Stephanie Zaletel | szalt

Stephanie Zaletel (they) is a choreographer, dance artist, trauma-aware educator and facilitator based in Los Angeles, CA whose work focuses on empathy building practices and embodied empowerment in community.

Stephanie’s early career was threaded together with persistent and prolific art making practices inspired by their quest to access and create dance in trauma-aware, consciously-feminist led spaces - and in 2015 they founded szalt, a project driven dance company to deepen this learning and expression. 

Through szalt Stephanie integrated choreography, music and sound design, textiles and fiber arts, film, poetry, neighborhood engagement, and astronomy into their highly collaborative performance-based offerings. szalt’s performances, classes, and workshops have reached thousands of audience members and movers.

Stephanie loves to dance and create works for musical artists, films, dance, opera, and theater companies with collaborations spanning nationally and internationally and offers movement consultations for actors and performers for film and stage. Collaborations include clipping., c. Prinz, Beth Morrison Projects, Rosanna Gamson World Wide, Lars Jan's Early Morning Opera, and more.

Following the revelatory experience of caregiving for their grandmother in her last year earth-side, Stephanie founded I CARE ABOUT YOUR BODY in her honor in 2023. This offering culminates in quarterly workshops, somatic 1:1s, immersive retreats, and a methodology for trauma informed caregiving practices.

Stephanie is the Director of Programming and Artist Relations for WIP, a monthly work in progress series co-founded with Kate Wallich that shepherds long term works in development for local artists with residency time, performance culminations, and peer-led discourse.

Stephanie holds a Certificate in Somatic Psychotherapy and Practices Program from Antioch University deepening their understanding of how trauma lives in and moves out of the body and how this relates to their work in the Dance field and culture. Stephanie holds a BFA in dance performance, with a minor in Humanities from California Institute of the Arts and 12 years later is an MFA candidate in Choreography with research in arts pedagogy and ecological practices at their alma mater.

Stephanie loves to reset their nervous system near bodies of water, bouldering with their beloved in the mountains, cuddling with their dogs, reading, and cooking.