My name is Ellie Reich and I am the Director and Community Arts Integrator for Music Art & Movement. I am a mother and an educator and am passionate about integrated learning in education. Over the past few years I have created a liberal arts experience for my children and their peers, relying on literature-based approaches, process art, and play-based learning. This method did not happen by chance but has been guided by lifelong experiences. 

Aside from the many opportunities I had to visit museums, attend professional performances, and take art lessons, I also had the amazing opportunity to take part in the Children’s Dance Theater (2000-2010), a company of Tanner Dance at the University of Utah. It is a unique dance program that encourages development through creative movement, places trust in a child as an artist, inspiring them with powerful poems, books, music, and themes in nature, while giving them time and space to create. I recognize this as one of the greatest gifts of my childhood. While a member of this company, I performed at Capitol Theater (2000-2010) and throughout the state in lecture demonstrations, in the 2002 Winter Olympics, and with Repertory Dance Theater.

I am also passionate about the sciences, especially plant sciences. My mom is a  horticulturist, so my childhood was spent watering in her greenhouse, placing plants in gardens she planned, and visiting botanical gardens on family vacations. I competed in school science fairs in Plant Sciences during middle and high school and was a finalist at the International Sciences and Engineering fair in Albuquerque, NM (2007), Atlanta, GA (2008), and San Jose, CA  (2010). These projects taught me how to think through the scientific process, evaluate results, communicate visually, and concisely and clearly present research and results. I continued pursuing science and studied Public Health at Westminster College, a liberal arts college that offers an extensive intellectual grounding, drawing from multiple fields including STEM disciplines, the humanities, and the fine and performing arts. 

After earning my Bachelor of Science, I chose to be a stay-at-home mom. When one of my children presented with learning difficulties, I meticulously researched learning approaches and educational philosophies. Through my extensive research and lived experience, I have come to value literature, art, and play-based approaches to education that offer opportunities for language-based and kinesthetic learning (read more on that in my vision). I started Music Art & Movement so that I can provide an intellectual feast—like the one I had as a child—for as many other children as I can. My goal is to not only develop children creatively as artists, but intellectually as people. I hope your children will join us!