Ray Eliot Schwartz is a movement artist, educator, and researcher, whose primary focus is the integration of Somatic Movement Education and Dance practice. He co-founded four contemporary dance projects in the southern U.S. and has been a guest artist for diverse populations in the U.S., Turkey, South-East Asia, South America, and Mexico. He has also been a faculty member of the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, MELT, Camp_iN, and SFADI, among many others. His somatic studies include certifications in Body-Mind Centering® and the Feldenkrais Method®. Additional studies include Zero-Balancing®, Gross Anatomy, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, and Traditional Thai Massage. He is a research associate with the Center for Body Mind Movement and served as Academic Coordinator of the Dance Program of the University of the Americas-Puebla in México from 2008 to 2018.