About Art Motion Pittsburgh (AMP)
Since 2016, Art Motion Pittsburgh, a 501 (c)(3) organization, creates community and provides inclusivity, accessibility and joy through dance and creative movement classes for children and adults.
What does inclusivity mean to us?
Inclusivity means creating a welcoming, supportive environment where people of all backgrounds, identities, and abilities feel valued and connected. We aim to foster a sense of belonging, safety, and community for everyone.
What does Accessibility mean to us?
Providing affordable classes for many economic classes. Instilling adaptable technique to differing ages, skill levels, body types, etc within our curriculum. Providing physical accessibility with out of studio programming.
What does Joy mean to us?
The feeling of elation and happiness can often be elusive when confronted with the stress and strain of the daily grind. At AMP, we recognize that joy is the antidote to what ails us. Joy brings us happiness as well as good health. AMP classes are fun, dynamic and strengthening, building up your resiliency. The joy we feel in class carries over, and we find we can bounce back more easily to what life throws at us. YOU and your family deserve to be JOYFUL.
History
As early as 2021, Jen, one of the original founders of Art in Motion Pittsburgh, dreamed of a dance studio that provided more than just classes for the community. She believed the studio could be a welcoming, safe space that embraced differences and welcomed people of all skill and income levels, age, size, and experience. In 2024, a non-profit arm of Art Motion Pittsburgh began to come to life with a Board of Directors dedicated to advancing inclusivity and accessibility in dance.
Outreach
We are now officially a non-profit 501(c)(3)! We had our first community outreach at the 2024 Winter Fair on December 19th. Participants wrote down the answer to “What does dance mean to them?” on a post-it notes displayed on the wall. The post-it notes accumulated over the course of the evening and were later transcribed and inserted into a “Word Art” image, the heart seen above.
What’s next
Our Board of Directors have begun meeting regularly to refine our Strategic Plan and to decide how best to serve our community. We are beginning to collaborate with other arts non-profit organizations in Sharpsburg in the hopes of advancing our Community Arts Camps among other programs.
We now have a platform to collect donations to our scholarship fund which we hope will begin to make an impact as early as Fall 2025.
You can donate here!
Who we are
Our mission is to create inclusivity, accessibility and joy through dance and our board is passionate about the advancement of dance for all people no matter age, income level, size, class, etc. Dance is for EVERY BODY!
Below you can meet our Board of Directors!
Meet Jen Gallagher, our Chairperson
Jen knows the importance of dance in every day life. She believes that dance brings joy and release, builds strength in both mind and body and in confidence. Most importantly, she knows that dance heals what ails you.
Jen is the co-founder of Art in Motion Pittsburgh LLC which opened in 2016 and is now leading the efforts to open the non-profit arm of the studio. She teaches bellydance classes to kids and adults at the studio and thoroughly enjoys taking all of the instructors classes as well.
Jen is also a registered landscape architect and co-owner of Studio for Spatial Practice, her design firm where she designs parks, streetscape and green infrastructure. Jen also watercolors and knits and you can find her whimsical creations at MomaLino.
Meet Simon Phillips, our Vice-Chairperson
“When I think of Dance, I think of Celebration!”
Simon enjoys nature, cooking, and dancing with friends. His favorite color is orange and his favorite thing to do is daydream! Simon has been a teacher at Art In Motion for 6 years.
Simon implores play in celebrating themes of identity, power, and freedom. A Georgia native, he cherishes the recreational aspects of dance while valuing it’s psychoemotional benefits in sensations of mindfulness and esteem. Simon models interdisciplinarity of arts within education, exercise health, and psychology. He is a behavior analyst providing healthcare services to populations with special needs, a teaching artist and coach promoting holistic wellness enrichment through arts and fitness, and a performer in dance movement storytelling inviting audiences to explore the spectrum of our life experiences.
Meet Dana Butera, our Treasurer
An avid Zumba and overall booty-shaking enthusiast, Dana Butera (she/her) is a lifelong local, who is passionate about supporting Pittsburgh small businesses. You can find Dana across the street from AiM, where she works as an Accountant for Zoar Finance. Dana brings her organizational and administrative strengths to the board, as well as her love and desire for a unified, equitable and empathetic community.
Meet Desiree Vuocolo
With a background in history and a love of travel and the arts, Desiree Vuocolo has long been inspired by the creativity of local artisans. That passion led her to launch Local-Good.com, an online marketplace that connects artists with patrons who value handcrafted work. A portion of every sale on the platform funds Amplify LocalGood, the nonprofit she founded to provide artists with resources, funding, and education to strengthen their visibility, marketing, and financial sustainability.
In addition to her work in the arts, Desiree leads Bridgespan Strategy, a consulting firm that helps healthcare innovators, vendors, and health plans navigate the complex payer landscape. By bridging relationships between payers, providers, and solution partners, she supports organizations in building trust, operationalizing innovation, and accelerating growth.
Her most important role, however, is being Mom to her spunky, almost-adult daughter, Sofia.