Biodanza School of New York State
A place to play, connect, and transform. Together.
Announcing The Biodanza School of New York State!
The Biodanza School of New York State is accredited by the International Biodanza Federation (IBFed) to offer the internationally recognized three year, 30 module, Biodanza facilitator training program.
The School will be directed by International Didactic Team Member Maira Martinez, who currently directs The School of Biodanza of Montreal and Southwestern Quebec, Co-Directed by President of the Association of Biodanza Canada, Genevieve Sirois, and assisted by two additional Didactic Facilitators: Pablo Concha (NYC) and Clara Rubin Smith-McKie (W. Mass).
La Escuela de Biodanza del Estado de Nueva York se ha creado para ofrecer formación de facilitadores de Biodanza. La escuela estará dirigida por Maira Martínez y Geneviève Sirois, que actualmente dirige la Escuela de Biodanza de Montreal y el suroeste de Quebec, asistidas por Pablo Concha y Clara Rubin-Smith. Esta formación es un curso de 30 meses acreditado internacionalmente, que generalmente se imparte un fin de semana al mes, y que comenzará del 13 al 15 de marzo de 2025. Para ver el calendario completo, haga clic a continuación. El programa estará abierto a los practicantes de Biodanza que deseen obtener la certificación de la IBFed para convertirse en facilitadores de Biodanza, o a los practicantes que deseen profundizar en la Biodanza sin convertirse en facilitadores. La mayoría de los módulos también se pueden cursar de forma individual, con la aprobación del director. Agradecemos sus preguntas a tara@newworldritualdance.com.
Schedule a call to explore your interest in the Biodanza School program
Haz clic para programar una llamada con Maira.
Biodanza School of New York State
A training program opening your path to Biodanza, unfolding identity in deep community.
Why take this training?
First and foremost, Biodanza school is a wonderfully deep dive into the theory and practice of Biodanza. Enrolling in the Biodanza facilitator training means choosing to embark on a profound process of personal transformation. If you decide to join us in this cycle, we will invite you, throughout these three years of training, to immerse yourself with us in a space where our relationships will be our field of experimentation, and our vivencias, the crucible in which we will forge the gold of our identity. Since we all arrive with knowledge, experiences, achievements, and a history, we can offer each other the possibility of putting the wisdom that dwells within us at the service of our growth and that of the group. In this way, we can learn from each other at all times and create together a safe and stimulating place for the development of each and every one of us. In short, the facilitator training process offers both a comprehensive and varied curriculum and a process through which we transform ourselves as we train.
Second, an accredited school of Biodanza is the only way to become a facilitator.
Often, accredited Biodanza facilitators often retake specific modules or go through the Biodanza school program more than once – the practice is that subtle and complex and flat-out joyful and transformational!
Anyone who comes for an individual module, or who joins the entire program, will be part of an amazing cohort on an intense evolutionary journey.
What are the various training options?
There are several ways to participate in the facilitator training:
Enrolling in the Full 2026 Training Cohort provides you with all the materials and supervision you need to be a certified Biodanza facilitator. The full 30-month course, generally occurs one weekend per month, 10 months per year, for 3 years - beginning March 13-15, 2025. Training details, including the full calendar, are provided here.
Those who wish to deepen their knowledge and experience of Biodanza without committing themselves may register as auditing students during the first two years of the cycle. (Auditors may request to join the training group at any time, provided they meet the admission criteria and submit the integration reports from previous courses.)
Individual Modules (without an intention to complete the full training program) can be taken with the permission of the Director.
Existing Biodanza facilitators who wish to re-experience any or all modules are warmly welcomed to join any module at a reduced cost.
What, When & How Much
The training program consists of three main sections: 21 theoretical modules, seven methodological modules, and five in-depth modules. Two unusually intense personal transformation work practices, called the "Minotaur Project," and two theoretical seminars complete the curriculum. It unfolds as approximately 30 monthly residential weekends from March 2026 through December 2028 in the greater New Paltz, NY area.
Note that school is the first part of the international accreditation process. To become an internationally accredited facilitator, graduating students must also engage in a course of supervised facilitation under the tutelage of a Didactic Facilitator, and must write a monograph (thesis) on an approved topic of their own choosing, under supervision of a Didactic Facilitator and be approved by the School Director.
We welcome your questions to tara@newworldritualdance.com.
I’m in!
Your Instructors
Maira Martinez, School Director
Maira has been working with love and passion at the development of Biodanza for over 20 years. She is the Director of the <Montreal and South West of Quebec School of Biodanza>, and she also facilitates and gives workshops all over the world. In addition to training Biodanza facilitators and creating powerful Vivencias, Maira has been active in the field of alternative approaches to health, wellness, and joy for almost 40 years as a coach, hypno-coach, ritual guide, breathwork facilitator and artist. Her passion is to see human beings blossom and unfold in all their splendor. At the heart of her work is a deep belief in the power of the imagination and creative expression to nurture the unfolding of healthy and rich identities and communities.
Pablo Concha, Biodanza Didactic facilitator
Pablo has been dedicated to the growth of Biodanza with heart and depth for over a decade based in New York. Originally from Chile, he studied at the School of Biodanza Santiago de Chile, directed by Fernanda Morixe. He facilitates regular weekly groups and workshops. He collaborates with Tejiendo Vida Collective, with whom he celebrates diversity and authentic expression through meditation and healing music. Pablo is a composer and theater-maker whose creations explore movement and music as paths to human integration. With a background in Early Childhood Education, Pablo’s heart lies in nurturing spaces for babies, children, young and adults alike. His passion is to awaken joy, presence, and love through the transformative power of expression to unfold their unique expression in community.
Clara Rubin-Smith McKie, Biodanza Didactic facilitator (she/they)
I am a certified Biodanza Facilitator and Didactic Teacher Trainer, leading Biodanza groups in English and Spanish across Massachusetts and previously in the San Francisco Bay Area. I first encountered Biodanza 25 years ago in Chile, and have been facilitating since 2007, with additional specializations in working with youth and families as well as organizations and teams. Over many years as an interdisciplinary teacher and artist, I have focused on community facilitation and capacity-building, creating accessible participatory arts experiences that build the conditions for individual and collective wellbeing. With a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, Modern Languages and Dance, my undergraduate thesis looked at ways that womxn in Latin America have mobilized social change through folk arts, music and dance. Growing up in traditional dance and music communities, I am fortunate to have experienced the power of this kind of generative, collective action from early on. I went on to explore diverse movement forms, teach physical communication workshops, and work in diverse fields including nonprofits, education and health care, from pregnancy and early childhood to end of life. I have been an invited presenter to a wide range of groups and events, most recently bringing Biodanza to a California statewide early education conference for teachers and parents, and to mental health providers in Massachusetts. It is a privilege to create circles and sanctuary spaces for people to tap into the wisdom of their bodies, find and use their voices, and step into greater connection, creativity and healing for themselves and this world we live in together.