance as a holistic way of relating to the body by increasing awareness on all levels: physical, mental, and sensual. but Mostly, I just love to dance."

Talia Sassounes, Facilitator

Talia’s deepest passion is intimacy. Intimacy with others as well as intimacy with yourself. She has spent her life finding ways to incorporate her passions into the core of her life. Talia lives to be the supportive bridge between people and their higher selves.

Talia is an erotica teacher of 5 years, a professional domimatrix of 8 years, a yoga instructor of 4 years, and is a sexual psychology student.

Antonia Callas, Facilitator

Antonia is a writer, dancer and wolf-woman. As a facilitator and teacher, Antonia has been working with the book Women Who Run with the Wolves for more than 20 years. She is the founder of a Chicago-based WWRWTW group dedicated to finding authentic connection and recovering the wild instinct through the book’s wisdom. She also holds Full Moon Healing Ceremonies that draw inspiration from ancient sacred circles and serve as a powerful way to reconnect to our authentic selves and with community. Through her work, Antonia hopes to inspire depth, creativity, and connection,in order to live our one, wild precious life to the fullest. She has studied with healers and shamans such as Lena Stevens, Don Miguel Ruiz, Jose Miguel Ruiz, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, and Maria Lezniak, among others. A lifelong creative and empath, she continuously walks her own healing path and finds great solace in the natural world

Christina E. Fontenelle, Facilitator

Christina is a tri-lingual Afro-Latina Artist that focuses in psychotherapy and works from an Expressive Arts multi-modal approach specializing in Art & Dance/Movement Therapy. She is also the author of 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭. ⁣⁣
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She attained her Masters of Arts in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) known as one of the most influential programs in North America and internationally. Christina also graduated from 92Y Harkness Dance Center’s Alternate Route Dance/Movement Therapy program in New York. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Christina is the Founder & CEO of Fontenelle Art LLC, a Mental Health & Creative Arts Wellness company that aims to serve communities by providing 𝐀𝐫𝐭 & 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭–𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 approaches to professional development, mental health awareness, and community cohesion to help you 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟.

Manisha Mahaldar, Facilitator

She is graceful, sensual, a thinker, a creator, a dancer, a poet. An artist not only in the theatre of life but also in the higher realms. She talks to the angles and has an innate connection with the divine.

She cares deeply , she loves deeply, she also guides and gives wholly. A healer whose vehicle of expression is music, movement and words. She has deep instincts. Even though she bonds and mates like the wolves, her spirit animal is the butterfly. She also enjoys dipping her hands into colors, painting the world like a rainbow.

Manisha has a background and experience in Journalism and communications with a degree in New Media Management and now she has stepped into her journey of Dance movement therapy. She is a constant learner who loves growing and helping people along with her.

JCSpaceRadio, Facilitator

JCSpaceRadio is a collaborative co-engineered by Jenn Cooper and Christine Shallenberg. The artists met while completing graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago between 2012-2014. JCSR was conceived in December 2015 as a result of continued intellectual engagement and a desire to challenge cultural norms of communication and perception.

JCSpaceRadio is interested in engaging in a casually critical dialogue with frequencies. Inspiration for the projects’ endeavors comes from the astronauts living and working on the International Space Station and their onboard 2-meter shortwave (HAM) radio. Currently emanating as a conceptual broadcasting station, JCSR is host to bioresonance, binaural, and body-centered tones physically realized through workshops and events.

JCSpaceRadio’s long term goals include exploring the physicality of sonic experiences, making contact with the International Space Station, creating participatory structures for public engagement, and facilitating aesthetically driven citizen science. JCSR prioritizes direct public engagement with most aspects of the project, and ultimately fosters community environments open to discussions of experience, culture, and technology.

www.jcspaceradio.com

@JCSpaceRadio

 

Volunteers

 As a community organization, our work to create socially responsible art would not be possible without the amazing pack of volunteers.

We are grateful for the continued commitment + support of our volunteer team that make SheWolf Sacred run a beautifully synchronized organism // organization.

 

Why volunteer?

Volunteering is a way to contribute to our mission, connect with like-minded individuals in community, + be a part of something greater.

You become part of a community that is passionate, caring, + dedicated about making a vibrant change in this world we inhabit, one dance at the time.

 
 
 

Committees

Our hope is that this community, + our connections with each other, can sustain + support us through hard times.

SheWolf has some big plans in the works + we need you, our dear person reading this, to help us.

Many of you have asked about ways to get involved with this organization beyond performance, + here it is the opportunity…

 

We are forming committees!

These are small, dedicated groups of volunteers that will work directly with a director on certain projects at hand.

There are particular areas of focus for each committee + will involve their own subculture of dynamic collaboration + co-creation.

We will meet virtually, so you can get involved no matter where you may be in the world!