Group Fitness Instructors

Kathy Anthony, Certified Nia White Belt
Kathy Anthony is a licensed massage therapist, a Certified Nia White Belt Instructor and Nia 5 Stages Facilitator.  Kathy’s personal journey with Nia has been one of the great joy, passion, self-healing and awareness.  Kathy enjoys sharing that passion and joy with her students.  With heartfelt gratitude, Kathy enojoys helping empower others through Nia, to tap into the innate intelligence and wisdom of their unique body and unique being, igniting self-discovery and self healing in all realms; physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, in a safe, fun and magical environment.

Aneaj has been a member of Almaazah’s Crescent Moon Dancers and the Creative Director for Tribalusions. She trained formally with Almaazah, Columbus, Ohio and Yasmina Ramsy, Toronto, Canada in professional presentation and teaching of Middle Eastern Dance and has also taken intensive instructor training with Paulette Rees Denis Portland, Oregon. Her involvement in Middle Eastern dance includes troupe performances and performances of a solo nature locally, throughout North America and Eqypt. Aneaj has a Communication Arts Degree, and combines her love for radio and belly dancing through the web station Hipdrop.com, which features belly dance music and interviews from belly dance artists.

Ever since she can remember, Jill has been dancing. Growing up, she studied various dance styles such as tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, and character dance. Jill then followed her passion and love for the arts to major in dance at Kent State University. There she was able to further her studies in dance adding in modern, post-modern, and African dance. Jill now holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Education. Jill continually pursues her passion for dance by performing and teaching for various schools and companies. Since 2007, Jill has been a company member of Verlezza Dance Company located in Shaker Heights, OH. There she has the opportunity to perform onstage as well as participate in lecture demonstrations and weeklong intensives. Jill also currently works as a Teaching Artist for BalletMet’s Moving into Literacy program. This program allows her to go into different schools and teach dance to students in grades K-12. This program infuses dance education into English Language Arts education to positively impact literacy. In addition to her love for dance, Jill is also an avid yogi. She is currently working on completing her 200 hour teacher certification in Ashtanga yoga from Yoga on High.

My personal experience with health and fitness struggles made me want to help others who want to change their lives for the better, and as a Transitional Fitness Trainer with EquiVita I can do exactly that. As a Transitional Fitness Trainer, I’m dedicated to listening and helping each client reach his or her personal fitness goals, whether in a one on one setting or a group setting. Through my own personal experience, I feel like I can relate to the pain and struggles that naturally arise when trying to tackle a fitness project. The feeling that I felt once I achieved my goals and realized that my hard work paid off is a feeling that I want to share with each and every client. That’s why I love doing what I do. I love being there for each client to help push them to take that extra step. I know that every fitness goal can be accomplished with hard work, and while you might end up doubting yourself at times, I can promise you that I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you stop doubting yourself…and that you never doubt yourself ever again.

Wendy Rieser, Zumba Instructor
Wendy Rieser has a Bachelors Degree in Music from the Ohio State University. She is a professional vocalist, but has always loved dance, dance performance and teaching dance. Wendy has a versatile dance background in Ballet, Show Choir, Musical Theater, Drill Team, Jazz, Tap and Hip-Hop. Wendy was certified in Zumba Fitness in 2009. Zumba incorporates Latin style dance movements into and invigorating and fun workout. It also integrates some the basic principles of aerobic, interval and resistance training to maximize caloric output, cardiovascular benefits, and total body toning. Wendy combines the Latin essence of Zumba (Merengue, Salsa, Cumbia and Reggeaton) with her past training to create an exciting and exhilarating workout!

Christopher started training in the martial arts at the age of eight. He attained his black belt of Tae Kwon Do in the style of Ji Do Kwan when he was twelve and then achieved his 3rd Dan belt when he was around twenty. Christopher entered the United States Navy shortly after high school and spent over 8 years traveling and living abroad in countries such as Japan, Korea, and Thailand. In those travels he had the opportunity to study numerous martial arts in the specific countries of origin. While abroad he discovered the similarity of physical techniques of arts such as Eskrima from the Phillipines and Bojutsu from Okinawa. More importantly, he was privileged to experience the cultural differences and history from numerous teachers, providing him with a unique experience and perspective in his own teachings of physical, mental conditioning, and self defense. Christopher has taught at the college level classes in human behavior, situational response, and the bodies response to stress during times of crisis. Christopher looks forward to bringing his experiences to EquiVita and sharing them with you.

Amber Preston,  Zumba and Hip Hop Fitness instructor

Amber is super excited to be joining the amazing team at EquiVita! Amber’s love for dance started at the age of three. Growing up Amber studied multiple styles of dance in both Columbus and New York City, and received her Bachelors of Fine Arts from Wright State University. Amber’s love of Zumba came about after having her baby girl in January of 2010. She was looking for a fitness class in which she could work off her baby “padding”, as well as fulfill her artistic outlet in dance.

Nicole Barbour,  Core Conditioning and Boot Camp instructor

Nicole grew up in Columbus and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English and a Master’s Degree in Education at The Ohio State University. During college, she competed in rowing, cycling and triathlons and worked for the Department of Recreational Sports. She taught high school for a year after graduating but was laid off and moved to Florida to start a branch of a tutoring company. While there, she obtained certification to become a Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor and worked part-time at a gym. She’s worked with clients of all ages and abilities, and I taught a variety of classes. I soon found that I enjoyed working in this field more than in academic education. I recently moved back from Florida to be close to my family and friends. I am passionate about fitness and enjoy helping others reach their goals! She is also an endurance athlete and enjoys outdoor sports. She is energetic, encouraging and values her relationships with members and clients.