One Tuesday evening in Atwater Village, Teresa “Toogie” Barcelo creates a portal. With arms outstretched, she invites participants in her movement workshop, Wiggle Room, to join her on the other side, where they will encounter a renewed version of themselves.
“Step into the next iteration of yourself,” she commands. The participants, who have spent the last hour squirming, shaking and humming, cross the invisible threshold. Their limbs swing freely, their faces smiling and sticky with sweat.
Teresa “Toogie” Barcelo uses a wave drum during a Wiggle Room class at G-Son Studios.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
Barcelo has led the Los Angeles-based movement class for nearly a decade. As an accomplished choreographer and movement director, she has worked with pop stars such as Sabrina Carpenter, Harry Styles, St. Vincent, Troye Sivan and Dua Lipa – including choreographing Dua Lipa’s hit music video “New Rules.”
Barcelo’s success can be attributed to its unique approach, focused on well-being and embodiment. “People call me the energy coordinator,” she jokes. “I’m kind of an enigma in the business industry.”
Growing up in Miami, Barcelo felt disillusioned as he pursued a dancing career in Los Angeles. Her early career was riddled with “cattle auditions, finding an agent, and sexy headshots. All the superficial things you’re told you have to do in Los Angeles to make it as a dancer.”
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Barcelo found freedom – and escape – in improvisation and freestyle dancing. “I saw an opportunity. I want to teach improv in Los Angeles. This is what I can bring to this community,” she says.
From there, Wiggle Room was born. What began as a sanctuary for dancers to explore improvisation has evolved into something deeper. “I started to realize that the class was really a healing space for a lot of people,” Barcelo says. “They really didn’t have anywhere to go to find out about themselves as movers.”
Soon, Barcelo turned to meditative practices, which she infused into her work as a choreographer and dancer. “I obtained my certification as a breath coach. I began to become more interested in embodied practices, body connection and somatic therapy tools.” Wiggle Room is a symbiotic marriage of dance and meditation. The result is a disordered and astonishing interaction of bodies. “We breathe. We move and we wiggle. We have meditative moments. It’s a big whirlwind of play.”
Wiggle Room is accompanied by a live score performed by Joe Berry, member of the Grammy-nominated electronic group M83 and longtime partner of Barcelo. Barcelo invited Berry to collaborate on Wiggle Room early in their courtship. “I grew up in dance classes with live accompaniment,” Barcelo explains. “When we started dating, it was one of the first things I asked Joe.”
M83 musician Joe Berry uses a mix of instruments, including synthesizers and sound bowls, to accompany the class.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
Berry uses a mix of instruments – including saxophones, synthesizers and sound bowls – to create an otherworldly and brooding score. In class, a saxophone solo sparks cheers from the class. “The instruments follow instructions the same way the dancers do,” he explains. A classically trained musician versed in jazz, classical and electro, Berry describes his role as “composing for people’s emotions”.
Berry’s score is an integral part of the meditative mood of the class. “The live soundscapes that he was accidentally creating were these beautiful sound baths with ambient textures,” Barcelo explains.
Earlier this year, Barcelo and Berry moved to Joshua Tree. Still, Barcelo hosts Wiggle Room once a month in rotating venues around Los Angeles. Most recently, she led the workshop at G-Son Studios in Atwater Village, a former Beastie Boys rehearsal space and recording studio.
The class is for everyone, regardless of your prior dance experience. “There are people who are visual artists, people who are not dancers and who have no movement experience,” Barcelo says. In Wiggle Room, the distinction between dancers and non-dancers dissolves and the inner child leads the way – instinct trumps technique.
Wiggle Room attendees relax and unwind.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
To start the workshop, Barcelo emphasizes the importance of listening to the body. “Do what feels right for you,” she encourages. “Allow your body to take up all the space.” In a frenetic, high-pressure society, Barcelo explains that moving the body acts as a release valve for trapped emotions.
“All of these moments are stored in the body as energy. When we move, move, or move, we move that energy so that we can transmute it, optimize it, and transform it into creativity and beauty,” she notes.
Barcelo hopes the hour spent together will highlight the importance of community. “Moving with other bodies who are also going through emotionally complex lives – this shared experience is truly healing.” »
In 2023, Barcelo has distilled the mystical encounter of his class into a digital application: “tropgy.” She calls it a digital toolkit filled with guided breathing practices, meditation, somatic movements, and visualization. “It’s like having me in your pocket whenever you need a grounding friend,” Barcelo says.
Throughout the course, Barcelo provides playful directions and light-hearted cues. At one point she asks, “How does it feel to add a touch of whimsy?” » At other times, her advice is often mystical and ethereal as she paces the space with a smile. She highlights Jupiter’s current retrograde and urges attendees to “let the curious parts be your guide.”
Felicia St. Cyr, 29, left, and Hunter Wayne Foster, 30, kiss during a Wiggle Room class.
(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
Participant and professional dancer Brandon Galvan describes the class as transformative. “Everything stops for a moment and brings you back to your home, which is your body. Being able to dive deep into that really takes you to places – time-lapses,” says Galvan. “I saw flashes of beautiful things.”
As the class draws to a close, Barcelo defines a word: pronoiathe belief that the universe is conspiring for your benefit. It’s an easy perspective to adopt in his presence. According to Barcelo, “witnessing each other in a shared moment is healing.”
