Karla Puno Garcia

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Teacher Bio

Karla Puno Garcia is a NYC based performer, choreographer, and educator. She has worked in television, film, on international/national tours, and on Broadway - most recently in Hamilton: An American Musical.

Originally from Oxon Hill, MD, her first professional gig was at 12 years old with Debbie Allen and James Ingram in Allen's Kennedy Center production of Brothers of the Knight. She got the bug and moved to the Big Apple!

Karla Puno Garcia is a NYC based performer, choreographer, and educator. She has worked in television, film, on international/national tours, and on Broadway - most recently in Hamilton: An American Musical.

Originally from Oxon Hill, MD, her first professional gig was at 12 years old with Debbie Allen and James Ingram in Allen's Kennedy Center production of Brothers of the Knight. She got the bug and moved to the Big Apple!

Karla attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts on scholarship, completing a BFA in dance and a minor in journalism. She performed works by Kyle Abraham, Dwight Rhoden, and Bridget Moore. She made her Broadway debut in Hot Feet, a dance musical directed by Maurice Hines, then went on to perform in the Broadway revivals of West Side Story, and Gigi; and the national tours of Wicked and The Addams Family.

Karla was a top 7 female TV finalist on FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance (Season 5). Other credits include touring Australia as a soloist for Rasta Thomas’ Bad Boys of Dance; VH1 Divas Live; the Comedy Awards, Live at Lincoln Center: Sinatra A Voice for a Century, Radio City, Anna Nicole Opera at BAM, and a principal dancer on NBC’s SMASH (season 2).

Recent Choreographic credits additional scenes in Netflix’s Tick Tick Boom, directed by Lin Manuel Miranda, the Prospect Theater Company production of 1001 Nights and A Day, ENCORES Off-Center production of GONE MISSING, and Virginia Repertory's production of IN THE HEIGHTS, which she received the Richmond Theatre Critics Award for Best Choreography. Her short film The Spot was selected for the San Francisco Dance Film Festival and DC Dance Film Festival. She has choreographed music videos for Mandy Gonzales, The Knocks (featuring Matthew Koma), Gabi, and the UK artist Kindness. Karla was one of six 'Broadway-bound choreographers' selected to present at the 2018 DANCEBREAK Showcase.

She is currently choreographing a new musical Other World written by Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen, and Ann Macnamee.

Karla is inspired by the great Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse and combines her technical foundations with different textures of musical theater, contemporary, and hip-hop. She appreciates the uniqueness of each dancer and encourages students to take ownership of their individuality and overall sense of artistic self.

www.KarlaPunoGarcia.com

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Class Descriptions

Theater Dance

Karla's theater class explores real life experiences through rhythmic and groovy movement! Warm-up is Jazz/Ballet-based. The energy continues with across-the-floor exercising rhythm, coordination, and musicality.

Class combos pay homage to musical theater pioneers like Jack Cole, Jerome Robbins, and Bob Fosse while adding a modern-day edge. The choreography is always structured by a situation or circumstance, and students are encouraged to bring their own uniqueness in their storytelling.

Music ranges from rock/blues to electronic swing to traditional and current Broadway songs.

(Filmed) Heels Empowerment

A style that allows you to explore your femininity while feeling confident in your body, mind, and soul. Each class starts with an Energy Talk where we discuss the kinds of experiences we should draw from to make the movement feel more natural to the body. Classes include learning specific foundations that can be applied to the choreography and filming. Additionally, the classes are filmed to provide another perspective on learning and growing as a dancer, helping you to perform and express yourself confidently in front of the camera.