Rick Shrum

Rick Shrum has been drumming since age 3 when his dad (also a drummer) gave him his first drumsticks and began teaching him classical percussion. Rick played in school orchestras, concert stage bands, drum and bugle ensembles, percussion ensembles, and rock bands. He credits Arthur Hull, from Santa Cruz, as his primary teacher of African drumming. He began studying Afro-Cuban drumming in his 20s and has been playing and teaching this art for the last 30 years. In the 90s Rick played for Dance Kinetics (now called Yoga Dance) at Kripalu. Having been a Waldorf teacher for almost 20 years, Rick has taught drumming to all of his classes incorporating rhythm into the learning process. He has played for Afro-Caribbean dance classes at the Berkshire Pulse for the last six years. Rick has led drum circles at Mountainside drug alcohol rehab center. Having a Masters degree in neurobiology Rick has been a registered nurse from 2010 to present.

Michael Siktberg

As an arts educator, Michael has taught for the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s summer DARTS program at Tanglewood, The Flying Cloud Institute, The New York Kids Club, Falls Village Children’s Theatre, and the Soundry Music Studio. As an actor he has walked and talked on many stages (Sharon Playhouse, Stages St. Louis, Bucks County Playhouse, The Ogunquit Theatre, Theatre by the Sea, Cumberland County Playhouse, Yorktown Stage, as well as touring companies with Chamber Theater Productions and American Family Theatre) and is a member of Actors Equity. Originally from the Hudson Valley NY, Michael received his training at the American Music and Dramatic Academy, The Simon Studio, and has coached with director Richard Sabellico. He is also on the staff at Dewey Memorial Hall, where he frequently produces and hosts events. Michael lives in Sheffield with his wife Ruby and their three cats.

Noel Staples-Freeman

Noel Staples- Freeman was born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts. She currently
resides in Pittsfield, MA. Graduating from Emerson College in 1987 with a B.S. in
Children’s Theatre/Performing Arts and Dance, Noel’s career spans over five decades,
primarily focused on teaching and performing in the Boston and Lowell Public Schools,
locally and internationally.


Her dance journey began at age 11 at The Billie Pope School of Dance in Roxbury,
followed by training at renowned institutions such as The Boston Conservatory of
Music, The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, The Art of Black Dance and Music, and the
Koumpo West African Dance Company.


Throughout her career, Noel has achieved numerous milestones, including
performances during Nelson Mandela’s visit to Boston in 1990, participation in Dance
Africa at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and appearances at Jacob’s Pillow. Notably,
she received the 1995 Commonwealth Award of Massachusetts as a member of the Art
of Black Dance and Music directed by DeAma Battle and performed in Senegal, West
Africa, at the Sorano Theatre for the President of Senegal as part of the Koumpo West
African Dance Company directed by Ibrahima Camara.

Noel is also recognized for her support and contributions to Aashka Dance School in
Hyde Park, MA, receiving the Commonwealth Award in 2016 and a Certificate of
Recognition from the City of Boston in 2023. As the Founder and Director of Uprising
Dance Theatre since 1983, she leads an intergenerational group focusing on traditional
and contemporary dance, music, and theatre from the African Diaspora. The group
offers community classes, lecture demonstrations, and Kwanzaa celebrations
throughout New England.


In recent years, Noel has expanded her involvement in community work, as a member of
Common Good Co-operative Urban Farm founded by Kafi Dixon and participated as a
panelist for “From Racism to Covid-19: Black Women in Community & Ongoing Public
Health Crises” at Harvard Medical School in 2022.


In 2023, she graduated from the inaugural Community Health Workers Engaging in
Integrated Care (COHERE) program at Tufts University School of Medicine, further
integrating her passion for dance with holistic healthcare practices.

Diana Steele

Diana Steele is a lover of the arts who is passionate about making things run smoothly. Her professional background is in office logistics and workplace dynamics. Most recently she worked in the Human Resources department at The New York Times. She left that role to move to the Berkshires where she rediscovered her love of theater, especially Shakespeare. She has starred in A Midsummer Night’s DreamThe Cherry Orchard, Julius Caesar, and The Winter’s Tale. 

Diana graduated from Wesleyan University in 2014 with a BA in Economics and East Asian Studies, where she was a member of the varsity squash team. When she is not at work, she enjoys taking long walks with her dog, playing Dungeons & Dragons, and curling up with a good book.

Shawn Stevens

Shawn Stevens, recognized as “Red Eagle,” is a registered member of the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans. While their ancestral lands once extended throughout the Hudson Valley along the river and into 4 states, they now call Bowler, Wisconsin home since 1859.

Some of his accolades:

  • Enrolled Tribal member of The Stockbridge Munsee band of Mohicans
  • Chairman of Tribal Language and Culture committee.
  •  Vice President of the Historic preservation committee
  • Tribal Historic preservation monitor.
  • Mohican language scholar.
  • Spiritualist & sacred ceremonial bundle carrier.
  • Storyteller
  • Herbalist and holistic healing.
  • Ordained minister of The Church of Universal light.
  • Native American artist, Drummer, singer, flute player and musician
  • Speaker (Sharer) of indigenous culture, history and prophecy
  • And really nice guy! 🙂

With his accolades, Shawn does many types of presentations around the country. His Indigenous background, along with being multicultural, drives him to share his teachings with all Children of mother Earth believing we are one family on one planet with a common mother. He says that he was taught by elders who said long ago that the world would one day come to the indigenous peoples for direction. Having lost, forgotten, or had their ways taken from them, they have forgotten their indigenous ways of being attached to this world and their original ways. The world will become sick, and it’s our duty to share with them how to heal the earth, and live in harmony with all life forms.

Brianne Szymanski

Brianne Szymanski specializes in dances of the Vintage Swing Era including Lindy Hop, Charleston, St. Louis Shag, Collegiate Shag, and American Vernacular Solo Jazz. Brianne has offered class series and workshops in these forms at The Ohio State University, Ohio University, and other communities for the past nine years. Previously, she was a Ballet instructor with the Toledo Ballet Association and other venues in Ohio and Michigan, teaching students varying in age (3 to adult) and skill (Creative Movement to Advanced Company classes). Brianne also performed with the Toledo Ballet’s Company for six years with a repertoire that includes various roles in The Nutcracker, Giselle, Peter Pan, and numerous original productions. She continued her dance training at The Ohio State University, and at the graduate level at Ohio University. Brianne is credited as an accomplished competitor, placing frequently in local and regional Lindy Hop and Jazz competitions with improvised and choreographed work. Presently, Brianne performs as a freelance dancer and instructor. She also serves as the Community Engagement Programs Manager at Jacob’s Pillow.

Bethany Trozzo

Bethany began teaching yoga in 2018 after completing her 200-hour yoga teacher certification at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. While pursuing her nursing degree, Bethany stepped into hospital settings as a mental health technician and soon discovered the importance of sharing yoga and mindfulness practices with patients and colleagues. She was drawn to expanding her knowledge in these areas and completed her 300-hour Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga Facilitator training (TCTSY-F) through the Center for Trauma and Embodiment at the Justice Resource Institute. Bethany’s teaching style is therapeutic, accessible, and engaging. She combines Eastern wisdom teachings with the latest neuroscience and mind-body therapies research for class participants.

You can learn more by visiting her website – bethanyoga.com.

Tom Truss

Moving Life Stories Coordinator

Tom Truss is a performer, creator and educator. His 30 year career includes dancing, acting, choreographing, directing, devising and teaching. He toured with the Liz Lerman/Dance Exchange (’89-’94); ran his own dance company (’94-’01); was a community artist at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (’94-’99) leading workshops at local schools and various communities throughout Berkshire County; taught at American Dance Festival (’93-’98); and has been a teaching artist with Flying Cloud Institute since ‘95.  Tom has been published in Dance MagazineContact Quarterly, and was a frequent contributor to OutRightRadio an award winning radio show on PRI. He has performed all around the world and his work has been seen at the Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, New Zealand’s Wellington Fringe, American Dance Festival, On the Boards, Dance Place and The Foundry to name a few, as well as in parking lots, rivers, furniture stores and cars. Truss graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Texas; obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Choreography from the University of Iowa; a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from the College of Wooster; is an AmSAT certified teacher of the Alexander Technique; and is a level one certified Internal Family Systems practitioner.  Some awards Tom has received are Best Choreography – Austin Critics Table Awards (HAIR), Best Actor- Austin Critics Table Awards (The Idiot), Best Actor Nominee – B. Iden Payne Awards (The Idiot), New England New Works grant – New England Foundation of the Arts, and an Artist Fellowship –  Massachusetts Cultural Council. Currently he is touring a dark comedy, solo show about growing up queer called, Tell me what you learned Tuesday, and ReWritten, a multimedia evening length duet co-created with Matthew Cumbie about the intimate relationship between Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Kim Waterman

Kim has studied a variety of dance styles and has come to love the traditional dances of Africa. She has been studying, teaching, performing, and sharing these dances with children and adults for more than 30 years. Kim holds a Masters Degree in Education and her extensive classroom teaching experience makes her dance classes accessible to students of all levels. In addition to Berkshire Pulse, she currently teaches throughout the Berkshire public school system in grant funded programs, is a faculty artist at Berkshire Art Center, and program coordinator for parent/child education at CHP. She has been working with Berkshire Pulse since its inception as the Flowering Child Performing Arts Program in 1996. 

Adam Weinert

Adam Weinert is a choreographer, researcher, and gardener based in Hudson, New York. He has produced and choreographed two award-winning dance films screened nationally and abroad, and his performance works have toured to four continents, including venues such as the Museum of Modern Art New York, the Tate Britain Museum in London, and the Palais Garnier in Paris. Weinert studied at the Royal Ballet School, the School of American Ballet, The Juilliard School, and New York University, where he earned a master’s degree under André Lepecki. He has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Shen Wei Dance Arts, and others.

In addition to his performance work, Weinert was published in The New York TimesPAJ: A Journal of Performance and Art, and the Juilliard Journal. He was named a “Dance Renegade” by Dance Magazine, received the Léo Bronstein Award from New York University, and earned the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Outstanding Choreography from The Juilliard School. In 2020, Weinert was named a Bessie Honoree for his work reconstructing and interrogating the choreographic legacy of Modern Dance pioneer Ted Shawn. That same year, he launched Jacob’s Garden, a working farm, living archive, and participatory piece of choreography on the campus of the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts. His ongoing research explores the sensual connectivity between performance, agriculture, nourishment, and community.

Berkshire Pulse