our founders

As co-founder and Director of in2improv, Sandra Paola López Ramirez (BFA, EdM) has a multifaceted career involving performance, dance education, activism and community building/organizing. Her work is characterized by the exploration of issues such as relationship, gender, race, identity, awareness, kinesthetic listening and perception and it has taken her throughout the US, Colombia, Brazil, Cyprus, France, Canada and Mexico. She uses collaborative improvisation to foster human development and community building, blending elements from Ensemble Thinking, Contact Improvisation, Action Theatre, Social Therapeutics, Vipassana meditation, improv theatre and social/partner dances. She has studied extensively with internationally renowned artists Ruth Zaporah, Kristie Simson, Jennifer Monson, the Lower Left collective, among others. Sandra Paola has an active artistic practice and is currently faculty in the dance program at the University of Texas at El Paso and a MFA candidate in the Interdisciplinary Arts program at Goddard College. For more information you can check out her website.

Co-founder and Assistant Director Chris Reyman (DMA) is a highly versatile improvising pianist and accordionist with degrees in Jazz Performance and extensive experience with interdisciplinary collaborative improvisation. In addition to performing, He is also a composer and has completed several short film scores and written works for small and large jazz ensembles, orchestra and chamber ensembles. For six years, he was a member of the faculty at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois and at the Community Center for the Arts in Urbana, Illinois. After completing his doctorate in 2011, he began collaborative work with dancemakers and improvisers and shortly after co-founded in2improv. Chris is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Texas at El Paso where he teaches improvisation and piano. You can read more about Chris’ work in his website.