Native fit for dance of life
LIZETH CAZARES

December 28, 2008

For Kimberly Miguel Mullen, dancing is her life. Through dancing, this 1992 Woodland High School graduate has been able to travel, perform and teach all over the world. She's had several highlights in her ongoing dancing career -- including headlining several dance fitness DVDs, performing on Broadway with well-known Cuban conguero Francisco Aguabella, touring nationally with a Brazilian dance company and even started her own bikini line.

"It's not only the physical aspect, it's educational and it involves traveling, reaching out to people and building communities," she said.

But this all started when she was a young girl seven or eight learning from Sally Forment at the Woodland School of Dance.

Born and raised in Woodland, Mullen was always involved with performance, her mother Lynn Mullen said.

"We just have a really strong musical background, not one of those things she stumbled into," Lynn said.

Growing up she took dance classes and was involved with junior Jazzercise taught by local instructor Bobby Kittredge.

Residents could've seen her perform as a young girl at the Yolo County Fair.

While she was known more for her skills on the volleyball court in high school, she decided to make the transition back to dancing after leaving Woodland.

"Going into dance was a natural thing for her to do," her mother said. "Dance requires so much athletic ability and endurance."

It was when she enrolled at Portland State University when her dance career started to take off.

There she joined and eventually directed the school's dance organization, World Dance Office.

"From then on I've been a full time dancer for the past 15 years," she said.

After graduating, this Woodland native began traveling across the country to New York, Bay area, Los Angeles and San Diego, learning and training in different styles of dance. Eventually, she received her masters degree from the UCLA in Dance.

She developed a strong interest in Caribbean and Cuban styles of dance and began traveling internationally to learn more about them. She's researched in Puerto Rico, was an exchange student the University of the Virgin Islands, lived in Trinidad and Tobago and for the past five years she's been living and training on and off in Brazil.

"It takes a lot of pro-active ambition to learn about these dances because they're not readily accessible," she said.

But Mullen was able to teach and bring these traditional dances to a wider audience through her dance and fitness DVDS.

While working as a choreographer for Bollywood Dance DVDs and artist Hemalayaa Behl in 2005, she wound up developing a relationship with Acacia, a company of fitness and health DVDs. Mullen was eventually hired as a lead talent and has been part of many fitness videos including "Dance and Be Fit: Brazilian Body," "Dance and Be Fit: Latin Groove" and the upcoming title "Dance and Be Fit: Lower Body Burn."

Not only did the DVDs allow her to teach, but it has opened several opportunities for her.

"It's allowed me to develop as a solo artist," she said. "It's opened up doors for me to continue working on my own work, developing myself and getting my work out there."

While teaching and performing are a big part of the life, she's also busy developing her own style of dance using common threads seen in Caribbean and Brazilian dances.

"Each Island has their own specific way of how they developed these forms, so my interest as a dance entomologist to go to these different places and learn their culture through dance."

And she's learned so much, not only about other cultures but about herself.

"It's become my spirituality because so much of these forms are rooted in religion that I do," she said.

From starting off as a young dancer at Woodland School of Dance, Mullen has become a well-recognized performer and dance ethnologist.

And her parents couldn't be prouder. "People express themselves in many ways this is the form Kim expresses," she said. "And her dad and I are extremely happy for her."

Mullen hopes to continue developing herself as a dancer, teacher, performer and maybe someday establishing her own dance company. But, right now, she's just happy doing what she loves.

"What I'm doing right now is really what I aspire to do in the future," she said. "I do feel very blessed for that."