Naomi Oster (any pronouns), is a dancer and organizer from Chicago, Niswi-mishokdewinan (Council of the Three Fires) land. Their current interests are group attunement, contact improv as mixed media, and clowning. Naomi is a dedicated organizer of the Chicago Contact Improv Jam Collective. They came to contact improv in 2016 at Lawrence University, after a decade of devised theater roots. Naomi started their Ensemble Thinking™ certification in 2025 and hosts a bi-weekly practice group called Tuning In. Naomi's movement lineage includes lessons from the Lower Left ensemble, Margaret Paek, Tamara Drew, and the dance floors of each Chicago Public School they attended. Outside of movement spaces, Naomi can be found playing Dungeons & Dragons and reading Ursula K Le Guin.

Heidi McFall (she/her) is an interdisciplinary performing artist and teacher. As a performer, she specializes in collaborative dance improvisation and genre-bending choreographed works. As a teacher, Heidi strives to be generous and affirming. She excels at helping students develop their own creative voice within a context of specificity and rigor. Heidi has performed and/or jammed as a dance improvisor in Milwaukee, New York City, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington DC (among other places). She holds a Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance (Lawrence University), a Master of Arts in Performance Studies (NYU), a Master of Fine Arts in Dance (University of Maryland), and had the profound privilege of training under Nancy Stark Smith at her last January Workshop in 2020.

Katey Borland discovered Contact Improvisation almost 10 years ago, when she was in her late 50s, and attended her first GLACIER in 2025. For years she studied spontaneous, unscripted performance through a folklorist's lens. Recently retired, she's now interested in understanding improvisational practice through a performer's lens and the embodied knowledge that entails. She's looking forward to offering ways in to jamming with old and new friends in playful, creative collaboration and mutual astonishment. 

Tori Schneider is a dance artist from the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Coming from a traditional dance studio setting, primarily focused on ballet, Tori wanted to break out and try something new. That lead her to Lawrence University where not only did she Major in Art History, but she was a member of the first class to receive a Dance Minor. Under the mentorship of her professors, Margaret Paek and Mauriah Donegan Kraker, Tori has created a variety of choreographic works. All of which have been derived from improvisation. Currently, she is working towards a teaching certification in Ensemble Thinking™. In all facets of her life, Tori finds herself improvising. Whether it’s installing artwork in museums, walking her dog, or rolling around in the studio. 

Fede EscobarMerodio does not have formal academic training in dance, but brings 44 years of experience rolling on the ground—14 of those within the practice of contact improvisation. Through this experience, Fede has explored movement and dance as spaces of play, joy, awareness, and the embrace of awkwardness. While interested in the technical aspects of contact improvisation, Fede is most drawn to attunement, togetherness, connection, and community in movement. They have been part of the GLACIER community since 2016 and felt called to contribute by leading a warm-up. Fede also deeply values the community’s attention to power, consent, risk, and intersectionality, and appreciates how the practice supports ongoing reflection on identity, experience, and relationships.