Annie Rosenthal Parr – Director / Founder
Proprietress of RoCo Dance and Fitness, is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and mother of two. She is a native of Mill Valley, California and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She was a member of Della Davidson Dance and Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and founded RoCo Dance and Fitness in 1993. Annie actively mentors artists and instructors at RoCo through teacher training and guidance in assembling comprehensive structure to classes and choreographic feedback. RoCo has both a conservatory and recreational training program for youth to study contemporary, ballet, jazz breakdancing and Hip Hop. RoCo’s conservatory program, Bodylanguage directed by Annie prepares young dancers for college dance programs and careers as professionals. Each year, these dancers are admitted to the competitive dance programs such as Tisch school of Arts , Boston Conservatory, Chapman, USC, and UCLA. RoCo’s “Boys program” is one of her proudest accomplishments, inspiring hundreds boys per session to engage in formal dance classes and performance and is one of the largest boys dance programs in the state.
Outside of Annie’s career at RoCo, she presents work as an independent choreographer and performer. She has performed in the works of David Dorfman, Jo Kreiter, Christine Cali and Smith/Wymore Disappearing Acts. Her choreography is presented through dance festivals and University commissions. Annie is a Milley Award recipient for outstanding artistic achievement in her community and the Bay Area Dancers Choice Award in 2016 by Bay Area National Dance Week. She has received support from Theater Bay Area CASH Grant, Zellerbach Family Fund and the Marin Arts Council to fund her work in the Bay Area.
Annie has been teaching dance and fitness classes since 1991 at RoCo and as a guest teacher in universities and abroad. She has been a guest lecturer of dance at University of California, Berkeley, Sonoma State, Boston Conservatory and San Francisco State. Annie completed her 500 hour yoga training with Nubia Teixeira and is a certified RYT through Yoga Alliance. Her approach to teaching dance and yoga is accessible to a broad audience. Her technical and expressive aesthetic is a unique movement vocabulary that continues to evolve through her constant enthusiasm for dance and performance. Annie’s class encourages and teaches multi-dimensional movement that emphasizes efficiency of movement, the use of explosive power, sensitivity, texture, phrasing and clarity. The material presented is a progression of physical challenges that inform and builds onto it. The phrases are musically inspired and paced to safely warm up the body and maximize strength and placement.
Annie’s business and artistic pursuits continue to evolve through her desire to serve the community in which she lives and support dance as a relevant form, capable of enriching and altering many lives.
You can reach Annie at: annie@rocodance.com
Emily Daly – General Manager
You can reach Emily at: emily@rocodance.com
Sadie Carhart – Youth Program Manager
You can reach Sadie at: sadie@rocodance.com
Madison Palmer – Facilities and Adult Program Manager
You can reach Madison at: madison@rocodance.com
