a little about me...
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My name is Karine Plantadit — a dancer of worlds, a storyteller of the body, and a lifelong devotee of movement as medicine.
I have lived many lives: professional dancer, Broadway actress, choreographer, director, actor, educator, life coach and Yoga teacher. My journey has carried me from the stages of Alvin Ailey to the bright lights of Broadway… and now into a new era of creation.
Despite the challenges and setbacks from time to time, I am truly grateful for an amazing life and career. They have provided me many incredible opportunities and experiences. Continue below as I share a few highlights of my journey thus far:
- I was born in France and raised between the south of France and Cameroon, Africa.
- As a teenager, I studied at the Rosella Hightower Dance Center in the south of France.
- After seeing the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform in Paris, I was motivated to move to NYC to pursue a career in dance.
- I became a member of Judith Jamison Dance company, and later earned a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey American Dance School.
- I was eventually promoted and performed as a lead soloist in AAADT's first performance company for seven years.
- After leaving the AAADT, I began performing on Broadway and in television/film.
- On Broadway, I was an original cast member in The Lion King, Saturday Night Fever, Moving Out, Come Fly Away and After Midnight.
- On television, a few of the shows I appeared in include Sex and the City, The Affair, Smash, Mozart In The Jungle, and So You Think You Can Dance.
- Some of the films I have had roles in include Frida, Chicago, Across the Universe, Isn't It Romantic, Black Nativity and The Way You Love.
- I won a Fred and Adele Astaire Award for outstanding female dancer, and
- I was nominated for a TONY and a Drama League Awards for my role in "Come Fly Away".
- I am senior judge and instructor for the renowned Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) dance organization.
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I am an entrepreneur and creator devoted to the intelligence of the body.
My current offerings span several worlds:
• SHÄ€ — SHÄ€ is my signature fusion of dance and yoga — a fluid, liberating practice rooted in ancient movement wisdom. Born from my life as a performer, educator, and healer, SHÄ€ guides people of all backgrounds to reconnect with the intelligence of their bodies. It is a pathway to reclaim freedom, potential, and joy through the combined medicines of dance and yoga, awakening expression, grounding, and vitality in every practitioner.
• Nail Your Auditions™ & Nail Your Competitions™ — empowering young artists to step into their confidence with clarity, technique, and emotional intelligence during the audition to competition process. I guide dancers and performers to shine fully in the rooms where their dreams unfold.
• Womb to World — my newest creation, a transformational program for women from 35 to 55 seeking to conceive, stay pregnant, and journey into motherhood through spiritual grounding, embodiment, and emotional support.
Each of these pathways reflects the same core truth:
the body knows, the spirit leads, and movement is a way home
- I am an internationally certified yoga instructor.
- I am also regularly a guest speaker and instructor at some of the most prominent and prestigious dance schools and yoga studios around the world.
All that I have experienced, learned and accomplished has brought me to where I stand today and helped pave my path forward...
yoga
Ironically, my love of yoga evolved out of a dark time in my life.
In 2011, I was doing the show “Sinatra Dance With Me” in Las Vegas, which I previously also headlined under the new name “Come Fly Away” on Broadway.
The physical demands of the show were immense, particularly considering I was just recovering from a serious hip injury and reparative surgery. Added to this, I was struggling a bit emotionally because my beloved feline companion of 14 years was dying from liver cancer. Needless to say, I was brought to "child pose".
Through yoga, I was able to regain and solidify my footing with the earth beneath me. I learned to initiate and regulate my breath as a means of better controlling my physical movement. I found strength being in one breath with everyone in the room, “many in body, one in mind”. I was able to again stand in integrity as I erected myself into "mountain pose". And the feeling of release I got from my sweat gracing the floor in a beautiful flow,…FREEDOM!
I knew immediately that I wanted EVERYONE to feel and experience this transformative power just as I had. This is why I began to REALLY study and understand the practice of yoga.
My studies lead me on a path I never imagined, and today I am a seasoned yoga instructor certified in many different disciplines, including vinyasa, yin, Barron Baptist, the Modo Series. I have even developed/co-founded a new discipline we've named KAMOCHIMETHOD. So come and meet me on the mat.
Being a yogi is the perfect compliment to my loves of dance and acting. I am currently a senior instructor at Modo Yoga NYC and I present classes, teach privately, lecture and host retreats around the world.
During the current pandemic, yoga is even more important. It can be vital to staying in shape physically, remaining grounded mentally and maintaining a positive spiritual outlook. To insure that everyone has inexpensive access to these benefits, I have developed a variety of virtual classes, meditations and lectures
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MOTHERHOOD
Becoming a mother at 54 reshaped my entire universe.
My son, Ciel, arrived as a pure miracle — a reminder that life listens to devotion, courage, and faith in one’s own timing. His presence cracked me open to deeper compassion, wider purpose, and a more intimate relationship with my own body and spirit. Motherhood has become one of my greatest teachers, inspiring every part of my work today — from SHÄ€ to Womb to World — and reminding me daily that "CREATION" in all its forms, is always possible.
