Where you always interested in dance?
Since I was a little girl, I was fascinated with movement and dance.  My first ballet class was typical for the time….a very stern teacher with a mean pointer.  It was then that I realized that for ballet was too regimented for me.  My dream of being a prima ballerina was gone but I did realize the importance of ballet as a foundation.  As a teenager, I started taking modern dance classes…the style of Lester Horton, Katherine Dunham were among my favorites.  Also, I began to have a strong interest in folk dance.  I loved to explore the different cultures.  It was a very safer environment to experience cultural differences without repercussion. 

Tell me about your early dance career?
I got my first paying job as a dancer when I was 14 years old.  It was a belly dancing show and I fibbed and said I was 18.  I continued to work in dance but in modern dance.  I was with several struggling dance companies but found it difficult to support myself.  Once I got married, I gave up my dancing.  Dancing was my core and I felt I had given up my soul.  After my divorce, I decided to go back to dance but not as a dancer but as a teacher.  I began to teach modern dance to both amateurs and professional dancers.  Throughout Los Angeles, I found that students were missing what I call “dancnique” which is not just dance technique but the ability to get the audience to feel your movement.  Your whole body needs to be an instrument which plays the tune that the choreographer has composed.  One of my favorite classes to teach is dance drama.  It’s the telling a story with your body.  

Don’t you manage the Martin Dance Company?
Yes, for over 20 years.  The company has played at many well known entities….Hollywood Bowl, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Greek Amphitheatre and the House of Blues to name a few.  We are always looking for new members! 

You know the dance world from many different sides.  What advice would you give to an aspiring dancer?

• Select a studio that teaches a strong technique, and master the technique before adding other styles.
• Select a studio that includes performance skills.
• Be prompt reporting to class.
• Comply with the school’s policies and procedures.
• Decide if you want to be a soloist, company or commercial dancer; or a teacher.
• When you audition, investigate the background and standards required.
• Discuss and ask any question about the job offered by audition.
• Complete any assignment assigned to you
• Take responsibility and give a 100 percent at all times.
• Refrain from participating in a click.
• If you audition for a job and feel you were unfairly not selected – do not pout, ask to speak to the manager and ask why.

When did you open MKM Cultural Center?
In 2000, I took the leap and opened MKM Cultural Center in the heart of the NoHo Arts Center.  I wanted a school that catered to every aspect of the dancer.  I wanted to prepare the dancer for a professional career and give her the ability to earn a living.  At MKM, we teach strong technique…a real foundation for dance.  We offer classes in modern dance, lyrical jazz, folk dance, salsa, zumba, samba and martial arts.  We teach a variety of cultural dance and choreograph it with a more western flavor. 

If you had a major wand, what would be your wish?
If I had one million dollars, I would provide scholarships, performances, training and art related programs.