Onward, Upward, and Sometimes Upside Down

Invertigo’s dance theatre creates a unique spin on the world.

MEET OUR VISIONARIES, OUR GUIDES

Invertigo Dance Theatre is extremely grateful for the ongoing guidance and support provided by our Board of Directors. Over the years, we have met and collaborated with many incredible change makers, thought leaders, and arts advocates.

Interested in joining our Board? We’d love to hear from you! Feel free to reach out to: [email protected]

Linda Berghoff

Linda Berghoff

Board Member, Dancing Through Parkinson’s Teacher
Fiona Karlin

Fiona Karlin

Board Member
Francine Ringold

Francine Ringold

Board Member
Carla Sparks

Carla Sparks

Secretary

Linda Berghoff

Board Member, Dancing Through Parkinson’s Teacher

Linda Berghoff (Dancing Through Parkinson's teacher, Invertigo board member, person living with Parkinson's) has danced recreationally all of her life. When she was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2006, the diagnosis struck a blow at her most beloved activity. She continued to stay active and take dance classes. While in NYC visiting her children and grandchildren, she found out about the Dance for PD® program and received teacher training with Invertigo Dance Theatre members, both in Brooklyn and LA. She is proud to collaborate with Invertigo to bring an invaluable program to people living with PD. Linda's health continues to be strong, perhaps aided by her continued movement, travel, Ladino study and dance regimen, including being a teaching artist for multiple DTP classes.  She is also a board member of Invertigo Dance Theatre.

Fiona Karlin

Board Member

Fiona Karlin is proud to work with the board members and artists of Invertigo Dance Theatre, and to be very involved in the Dancing Through Parkinson's classes. She admires Laura's choreography and values the opportunity to bring such a creative art form to Los Angeles. She also works as a docent giving tours at LACMA, and is a former chair of the Docent Council.

Francine Ringold

Board Member

Francine Leffler Ringold (Johnson), Ph.D., was the Poet Laureate of Oklahoma 2003-7 and a 2003 winner of the “Writers Who Make A Difference” award from the nationally distributed Writer Magazine, a Katie Westby Lifetime Award from the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa, and a “Sadie” and “Newsmaker” Award from Women in Communications. Her name is also synonymous in the minds of many with Nimrod, the international literary journal that she edited and championed for over 47 years.Fran’s published work ranges from poems to plays to guides for creative writing and includes: Still Dancing: New & Selected Poems, and The Trouble with Voices, both winners of the Oklahoma Book Award for Poetry, 1996, 2004; Every Other One, 2001, a collaborative venture with her husband, poet Manly Johnson; Voices, 1981; prize-winning plays, including one-woman presentations based on the lives of Mercy Otis Warren and Isadora Duncan; and two volumes detailing her creative writing approach, with examples from her students: A Magic Journey: Writing and Painting at Gatesway (a school for persons with developmental disabilities), and Making Your Own Mark: A Guide to Writing and Drawing for Senior Citizens (with art therapist, Madeline Rugh, Ph.D.)  She has just published a memoir: from Birth To Birth: a Memoir and Guide to Writing Your Memoir, 2016. Fran has also won several playwriting contests so long ago that she can’t remember the year, and is currently working on a play called “Family Theater.” Another play “Kicking Up Her Heels” was produced in 2014.A devoted teacher, Fran has taught literature, creative writing, and theatre at the University of Tulsa, and in the Oklahoma State Arts in Education and Artists in the Schools programs. She has taught in prisons, The Center for the Physically Limited, Gatesway Foundation for the Developmentally Disabled, at Resonance Foundation in a special program for children of parents who are incarcerated, as well as in diverse classrooms in public and private schools. Fran is the mother of four grown children and four fast-growing grandchildren. She is a sometimes swimmer, a sometimes dancer, and, of course, an acrobat.

Carla Sparks

Secretary

Carla Sparks is the Founder and CEO of Savvy Sista, a lifestyle company that provides  fashion styling, personal shopping, savvy workshops, shopping events and trips designed to empower, educate and entertain working professionals. Born in Vallejo, California, and raised with nine siblings in a multi-ethnic neighborhood, Carla’s exposure to different cultures at an early age gave her an adventuresome spirit and zest for life inspiring her to explore and travel the globe. Mentoring inner-city youth is one of her greatest personal accomplishments. Having mentored youth for twenty years, Carla is grateful for organizations like Fulfillment Fund and “I Have A Dream” Foundation that have allowed her to influence the lives of youth. Carla began her professional career in the Fashion Industry after graduating from Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising; Associate’s degree, Fashion/Apparel Design.  She has also received certifications in Radio Broadcast Media; UCLA Extension, Travel and Tourism; West Los Angeles College, Meeting and Event Planning; Cal State University Dominguez-Hills and maintains current Real Estate, Life-Only Insurance and Notary Public licenses issued by the State of California. A sales and marketing veteran with decades of experience, she has worked for companies such as Nordstrom, Disney and the Automobile Club of Southern California, where she achieved a winning track record for consistently exceeding sales goals and winning a host of sales contests earning her a variety of prizes including a trip to Bali, Indonesia. She happily retired from Corporate America in 2017, and is Living Her Best Life!