Born to dance, Elise Porter, a Bend resident and local movement aficionado, pursues her life’s purpose by helping “humans get unstuck and release into the full joy of movement expression.”
Propelling herself into as many styles of dance as possible, from high-school belly dancing classes and ballet-modern fusion in college, she’d jumped at every dance opportunity from hip-hop to jazz to ballroom, and, one of her favorites, tango, once she’d relocated to the PNW. Porter later discovered the free-flowing arts of contact dance and contact beyond contact dance, which to her, perfectly blend movement and therapy.
A longtime recreational athlete with a background as a personal trainer and running coach, Porter left rainy Seattle years ago on a whim, accepting an invite on a cross-country bike tour with a friend, having never considered herself a bicyclist. It was exactly what she needed to start breaking out of Seasonal Affective Disorder and ongoing anxiety. But several months after her 4,600-mile, six-month trek — including speaking engagements for what she and her then boyfriend called their RAD (Ride Above Depression) tour — her back started hurting.
When physical therapy didn’t help, an MRI confirmed Porter had a rare medical emergency – Cauda equina syndrome, requiring surgery and leaving her in the dark whether she would be left paralyzed from the waist down. Over the course of a year committed to physical healing post surgery, she recovered mobility and most of her sensation.
“Movement is medicine,” Porter emphasized, and the only thing that helps her feel good when experiencing depression or anxiety.
With renewed gratitude for her recovered mobility and passion for helping others do the same, after a stint working as a mental health recovery coach she became a wilderness guide. She later completed yoga instructor training and taught Vinyasa Flow classes, then worked as an assisted stretch practitioner before transitioning back into personal training.
“I was realizing people didn’t need just mobility, they also needed strength,” she said, elaborating how her background in functional fitness, corrective exercise and mental health informed a new way of working with clients.
Porter has since returned to her first love, dance, but it was always a hobby, nothing she ever thought she’d teach.
But when everything aligned in Guatemala for her to join a contact beyond contact dance facilitator training — a practice integrating authentic movement, improvisation, mindfulness and a plethora of other skills — she jumped in feet first, immediately teaching classes in Mexico and Bend.
Dance — or as Porter’s preferred wording with clients, therapeutic movement — is a powerful tool. In addition to its aerobic health benefits, alongside improved strength, more flexibility, better balance and increased mobility, dancing also releases endorphins, feel-good chemicals that naturally boost mood, alleviate pain and decrease stress.
Knowing first-hand what it feels like to be stuck physically, mentally and emotionally, Porter offers her services to support others in finding their freedom, sharing, “When I see people with different ways they’re being held back, I can’t help but want to help them break through. Some of my clients call me ‘Release Elise’ because I help them release stuff, get rid of blockages.”
Anyone interested in coaching for therapeutic movement, mobility and strength training, including injury prevention and recovery for all ability levels, especially beginners, can contact Porter through her Instagram or website below. She also frequently produces therapeutic movement and music events, like mobile dance parties and fusion dance gatherings, all details available on Instagram.
To those uncertain about dance-style movement in front of others, she encourages, “Dance isn’t about looking good, it’s about feeling good.”
and Strength Training Services
This article appears in Source Weekly May 22, 2025.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
