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Rayven Laticia Armijo is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, choreographer, and embodied borderlands scholar whose work bridges dance education, performance, community practice, and cultural advocacy. She is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in Theatre and Dance at The University of Texas at El Paso, where she teaches choreography, pedagogy, contemporary dance, jazz, folklórico, Latin social dance, hip hop, and interdisciplinary performance.
Her artistic and educational trajectory spans the spectrum of dance practice, from commercial entertainment, concert, cultural performance, and community practice to studio leadership, K-12, international, and higher education. Working as a performer, choreographer, educator, administrator, mentor, and institution builder, her path includes So You Think You Can Dance, professional company and touring work, including Grandeza Mexicana, decades of artistic and educational leadership with Ballet Folklórico de Carolina, ownership and administration of a dance academy from adolescence through 2026, four years of teaching and dance program development in China across K-12 through university contexts. She holds an MFA in Choreography from UCLA and is a graduate of the Los Angeles High School for the Arts.
Armijo’s teaching, creative practice, and scholarship center embodied pedagogy, student mentorship, culturally responsive practice, and movement as knowledge. She is committed to preparing future dancers and dance educators to navigate the evolving intersections of embodiment, technology, advocacy, and creative practice. She recently served on the NDEO Executive Director Search Committee and is passionate about strengthening student voice, access, leadership development, and sustainable pathways across diverse dance education communities.
My vision for Student Initiatives is grounded in strengthening student voice, mentorship, belonging, and leadership across the many pathways students travel into dance education. Today’s students move across studio, K–12, higher education, community, cultural, commercial, interdisciplinary, and digital dance spaces. I believe Student Initiatives can help students not only navigate these ecosystems but also see themselves as artists, educators, scholars, advocates, choreographers, and future leaders within them. As an embodied borderlands artist-scholar, educator, and choreographer, my work has centered on preparing future dancers and dance educators to engage evolving intersections of embodiment, technology, pedagogy, advocacy, and creative practice. In this role, I would be interested in supporting initiatives that amplify student perspectives, strengthen mentorship networks, encourage interdisciplinary and cross-sector dialogue, and build sustainable bridges between educational, artistic, and professional communities. My service to the field spans commercial entertainment, concert and cultural performance, studio education, community practice, K–12, international teaching, and higher education. I have worked as a performer, choreographer, educator, administrator, mentor, and institution builder across multiple dance ecosystems, including studio ownership and administration, university teaching, international dance education and program development in China, professional company and touring work, and long-term artistic and educational leadership within community and cultural dance practice. These experiences shape my understanding of students not as a single population, but as learners entering dance through diverse histories, identities, aspirations, and forms of access. Leadership has been central to my work from an early age. I helped lead and sustain a dance academy from adolescence through 2026, balancing artistic direction, administration, mentorship, educational programming, and community relationships. In higher education and community settings, I have developed curriculum, directed creative projects, mentored students, led interdisciplinary collaborations, and facilitated performance, pedagogical, and research-centered initiatives. I recently served on the NDEO Executive Director Search Committee, which strengthened my understanding of governance, strategic planning, organizational leadership, and the diverse needs of NDEO’s membership. My collaborative work has consistently unfolded across diverse cultural, educational, disciplinary, and international environments. Teaching and developing dance programs in China, working within Hispanic-Serving Institution contexts, collaborating across theater, dance, cultural, and community settings, and navigating commercial, concert, folklórico, hip hop, and academic dance spaces have shaped my commitment to collaborative leadership rooted in listening, adaptability, respect, and culturally responsive practice. My experience with project management and committee work includes studio administration, program development, curriculum planning, production leadership, mentorship initiatives, faculty collaboration, international education projects, and organizational service. I approach committee leadership as both relational and strategic work: building clear communication, supporting shared goals, following projects through to completion, and creating structures that allow individuals and communities to thrive.