About Annie Martens
Annie resides in Chapel Hill, NC, and is a student of occupational therapy at Nova Southeastern University, where she is passionate about exploring how to make artistic dance spaces welcoming environments for neurodivergent participants. Annie is excited to expand her understanding of maternal health and well-being via the lens of occupational therapy. This website is designed to share her academic learnings as an occupational therapy student studying assistive technology and pondering how this may support those engaged in artistic endeavors, as well as support maternal health and well-being. Annie is devoted not only to her educational pursuits and teaching practice but also, first and foremost, to her family, which includes her husband, Ben, and their three children (Raina, Liam, and Lucas). In her spare time, Annie enjoys gardening to cultivate her favorite foods, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, and beans, as well as hiking, kayaking, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing with her family.
Dance Background: Annie began her dance training at 2.5 years old with Kathleen Green at Mercyhurst Center for the Arts. She later studied under Robert Steele and Sharon Filone at Lake Erie Ballet, as well as Tauna Hunter, Michael Gleason, Mary Price Boday, and Jay Kirk at the Mercyhurst Dance Department. Annie has studied at Ballet Met, Chautauqua Ballet, Juilliard, and the American Ballet Theater. Annie graduated cum laude from the Boston Conservatory under the guidance of Emiko Tokunaga and Yasi Tokunaga. Annie performed professionally in Erie, PA, Boston, MA, and New York City. Annie has worked with an array of companies and artists -particularly with the Taylor Ballet Company (NYC 2004), where she performed various solo and principal roles. Annie began teaching dance in 2001. In 2003, Annie began teaching as a certified pilates and personal trainer to support dancers. Annie later went on to study Gyrokinesis®, Gyrotonic®, as well as, yoga to support dancers in their pursuits. Annie is a certified American Ballet Theatre Teacher (National Training Curriculum) for Pre-Primary - Level 3.
Movement Conditioning Background: Annie is also the owner of Bella Bellies®, www.bellabellies.com, which focuses on exercise programming for pregnancy, postpartum, and parent-baby movement. She has been featured in Kiwi Magazine, Max Fitness Magazine, Fit Pregnancy Magazine, and more. Annie has spoken on 'National Public Radio', at the 'Pilates Method Alliance' Conference, on 'Telemundo NBC', 'Fox Broadcasting' and more. Annie has taught maternity classes full-time at the Cleveland Clinic and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Explore the website for more information, and feel free to reach out with questions am6029@mynsu.nova.edu