Our Story

Your Healthy Dancer's mission is to help dancers become healthier now and be healthy for a lifetime!

We do that by providing education and tools to help dancers move smarter, feel stronger and dance longer.

 

Genevieve Sepulveda is the creator and owner of Your Healthy Dancer.

Growing up as a dancer, then a professional dancer and dance educator, she always had questions about dancer health, usually after incurring injuries.  “How do I heal from my injuries?"  "How do I prevent injuries in the first place?"  "How do I help my body stay healthy?"

She could see the dance world had immense knowledge of physical movement and kinesthetic awareness. Yet dancers and dance educators were not equipped to care for their bodies the way they deserved. 

Dancers have a unique place in the world. They are both artists and athletes. 

Dancers identify as artists and use the artistic tools available.  Unlike traditional athletes, dancers are not trained to use physical health tools.  Resources like Dance Medicine, Physical Therapy, Sports Medicine, Nutrition, Mental Health, Sleep Science and more.

Genevieve has a passion to bridge the gap to connect these tools to dancers.

She wants to help build a dance community, where it is common knowledge how to care for your body, train effectively, sleep well, eat healthy, properly treat and prevent injuries.  All in a way that is healthy and sustainable.

Genevieve began dancing at age 11, after watching "Riverdance" on PBS.  Growing up she loved training and performing Irish Dance, Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Scottish Dance, Ballroom and Cotillion. 

Genevieve was accepted into the University of Irvine's Claire Trevor School of the Arts, as a Dance Major, earning her Bachelor of Arts in Dance in 2007.

She trained in Ballet, Modern and Jazz at U.C.I and their diverse curriculum allowed her to study Pilates, Injury Prevention, Kinesiology, African dance, Hip Hop and Sri Lankan dance.  Genevieve performed at UCI's Dance Department in several concerts, including 2 self-choreographed solos in Undergraduate Concerts.

At UCI Genevieve completed the Carlos Prietto M.D. Sports Medicine Center Internship, where she was first introduced to athletic training and sports medicine.

Genevieve was also a 5-time Arts Bridge of America Scholar, by teaching a hybrid of dance and academics to public school elementary students in Orange County for 2 1/2 years.

Also, concurrently to UCI, Genevieve began her competitive Irish dance career.  Becoming a CLRG Open Championship level Irish dancer who competed multiple times in the US Western Regional Championships and North American Championships and at countless Irish feisanna, across the US.

After college she began her professional dance career.  Genevieve danced as a troupe member and soloist in Irish Dance, Modern & Jazz dance companies, including Darrah Carr Dance NYC, Andy Cooney Band Tour, Kybele Dance Theater, Visceral Resolutions, Kerry Dance Troupe, and Battle of the Dance.  Performing in LA & Orange County and toured across the Eastern seaboard & North Central states.

During her professional dance career, Genevieve worked as a Physical Therapy Aide for 5 years at Mariners Physical Therapy, an Outpatient Orthopedic clinic in Orange County, CA.  Their specialization in athletes and dancers included treating touring professional dancers at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.  Genevieve was chosen to assist the Physical Therapist on the testing and treatment sessions.

Over a total of 13 years Genevieve gained dance educator experience teaching Ballet, Modern, Jazz and Irish dance in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego and New York. 

Genevieve created and developed Your Healthy Dancer in 2012, after chronic body pain ended her professional dance career.  

On her 10-year journey to healing, Genevieve discovered and incorporated physical therapy, nutrition, sleep therapies, nutritional products, counseling and meditation. 

Genevieve is passionate about these topics as she knows what it’s like to live with and without them and these tools have helped her come alive again.

Nutrition positively impacted Genevieve's healing journey so much, she became a nutrition coach with a health & wellness company in 2013. Out of a love for nutrition and seeing it's positive impact in her clients she continued her studies. In 2021, Genevieve became a Certified Nutrition Coach with the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Presently, Genevieve is now studying to become a Corrective Exercise Specialist with the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Your Healthy Dancer Workshops began in 2013 to equip dancers with these same tools.  In these classes dancers learn to identify their physical weaknesses, physical therapy-based exercises, properly treat injuries, balance nutrition and healthy sleep rhythms to build the health of the dancer and prepare them to move better, perform longer because they are stronger.  

Genevieve loves teaching these tools to dancers and athletes, equipping the next generation to be healthy for a lifetime.

These Workshops have been experienced by dancers at the Orange County School of the Arts Ballet Conservatory, Impact Dance Center, Aniar Academy of Irish Dance, Pacific Ballet Conservatory and more.

Elite level athletes have also participated in these Workshops including Vanguard University's Women's Basketball Team, Vanguard University's Women's Indoor Volleyball Team, and F.C.A's College Volleyball Internship.