Sadira Cruz Smith is from Brooklyn, New York. She studied Aikido as a child with 8^th dan Yamada-sensei and the late Sugano-sensei at the New York City Aikikai Dojo and continued while a university student in Japan. Smith has danced with the Paris Opera Ballet, the MET Opera Ballet, Shen Wei Dance Arts, Buglisi Dance Theater, David Gordon, Kota Yamazaki and the Martha Graham Dance Company. She was a New York City Minerva Awardee, Jacob’s Pillow Scholar, and Martha Graham Scholar.  After a fruitful meeting with contact improvisation (CI) in 2008, Sadira teaches modern technique and CI and has been invited to teach both in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, having since 2009 collaborated with CI Festival in Japan and in Haifa, Israel. She has produced two field-work education training manuals as an assistant editor for Helen Keller International, Inc., and worked as a teaching envoy for the Japanese Ministry of Education.  Sadira holds a summa cum laude degree in Asian Studies.