Toogie Barcelo went from Dua Lipa’s choreographer to Wiggle Room sage.

Tuesday evening in Atwater Village. Teresa “Tugy” Barceló creates a portal. With her arms outstretched, she beckons to the participants in her movement master class: Room to wiggleto join her on the other side, where they will meet a renewed version of themselves.

“Go into the next version of yourself,” she commands. The participants, who have spent the last hour writhing, shaking and buzzing, cross an invisible threshold. Their limbs dangle, their smiling faces sticky with sweat.

Barcelo has been leading a movement class in Los Angeles for almost 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, most notably choreographing Dua Lipa's hit music video.”New rules“

Barcelo's success can be attributed to her unique approach, which focuses on well-being and embodiment. “People call me the energy coordinator,” she jokes. “I’m something of an enigma in the commercial industry.”

Growing up in Miami, Barcelo felt disillusioned while pursuing a dance career in Los Angeles. Her early career was riddled with “auditions, finding an agent and sexy headshots. All the superficial things you're told you need to do in L.A. to make it as a dancer.”

Barceló found freedom and escape in improvisation and freestyle dance. “I saw this as an opportunity. I want to teach improv in Los Angeles. This is what I can give to this community,” she says.

Thus the Wiggle Room was born. What began as a refuge for dancers to explore improvisation evolved into something deeper. “I started to realize that this class really was a place of healing for a lot of people,” Barceló says. “They really didn’t have anywhere to go to explore themselves as movers.”

Barceló soon turned her attention to meditative practices, which she incorporated into her work as a choreographer and dancer. “I became certified as a breath coach. I began to become more interested in bodywork practices, connection with the body, and somatic therapy tools.” Wiggle Room is a symbiotic union of dance and meditation. The result is a messy and stunning interplay of bodies. “We breathe. We move and sway. We have moments of meditation. It's a big whirlpool of play.”

The Wiggle Room features a live score performed by Joe Berrymember of the Grammy-nominated electronic group. M83 and longtime partner Barceló. Barcelo invited Berry to work on Wiggle Room early in their courtship. “I grew up taking live dance classes,” Barceló says. “When we started dating, it was one of the first things I asked Joe.”

Berry uses a mixture of instruments including saxophones, synthesizers and sound bowls to create otherworldly, moody music. In class, a saxophone solo gets applause from the class. “Instruments take instructions the same way dancers do,” he explains. A classically trained musician with an understanding of jazz, classical music and electronica, Berry describes his role as “making music for people's emotions.”

Berry's score is integral to the meditative atmosphere of the class. “The living soundscapes he randomly created were beautiful sound baths with ambient textures,” says Barceló.

Barcelo and Berry moved to Joshua Tree earlier this year. However, Barcelo hosts Wiggle Room once a month at rotating venues in Los Angeles. Most recently she conducted a seminar in Ji-Sung Studios in Atwater Village, a former rehearsal space and recording studio Beastie Boys.

The class is open to everyone, regardless of previous dance experience. “There are people who are artists—people who are not dancers and have no movement experience,” Barceló says. In The Wiggle Room, the distinction between dancers and non-dancers is blurred, and the inner child leads the way – instinct trumps technique.

At the beginning of the workshop, Barcelo emphasizes the importance of listening to the body. “Do what you think is right,” she urges. “Let your body eat up all the space.” Barceló explains that in a tense and frantic society, body movement acts as a release valve for blocked emotions.

“All of these moments are stored in the body as energy. When we sway, shake or move, we are actually causing that energy to move so that we can transmute, optimize and transform it into creativity and beauty,” she notes.

Barceló hopes the hour together will highlight the importance of community. “Moving with other bodies who are also going through emotionally challenging lives—that shared experience is truly healing.”

In 2023, Barcelo brought her class's mystical meeting to life in a digital app.”tight” She calls it a digital toolkit filled with guided breathing, meditation, somatic movement and visualization practices. “It’s like I’m always in your pocket when you need a reliable friend,” Barceló says.

Throughout the lesson, Barcelo provides mischievous directions and light-hearted tips. At one point she asks, “What would it be like to add a little fantasy?” At other times, her advice is often mystical and ethereal as she walks through the space with a smile. She points out Jupiter's ongoing retrograde motion and encourages participants to “let the inquisitive parts guide you.”

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 go deep into it really takes you to different places—time periods,” Galvan says. “I saw flashes of beautiful things.”

As the lesson ends, Barceló defines the word: pronoiathe belief that the universe is conspiring for your benefit. In her presence, this perspective is easy to accept. According to Barceló, “seeing each other in a shared moment is healing.”