Instructors
Caitlin Fahey
Co-Owner, Artistic Director,
Instructor
Lifelong athlete and performance artist, Caitlin is an accomplished singer, dancer, actor and teacher. Her list of credits include being a member of the breakdancing crew Total Khaos, competitive Bellydancing Troupe Baktiari, choreographer and instructor for Dancenter, Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center and Santa Cruz Performing Arts and featured dancer and flying monkey in Cabrillo Stage’s The Wizard of OZ. Also a very experienced personal trainer and fitness instructor, she has worked at Spa Fitness Watsonville, Bay Avenue and 41st Ave, Santa Cruz CORE Fitness and Rehab, BodyWorks, and for herself conducting her own fitness camps since 2007. Caitlin loves to dance and is incredibly passionate about helping people lead healthier, happier more balanced lives.
Jill Steel
Co-Owner, Director of Business Operations, Instructor
Jill’s accolades include 8 years as a member of the San Francisco 49er’s Goldrush Cheerleaders, where she also served as line captain and choreographed for the team, performing in England, Japan and at four NFL Superbowls. She spent 5 years as lead Instructor for United Spirit Association (USA), being a U.S. Latin Ballroom Champion winning in both Latin and Ballroom Divisions while competing in Blackpool, England, and teaching alongside celebrity pop star and professional dancer/choreographer Paula Abdul. She is enthusiastic about creating a space where people can feel good, increase health and have fun.
Thomas Fahey
Personal Trainer, Tai Chi, Chi Quong, Kickboxing, Limalama®
Thomas began to find himself as a leader and coach when he was asked to be team captain of his college cross country team. Like his sister, Thomas is a very knowledgeable and caring personal trainer, having gained valuable experience at Santa Cruz CORE Fitness and Rehab as well as BodyWorks Personal Training Studio. A skilled runner, mountain climber, golfer, martial artist, trainer and recently-avid-stair climber, he has also added certified Tai Chi instructor to his list of credentials in 2015. He further deepened his capacity for this ancient healing art by traveling to China and Vietnam for 3 weeks to study with monks at the Nam Hoa Temple. He was promoted to 1st degree blackbelt in 2018 by Senior Master Rudy Tuiolosega and is eager train new students in the art of Limalama.
Mindy Pedlar
Classical Ballet
Mindy Pedlar has worked professionally as a Singer, Dancer and Actor. She toured with Serendipity Singers, performed in musical theater productions throughout the state and was a featured singer/dancer in Juliet Prowse’s night club act. Mindy is a lifelong student of Classical Ballet. She began teaching basic ballet at Synergy in 2006. She now teaches 4 classes a week to accommodate beginning, intermediate and advanced level students; recognizing the progress of her long time students and welcoming new students desiring to enter the wonderful world of Classical Ballet.
Tricia Aminifard
Yoga Sculpt, Gentle Yoga Flow
As an escape from the daily life with three boys under 5, Tricia turned to yoga as a workout as well as a mental reset so that she could be the best mom possible. After practicing Hot Yoga for 5 years, she was inspired to take her first teacher training. Inferno Hot Pilates was a new and challenging experience and she continued on the Yoga education pathway and completed trainings in Yin Yoga, Vimana Yoga, Yoga Sculpt and a 200 hr RYA certification.
Kevin Burke
Tai Chi, Gentle Movement and Meditation
Kevin Burke began studies of comparative spiritual philosophies as an undergraduate at Stanford University. Initiated into Raja Yoga a few years after graduating, he continued his studies and practice of yoga and meditation while working as a public school teacher and Parks Manager. Kevin took an avid interest in Taoist philosophy, and in 1998 he began studies and practice of Chi Gong, Tai Chi, and Taoist Meditation techniques at Esalen Institue in Big Sur. In 2002, he began teaching those techniques at Esalen as well as at Post Ranch Inn and Ventana Inn. Kevin holds a current State of California Teaching Credential and is a State of California Certified Massage Therapist with special interest in Energy Work including Reiki and Matrix Energetics.
Peggy Knorr
Cardio Dance
Peggy is a long-time resident of Aptos and has an extensive dance background concentrated in jazz and ballet. She taught cardio dance under the direction of Frank Duncan at DanceSynergy, where she also served as dance captain, choreographer and performer in Frank’s annual Cabaret Musical Revues from 2008-2013. Some of her choreographic credits include Cell Block Tango, Show Me How You Burlesque, Sing Sing Sing, Mein Herr and On Broadway. Peggy loves teaching and wants to share her joy and love of dance with others in an encouraging and supportive environment.
Zari Le’on
Foam Rolling & Classical Ballet
Zari Le’on is an artist and educator who challenges perceptions of either/or. A lone wolf in lineage, heritage and praxis, Zari’s work in liminal space bleeds into her performance, technique classes, scholarship and healing modalities. The late historian Hayden White, called Zari a “radical visionary,” an accurate description, as every mode of Zari’s work challenges existing notions of what “is.” The participant is plunged into an intellectual and/or physical articulation that uses the voices of both colonizer and liberator: Whether Ballet or vernacular, slang or scholarship, Zari uses languages that seek to tame, while simultaneously liberating the proverbial savage beast that humans ignore through 9-5 practices of counter-intuition
Reina Fleck
Cardio Dance
Reina began dancing at the age of 3 and studied ballet, tap, jazz, bellydance and Hip Hop. Born in Watsonville, she was part of the National Champion Cheer team in 2005 at Aptos High School. Also a talented singer and actress, she performed extensively for 11 years with Kids on Broadway, starring in many shows and serving as an assistant choreographer. Reina became a certified Zumba instructor in 2013 and is a school teacher in Santa Cruz County.
Amy Kroeger
Synergy JAM
While Amy’s roots are in Dallas, Texas, this now-California girl has traveled extensively and lived in many places around the world including Australia and Germany. She has a strong passion to see the world and learn about new cultures and the art, dance and food that inspires them. Amy pairs her experience as an Integrative Health Coach with her passion for dance, which lights her fire to make a positive mark on other people’s lives and that of her family. When she is not hitting the dance floor, Amy loves creative healthy cooking and stays active by biking, hiking and running in the beautiful forests and beaches around Santa Cruz. Amy’s goal is to create a positive, FUN and high energy environment in which her students can expand their creativity and leave feeling happier and healthier with a smile on their face.
Rudy Tuiolosega
Senior Master Limalama
Rudy Tuiolosega was officially promoted to Senior Master/Soke, 10th degree black belt, Malamalama in June 2004. Senior Master Rudy Tuiolosega has over 40 years of experience in self defense both as a competitor and instructor. He has traveled extensively and has done numerous seminars worldwide specializing in combative arms and well as specialized self defense training for police officers, and anti-terrorist groups.
Senior Master Rudy Tuiolosega has a deep love and respect for his father’s teachings and holds a deep commitment and passion to carry on the quality and integrity of Limalama to the new generation of practitioners. He speaks Samoan fluently and his love of his Samoan culture is reflected in his teaching. He believes Limalama will enrich the lives of those who study this unique martial arts system and asks of his students, “What can I do to benefit you.”
Lindsay McRitchie-Swift
Synergy JAM
Originally from Watsonville, dance has been an important part of Lindsay’s life since childhood. As a young kid, Lindsay was found dancing tap, jazz and hip hop with local dance choreographer Nancy Coolidge. In high school Lindsay was a member of Aptos High’s Dance Team and in her Junior and Senior year was on the Hip Hop & Breakdancing team known as the Flava Unit, under the direction of the late Gary Ray Kendall. In college Lindsay danced with UCSD’s Hip Hop Dance Team, Ascension. She became a Zumba Instructor in 2009 and taught Hip Hop classes at local studios, which was a dream. After taking a break to get married and start a family, Lindsay is ready to get back in the studio; enter Synergy, and the dream begins yet again.
Liza Manley
Classical Ballet
Liza Manley has been a student of classical ballet since the age of six when she began her training in the Vaganova method. She has lived in Santa Cruz for over a decade now, and continues to take as many ballet classes as possible, always striving to improve her technique and artistry. It is with this mindset that she loves sharing her passion for ballet, and all of its beauty and challenges, when she teaches beginning through intermediate ballet classes. When she is not dancing, she is in her classroom working as a local school teacher in PVUSD.
Rea Steel
Limalama, Kickboxing for Fitness
Rea (pronounced Ray) studied and instructed martial arts for many years within the Bok Fu system in San Jose where he rose to the brown belt level. While stationed in Germany, Rea was a member of the U.S. Army boxing team and later participated in the AAU Golden Glove Tournament at the Cow Palace in South San Francisco. He has been training in Limalama with Senior Master Rudy Tuiolosega alongside Thomas Fahey here at Synergy for 2 years where he recently tested and earned his third-degree brown belt. Rea loves sharing his martial arts knowledge and skills to increase his student’s mental and physical strength leading to a state of empowerment.
Chris Martin
Classical Ballet
Chris Martin graduated California State University Chico in 1982 with a Minor in Dance and has worked as a ballet Instructor locally since 1998. Chris has been living, dancing, performing, choreographing in Santa Cruz since 1958.