Heather
Instructor
Originally from New England, is a founding member of
Groundwerx Dance Theatre, Providence, RI, where she co-directed, toured, performed,
and taught nationally for fifteen years. In 2012, Ahern founded Aerplaye dance company
as choreographer and Artistic Director. Ahern earned two grants from the Rhode Island
State Council on the Arts: An Artist Project Grant for the creation of a one-woman
dance/play entitled Amazons, Goddesses and Others; and an Individual Artists Grant
for the creation of a dance theatre work entitled In Full Flight. She is also a three-time
recipient of a Cirino Fellowship from the Rhode Island Foundation. In addition to the
creation of modern dance choreography, Ahern has enjoyed working as a movement
consultant and choreographer for Perishable Theatre and Trinity Repertory Theatre.
Ahern has performed, taught, and choreographed work for a variety of populations at
colleges, universities and other educational institutions throughout the country. As a
professor of dance, she has taught at California State University, Long Beach
(Department of Dance & Department of Theatre MFA program); West Virginia University
(where she also Directed the Dance Program); and Long Beach City College, teaching
a wide variety of classes from technique, to movement for the actor, to dance history.
She is also a certified Pilates Instructor (BASI, Costa Mesa, CA), with a specialization in
Dance Conditioning, and a certified Kripalu Yoga teacher. Ahern is currently an Adjunct
Professor at Hillsborough Community College and Tampa University, both of Tampa,
Florida.