Ryan Heffington

The esteemed Choreographer and Dancer is on a mission to help you find inner joy through movement. “Occasionally someone rattles the arts industry cage so hard that they demand a rethink of what constitutes good, satisfying and important practice. In contemporary dance that player is Ryan Heffington” – Hold & Corner Magazine. In March 2020, Ryan Heffington became a north star of empowerment and self-expression for hundreds of thousands of people through his free, online dance class SWEATFEST. Together with his community they raised over 300k for charities that supported Black Lives Matter, LGBTQI+ and other organizations. Heffington’s 2022 TED TALK angles on accessing happiness through movement – another vehicle to get the world to dance, which has been a goal of Ryan’s since his mid 20’s. The pandemic also brought closure to his dance studio The Sweat Spot (Los Angeles) which offered an array of dance styles for the novice to the professional dancer. The Sweat Spot created a community through yearly recitals, benefit concerts, workshops, screenings and dance parties alike. After a 10 year run, The Sweat Spot remains an example of the world’s desire to commune and dance.  Heffington happily resides in the high desert a few hours outside Los Angeles where he throws “TITS + PALMS” – a monthly dance party for queer folk and their allies. He’s in the early stages of developing a residency for multi-disciplinary creatives, continuing to build community as he did in Los Angeles for nearly 30 years.