Meridian Lin Negilski, MA
Movement Artist, Medicine Woman, Mother, Teacher, Lifelong Student
Umoja Arts was birthed by Meridian Lin Negilski. Her calling began at the age of 9 with training in traditional West African dance at a cultural arts organization in Nashville, TN. Her dance career developed as she performed and taught with several performing arts companies in Arizona, California, and Idaho. Finding a love for the arts as a tool for healing and self-development, Meridian later received training in multiple modalities and combined them with her movement healing practice. She received a Masters degree in Theatre Arts from University of California, Santa Cruz, where she investigated collaborative dance-making as ritual for community healing.
She has directed children’s arts camps, worked in classrooms as a Teaching Artist, and traveled to West Africa to continue her studies. She is also a reiki practitioner, trained doula, womb healer, and embodiment coach. Locally, she has served as the Dance Director of Global Lounge, Inc.
Meridian is passionate about creative expression, community collaboration, women’s healing, and introducing young children to cultural dance and art education. She sees the potential in dancers of all abilities and works by the African proverb if you can talk, you can sing; if you can walk, you can dance, adding “and even in your silence and stillness you can tell a story.” It is her mission to be a force for cultural expression and artistic development and she’s committed to promoting self-love, fostering confidence, and encouraging self-expression in all people.