Instructors

Tina Erfer

Tina Erfer, MS, BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT, is a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, National Certified Counselor and Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. For thirty-six years, she has worked as a dance/movement therapist in educational and psychiatric settings, with children and adolescents with special needs. She was the Coordinator of the Hospital School Program on the Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Unit at Mt. Sinai Hospital for eight years. Tina has given lectures, workshops and training sessions at numerous agencies and universities; and supervises and trains dance/move ...

Tina Erfer

Tina Erfer, MS, BC-DMT, NCC, LCAT, is a Board-Certified Dance/Movement Therapist, National Certified Counselor and Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. For thirty-six years, she has worked as a dance/movement therapist in educational and psychiatric settings, with children and adolescents with special needs. She was the Coordinator of the Hospital School Program on the Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Unit at Mt. Sinai Hospital for eight years. Tina has given lectures, workshops and training sessions at numerous agencies and universities; and supervises and trains dance/movement therapy graduate students and practitioners. She has published on her dance/movement therapy work with children who have emotional and/or behavioral challenges, and children on the Autism Spectrum. Tina has served on the Board of Directors of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA); and is past President of the NY and NJ Chapters of the ADTA. Tina is the Coordinator, and faculty member, of the Alternate Route Dance/Movement Therapy Training Program at the Harkness Dance Center of the 92nd Street Y in New York; and on the faculty of Les Grands Ballets National Center for Dance Therapy in Montreal, Canada. She has taught DMT in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, as well. Tina is the recipient of the American Dance Therapy Association 2015 Exceptional Service Award, and the 2017 Outstanding Achievement Award. Tina is one of the founding members of a Task Force working towards State Licensure for Dance/Movement Therapists and Drama Therapists in New Jersey.

This instructor is currently teaching the following classes:

Introduction to Dance / Movement Therapy

Methods In Dance/Movement Therapy I

Dance/Movement Therapy Alternate Route Program Reunion

June Intensive: Dance for Children and Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum

Dance as Therapy

Suzi Tortora

Dr. Suzi Tortora is a board-certified dance movement therapist, Laban Nonverbal Movement Analyst and specialist in the field of infancy mental health and development. Her expertise in early childhood development and the importance of early relationships inform her psychotherapeutic work across the life span. Dr. Tortora has a private dance movement psychotherapy practice, in New York City and Cold Spring-on-the-Hudson, New York. Dr. Tortora offers training programs and lectures about her dance therapy and nonverbal video analysis work with infants, children and families, at national an ...

Suzi Tortora

Dr. Suzi Tortora is a board-certified dance movement therapist, Laban Nonverbal Movement Analyst and specialist in the field of infancy mental health and development. Her expertise in early childhood development and the importance of early relationships inform her psychotherapeutic work across the life span. Dr. Tortora has a private dance movement psychotherapy practice, in New York City and Cold Spring-on-the-Hudson, New York. Dr. Tortora offers training programs and lectures about her dance therapy and nonverbal video analysis work with infants, children and families, at national and international professional meetings and universities. She is on the board of the New York Zero-to-Three Network. Dr Tortora has been featured on Good Morning America and Eyewitness Five-O’Clock News, WABC–TV; Women’s Day magazine; highlighted in Malcolm Gladwell’s New Yorker article and book titled What the Dog Saw and other adventures; has published numerous papers about her therapeutic and nonverbal communication analysis work with children, parent-infant dyads, and Autism Spectrum Disorders; has twice been guest editor of the Zero to Three Journal; and has a book with Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company titled The Dancing Dialogue: Using the Communicative Power of Movement with Young Children. Dr. Tortora graduated with honors from the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development Tufts University specializing in child development, education and psychology; received her dance movement therapy masters degree at New York University; and her doctorate with a specialization in infancy/early childhood development, psychology and education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has done extensive study and training in the field of infancy and early childhood research, development, education, communication and intervention through the Zero to Three Institute and Dr. Stanley Greenspan. She has studied Authentic Movement with Janet Adler & Body-Mind Centering with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. Dr Tortora is also a certified Laban Movement Analyst, and Kestenberg Movement Profiler.

This instructor is currently teaching the following classes:

Dance/Movement Psychotherapy with Infants and Children

June Intensive: Dance for Children and Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum

Diane Duggan

Diane Duggan, PhD, BC-DMT, is a licensed psychologist, board certified dance therapist and dance educator. She began teaching dance in 1972 and has worked as a dance therapist since 1973. She has conducted a dance therapy program in a New York City Department of Education program for adolescents who have emotional and learning disabilities since 1992. Her students have performed in Lincoln Center, Central Park, South Street Seaport, St. Mark’s Church, NYU’s Frederick Lowe Theater and the Apollo Theater.

Catherine Gallant

Catherine Gallant is dancer/choreographer/teacher and works as a full-time NYCDOE dance educator at PS 89 in Manhattan where she explores dance with students in Pre-K through fifth grade. She and her students were featured in the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, PS DANCE! which illuminates the process of dance learning in public education. From 2003–2009 she developed and implemented a curriculum (with Mary Lisa Burns) to share the work and process of choreographer Merce Cunningham. She served on the writing committee for the NYC Blueprint for the Arts in DANCE and is ...

Catherine Gallant

Catherine Gallant is dancer/choreographer/teacher and works as a full-time NYCDOE dance educator at PS 89 in Manhattan where she explores dance with students in Pre-K through fifth grade. She and her students were featured in the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, PS DANCE! which illuminates the process of dance learning in public education. From 2003–2009 she developed and implemented a curriculum (with Mary Lisa Burns) to share the work and process of choreographer Merce Cunningham. She served on the writing committee for the NYC Blueprint for the Arts in DANCE and is on the faculty of the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL). Ms. Gallant was an author of the Dance for Diverse Learners Supplement to the Blueprint and regularly leads professional development workshops for dance teachers in NYC Public Schools. Ms. Gallant is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory and holds an MFA in Dance from Temple University. She has been creating new works for Catherine Gallant/DANCE since 1999 and has presented work in NYC at 92Y, City Center Studios, All Over Westbeth and most recently at Danspace Project/St. Marks Church. Catherine is also the director and co-founder of Dances by Isadora which performs, teaches and collaborates with Duncan dancers throughout the world. The company most recently performed at Jacob’s Pillow’s Inside Out Series in July 2017.