Dr. Miguel Almario on Holistic Teaching and PT Care
On Offering Cultural Competency and Wellness Services
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Photo by Adam Gatdula
Having a full appreciation and understanding of the history and mechanics of dance requires more than just time in the studio. Dancers like Dr. Miguel Almario are providing community members with the cultural context behind their movements and access to compassionate and individualized physical therapy services. Read on to learn more about Miguel’s dance journey in the freestyle and commercial space, teaching programs at The Arete Project, and PT services at MovementX.
Miguel started exploring breaking his junior year of high school when his younger brother encouraged him to give it a try. He joined a local dance troupe called Culture Shock DC, a non-profit dance organization in the Washington DC area aimed at community outreach. Miguel’s passion for dance grew immensely. He says that one of the things he loves most about dance is that one person’s artistic expression can differ so much from another’s. “I have the freedom to find my voice and my style of movement,” Miguel shares.
He later ended up competing on the TV show America’s Best Dance Crew on MTV in Los Angeles, California. “That was a time where I was like ‘I can make something of this,’” Miguel says of the turning point in his career. After competing on TV, Miguel shares he started focusing on dance in a more professional capacity, as prior to the show, he hadn’t experienced any “formal” training. Growing up, outside of Culture Shock DC, Miguel practiced dance in his friends’ basement and in his school’s cafeteria, often ordering VHS tapes of competitions to study and draw inspiration from.
After some time, Miguel decided to take a break from dance and returned home to DC from LA. He shares that this was a time in his life when he deeply pondered what kind of life he was going to lead. “I always knew I wanted to be working with people,” Miguel says. Eventually, he landed on pursuing physical therapy, sharing that both of his parents were physicians which greatly influenced him. He thought PT could provide him with the opportunity to bridge the worlds of dance and physical medicine.
While in PT school, Miguel danced with a dance team in Boston, Massachusetts, where he underwent rigorous training. After graduating from PT school, he moved back to Los Angeles to work as a physical therapist and dancer.
Photo by Adam Gatdula
Following his experience in the traditional physical therapy clinic setting, Miguel realized he was interested in working in a role that allowed him to make stronger, more intimate connections with his clients. That’s when he got connected with MovementX, a physical therapy provider that offers in-person and virtual treatment that is adaptable to clients’ varied lifestyles.
“I work with a lot of dancers,” Miguel says of his PT work at MovementX, sharing that he serves all kinds of clients, including those recovering from minor or major injuries, those looking to improve their ability to move or perform, or those who feel generally physically limited in one way or another.
Miguel shares that his dance experience has been unique, as he has trained in more community-oriented, freestyle, breaking spaces, and has had heavy exposure to the more commercial world as well. Miguel’s wife Niecey Almario is also a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Today, Niecey and Miguel Almario teach a variety of courses together in Seattle through The Arete Project. Miguel shares that he and his wife collectively offer a holistic dance experience, informing people of the cultural context behind movements and how certain techniques can apply to different professional settings, like on a dance team or in a music video.
Photo by Adam Gatdula
Honoring the cultural roots of different styles of movement is of the utmost importance to Miguel. For example, he shares that hip hop and street dance have roots in Black American communities and that it’s important for people to know this to understand and appreciate the art form more fully. Miguel shares that learning the history behind dance styles like hip hop has made him realize that this art form he partakes in is much bigger than him as an individual.
“I would like to see a lot more empathy towards the culture and the people that created the dance,” Miguel says of a change he hopes to see made in the larger dance industry. He shares that many of the people who created dance genres like hip hop and breaking are still alive and accessible to dancers, yet their contributions can get drowned out. More focused on physicality, Miguel also hopes to see more dancers treating and training their bodies like the athletes that they are so that they can keep dancing for as long as they can. “You’ve got to put that work in so that you can keep going,” he shares.
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