Who we are

Hi, I’m Shayla (they/she/he) — the founder of Where We Land Movement Corp.

I’m a dancer, educator, choreographer, and space-holder committed to reshaping the dance industry into one that values care as much as craft. I’ve been dancing professionally for over 13 years and teaching for the past 7, with a deep focus on heels, commercial movement, and the many intersections between technique, expression, and healing.

I’m queer and non binary, autistic, and live with disability and chronic pain — all of which deeply inform how I move through the world, how I teach, and how I create space. My classes are built on principles of trauma-informed care, inclusivity, and joy. I know what it’s like to feel unseen, unsafe, or burned out in dance spaces, and my work is rooted in supporting dancers who are reclaiming their passion after those kinds of experiences. At Where We Land, there’s room for your complexity, your softness, your power — all of you.

This isn’t just about movement — it’s about unlearning the systems that have harmed us and reimagining what dance can feel like. My practice actively resists white supremacy culture in our training environments, and challenges norms around urgency, perfectionism, competition, and hierarchy. Instead, we focus on process, presence, and building solid foundations with patience and intention. I believe rigorous training and deep joy are not opposites — we can hold both.

To me, at its core, dance is a form of somatic release and a way to build community. It’s where I process, where I connect, where I come home to myself. And that’s what I hope to offer through this work: a space where dancers of all levels can train with integrity, reconnect with their bodies, and find freedom in movement — on their own terms.