Adriel Moriah: Dancer, Children's Dance Instructor

Spotted: The Mission

What are you up to today?

I'm hanging out with my good friend Olive here, and we're going to go teach a little dance workshop about healing arts that are collectively therapeutic. And then I'm babysitting again later tonight.

Where is the dance workshop happening?
It's at Yerba Buena Gardens.

What's your occupation? What are you going to do?
Oh, good question. I'm pretty nomadic. I work with kids and I teach dance. I'm a dancer. I've been sort of holding down a collective art space at 24^th and Mission where we learn to make a living out of what we love to do.

Is it a physical studio or is it a collective of people?
It's a home. It's a Victorian flat, and I rose to the challenge wanting to figure out what all you can do in a Victorian flat. It's called Middleground, and I teach dance at Dance Mission, which is just across the street from there. I'm also part of a little workshop — I work with two other childcare providers, so we're fostering a program for the younger kids because, surprisingly, there are not a lot of things going on for them. Actually, this shirt got given to me by such a super fashionista who's living with us right now. He's actually at home making stuff to sell at the silent disco in Dolores Park. We've all been closet cleansing and then offering it around. So we had a little session two nights ago and he was like, "You — this. You —  this and this," and it was great. I was telling him that we need to get a little label that signifies him. Even though he [doesn't] make all his gear, he knows how to find it. And he does fashion really well.

Yeah, I like the combo with the jeans and the Vans with the galaxy pattern on them.
I got the shoes at Shoe Biz; they were totally on sale. They were, like, the last pair. I've never had high tops before, and I decided to get them — who can say no to the galaxy? I haven't even re-laced them or tied them up. They're my throw-on shoes.

I also wanted to ask you about the hula hoop that you have on your backpack!
This is my infinity hoop. It's one hoop that can open up. They call it a collapsible hoop. I love it because there's also an infinity, which is not a typical hooping design. I've been learning how to spin it and dance with it. I got into hoop dancing with a beautiful woman named Stefana Serafina — she does Hoop The Flow and mystic embodiment projects that are all about intuitive movement, and she taught me to witness my hoop as just an externalized version of myself. I mostly use it on my body to discover where energy blockages are because the hoop won't spiral. And then off the body, it's mostly a dance in relationship and learning how to respond, fall off balance, and gain it, dance mistakes into perfections.