Our Teachers

  • Blaze grew up in Vermont. They have been incredibly fortunate in their opportunities to learn from and grow with many brilliant freaks of the queer arts communities.

    In early childhood, Blaze quickly discovered a passion for physical self-expression. Their call to dance was powerful, and even before attending any formal classes they spent hours in the living room letting their body run wild to the music that moved them. At seven years old, they attended their first dance class, and for the next ten years trained in ballet and modern with an all-consuming devotion.

    An injury at age 17 prevented Blaze from pursuing the professional dance career they had dreamed of. The journey of recovery from this and other childhood traumas was a difficult one, but in time, their experiences with injury and chronic pain provided a template upon which to learn to love and care for themself in ways that were absent during childhood. They gained a richer, more nuanced understanding of their body and the gift of inhabiting it. Through years of dedicated healing work, the help of an astonishing host of beautiful people, and the ongoing practice of self-acceptance, Blaze is now learning to fully unlock the deep joy and love they feel called to share through movement.

    Passionate about movement as a whole, Blaze aims to continuously expand the styles and training they are exposed to. They have dabbled or worked extensively in forms such as gymnastics and acrobatics, weightlifting, yoga, pilates, contact improvisation, aerial dance, physical theater, martial arts, and somatics. No matter the discipline, their gratitude for the chance to move and experience life in a body motivates them to spread the joy of movement in any way they can.

    Blaze trained at the Yoga Works school in New York and became a registered yoga teacher there. They have taught and choreographed at dance schools around Vermont. They continue to draw inspiration from their experiences learning from masterful teachers such as Tom Weksler, Alexandra Beller, Clare Byrne, Monica Bill Barnes, faculty of the Joffrey Ballet School, Kenan Dinkelmann, and Benjamin Sears.

    Their gratitude for this practice and the opportunity to nurture the River’s Way community is indescribable.

  • Olya was born in Belarus and began her movement journey there through karate at age 9, a path she pursued for 6 years. As Olya discovered her affinity for Katas, sequences of purposeful moves akin to choreography, her interest in dance emerged.

    In her 20s, Olya started exploring dance, intrigued by pole and aerial dancing initially. After an unhealthy obsession with the new venture in the first couple of years, she started gravitating more toward the artistry and flow than the acrobatic side of movement. Olya discovered how therapeutic dance can be, ultimately embracing contemporary dance for a few years and putting everything aerial on hold.

    In 2016 Olya moved to Philadelphia and immersed into a variety of dance and movement styles there: ballet, modern jazz, hip-hop, yoga, acrobatics, and more. Having returned to pole dance and aerials in 2019, Olya prioritized gradual progress, fluidity, and healthy training. At the same time, she rediscovered erotic pole dancing style, feeling the freedom she wasn't able to access before due to past mental blocks and body image issues.

    In late 2022, Olya moved to Vermont and shortly after joined the beautiful, growing dance community at River's Way Movement, where she is grateful for the chance to teach, learn, and grow as a performing artist.

  • Hazel Bon Bon has been linking breath and movement since 2009, when she first began her yoga practice after moving to Vermont. Since growing up in Delaware and attending school for the arts for 7 years, she quickly branched out to explore the art of adventure. Living-off grid, traveling throughout the country, learning to work and farm with draft horses, practicing plant medicine, exploring backcountry wilderness and joining artistic and anarchist communities wherever she would land. Hazel learned the value of community, resilience and developing a connection with land and physical self.

    In 2017, Hazel came back on the grid - opened Youtube and found pole dancing. Fascinated by the intersection of sexuality, physical power, creative expression and cultural taboo, she was hooked. At this time, she was deeply devoted to her Ashtanga Yoga practice and completed her 200hr YTT certification with Kathy McNames of Yoga Vermont. While teaching with Yoga Vermont until the pandemic of 2020, Hazel began regular pole classes.

    Hazel quickly realized her passion for live pole performance and the power of the spectacle, performing and competing at venues throughout the Northeast and West Coast. In 2021, she created Seven Veils, an artistic vessel for teaching and facilitating pole dance in Vermont. Driven by a desire to expand the possibilities of sexual taboo and bring the excitement of live performance to the area, she went on to produce many local shows, bringing pole dance to a wider audience than ever before. 

    She believes that through movement and intention, one has the power to change their physical reality. Her philosophy focuses on nurturing our sensual connection with self, while her physical practice explores challenging and dynamic techniques. Hazel's classes will include nourishing mobility, strengthening and flexibility practices, while translating those into aerial sequences. She loves working with students of all levels and deeply values foundational movements. After taking a break from regular class teachings, Hazel is excited to join the River's Way community. Let's Dance!

  • Emilia is an entrepreneur, architect, aerialist dancer and proud mamá from El Salvador.

    She discovered aerial sports 10 years ago and obtained her certification as a pole instructor by Salvadoran olympic medalist and elite pole artist Paulina Zamora.

    It hasn't been easy to start all over again, but after a long journey she has finally found her pole community in Montpelier and now in River's Way.

    Emilia's biggest dream is to share her passion for pole with more people, to be contagious and help expand this beautiful community that is the backbone of Pole.

    For her, Pole is a great way to not only develop strong muscles, but a strong soul and spirit in a supportive community.

    All ages, all sizes, all colors and backgrounds. Join Emilia in her multi-level class and shared in our strong, vulnerable and safe space.

    Let's grow together! Let's Pole together!

  • Er has been dancing since the age of 3. Having been trained in various forms over the years, they have been finding their home in improvisational movement and burlesque / draglesque as of late. He studied dance at UVM and has since been a part of Bryce Dance Company, Spielpalast Cabaret, Dream City Dance Company, and danced for Mal Maiz in past years. Having performed locally and abroad, Er loves connecting with people and communities through movement.

    Currently they are involved in two dance companies based out of Burlington; Paula Higa Dance Co, and merde! dance co. They also have a life coaching business called Deep Dance that helps people to connect to themselves and the world around them, assisting in moving through hard times and big life questions and changes through improvisational movement and somatics.

    They are excited to be sharing their love for self-expression and sensuality through their heels class at Rivers Way! 


  • Jonna started studying ballet and tap at age 5, but didn’t truly fall in love with dance until she joined her high school dance team, where she served as captain for two years and competed at the NDA and EDA National Championships.

    In 2007, she graduated with a degree in Dance and Psychology from Marlboro College. She worked as a choreographer and head instructor, later moving up to staff director, as well as judging at the regional and national championships for the Eastern Cheer and Dance Association and spent two years on the halftime staff for the Capital One (Citrus ) Bowl in Orlando. As a Dance team coach and choreographer, her dances have won states and received honorable mention at nationals.

    She taught dance at studios and community centers throughout the state of Vermont and performed with companies in Vermont, Massachusetts, upstate New York, and Virginia.

    After time away from dance due to chronic illness, Jonna fell in love with pole. She started taking classes at Revolvt in November 2022 and now pole dance is all she thinks about all day long! She’s looking forward to sharing her love of movement and community with you.