Introductory Workshop Teacher  2025:  

Griff Goehring has practiced and performed group dance improvisation and creative dance since 1972. She studied with Barbara Mettler for several summers before becoming a member of Barbara's professional groups from 1978-1986. 

Griff was Barbara's teaching assistant for much of that time. 

She earned her Master's Degree in Dance/Movement Therapy from Antioch/New England Graduate School in 1993 and settled in Vermont for the next  30 years. During that time she founded Green Mountain Creative Dance Center and taught a Mettler-based course at Hampshire College. 

Griff directed several groups that drew participants from the college and from the larger Mettler-based dance community. These were The Northeast Performance Project in 2009, Summer Dance Lab in 2010, New England Bicycle Dance Troupe in 2011 and the Summer Company of 2012. 

She organized the Creative Dance in Schools Teacher Training project in the academic year of 2012-13. Starting in 2007 Griff teamed up with Mary Ann Brehm to offer intensive Mettler-based dance workshops at the Tucson Creative Dance Center. These workshops have evolved into Mettler Studios' Creative Dance Teacher Training Workshops which occur annually in person in Tucson and online. Griff and Mary Ann also initiated Mettler Studios' Apprentice Program to certify Mettler-based Dance Educators. 

Griff recently moved to Tucson where she continues to dance to explore her interest in physical theatre and social clowning.

2024: Kyla Ferguson

Kyla was introduced to Mettler-based dance by Griff Goehring in 2006 as a first year student at Hampshire College. She continued to work with Griff through college, and later through performance projects, teacher trainings, and apprenticeship. She has taught Mettler-based dance in schools, in programs for people with disabilities, and for the general public. She has served on the IACD Board of Directors and has attended four Congresses. In 2022 she completed her certification with Griff and Mary Ann Brehm as a Mettler-based Dance Educator. She is also a licensed clinical social worker, and currently works with individuals blending somatics, energy healing and psychotherapy. In addition to Mettler-based dance, she holds certifications in Embodyoga®, Trauma Release Exercises®, Integrative Acupressure, and Reiki. Photo by Sanda Costello.