Meet Heather Stants | Dance & Yoga Teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heather Stants and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, how do you think about risk?
Because I’ve always followed my intuition the decisions I’ve made that have led me to what I’m doing now haven’t necessarily felt like big risks in the moment. They just felt like the right thing. From moving to Chicago to work in the commercial photo industry, to joining a dance company, then moving to San Diego to start my own dance company and turning that into an international touring career, I’ve followed a path that felt like it was just meant for me based upon my skills and passion. This latest incarnation of my love of movement came about as a culmination of all of my years teaching both dance and yoga. The two movement practices became intertwined in a way that felt quite natural. Listening to my gut and then checking in with friends and peers helped me to move forward with my current movement business, Dance Flow Yoga.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The arts have always been my focus. In college I studied photography and let that lead me to work in the commercial photo industry in Chicago. Dance and movement were always a parallel interest and when I had the chance to join a company in Chicago I jumped on it. When I moved to San Diego I decided to launch my own dance company with a crew of movers who attended my classes. This turned into 20 years of creation and touring. I took up a yoga practice as a necessary complement to dance. Pretty quickly the yoga practice and dance practice started to blend. I began to teach yoga and from that came Dance Flow Yoga. DFY is a movement practice that blends the breath-to-movement flow of vinyasa yoga with the fluidity of dance. Seeing students find a bit more freedom, strength, and confidence in their bodies’ abilities is what inspires me every day.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My friends know that when they visit I will undoubtedly drag them to a yoga class. I have a few favorites. Rize in the East Village is all about aerial yoga. The classes are very approachable to new students. For a wide variety of styles of mat yoga classes I take them to Ginseng in South Park. It’s one of the first studios in central San Diego and has such a warm, loving community of teachers and students. After class at one of these studios I’d take them to Buona Forchetta for the best gluten free pizza in town or to Kindred for a wizard bowl and fun atmosphere. With the current pandemic situation small businesses are struggling, so I’d like to encourage visitors to check out all of these small, independent businesses.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d love to give a Shoutout to my friend Lesleigh Kent. She’s a talented hair stylist, seamstress, dancer, and costume designer. She’s been dressing dancers like me for many years and has moved into creating innovative costume pieces for circus performers. She is infinitely creative and inspiring. Please check out her work at www.lesleighkent.com

Website: www.danceflowyoga.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/danceflowyoga_heatherstants
Facebook: www.facebook.com/heather.stants
Youtube: www.youtube.com/DanceFlowYoga