Clogging Director Lori Leichliter
Lori has been involved in music nearly all her life, but got a relatively late start in dance. She had a passion for step dancing early on, but the time and opportunity never seemed to present itself. In October of 2010, she jumped at the chance to start clogging with Reda Foster in Willow Springs and fell in love with a discipline that combines music, movement, and rhythm. Two years, several performances, and a couple of workshops later, she started helping teach new routines. Of course to teach, you have to know it well yourself first. So Lori started spending quite a few hours on the hardwood. That led to two of her four kids catching the clogging bug as well.
Lori started a clogging program at a local fine arts school in 2015. In four years, she went from one 60-minute class with students who had never even heard of clogging to directing more than three dozen students that filled eight weekly classes. Weekly classes included four different level class, an adult recreation class, and both exhibition and competition teams. She has directed teams in dozens of performances - 88 in 2017-18 alone! - all over the local area, at regional workshops, and Clogging Nationals in Nashville, TN.
In June of 2019, Lori was able to begin pursuing her Certified Clogging Instructor (CCI) qualifications, and she plans to complete the program in April 2020.
Lori loves being able to share the joy that is dance with others around her. In addition to clogging, she also enjoys dancing lines, squares, western couple, contra, ballroom, swing, ballet, contemporary, and tap dance. Lori firmly believes that you're never too old to start something new!
Kim Rich - Willow's Bend Yoga
Willow's Bend Yoga, LLC is owned and operated by Kim Rich, a U.S. Army veteran who deployed with Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1992-93 and Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995-96.
Rich began practicing yoga regularly in 2015 for physical health, and soon noticed an abatement in PTSD symptoms that had plagued her since 1992. In 2016, she began researching more the mounting body of evidence that proves meditation and mindfulness through practices like yoga can help restore quality of life to veterans and other suffering PTSD.
In 2017, she received a 100-hour Warrior certificate for trauma-sensitive yoga from YogaFit, a U.S.-based international company. Also, in July 2017, Rich began offering beginner yoga classes at the American Legion Hall in Willow Springs, establishing a base of students who attend class regularly.
In July 2018, she received her 200-hour RYT (registered yoga teacher) certificate from Yahweh Yoga, one of few faith-based yoga programs recognized for excellence through Yoga Alliance, an international professional organization/governing body. In October 2018, Rich became certified in mindfulness and meditation through Veterans Yoga Project, a nationwide non-profit with the sole goal of providing yoga to veterans.
She has taught veterans’ classes, as well as children’s yoga and open community classes. She welcomes all to attend weekly classes at On The Floor. Veterans and law enforcement/first responders are never charged a fee for attending.
She says her yoga philosophy can be summed up very simply with a single Bible verse: “Be still and know that I am God.” She invites all to come into stillness and peace through a regular yoga practice.
For more information, call Kim at (417) 252-0935.
