Laura is a native of Mexico City, Mexico. Ms. Armenta has always loved the discipline of movement; being an athlete all of her life, as a volleyball player, but mainly as a track and field sprinter before she began her dance training with Miguel Añorve, a prestigious teacher and dancer from Ballet National de Mexico in Mexico City. Miss Armenta holds a degree in Arts and Humanities, with a dance specialty in Modern Dance and Choreography from Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts. She has also studied dance anthropology, receiving diplomas for varios ethnic dance forms. She performed professionally with one of Mexico’s best modern dance companies, Ballet Teatro del Espacio under the guidance of French director Michele Descombey (former artistic director of Paris Opera Ballet, in France).

A varied performing career has afforded Miss Armenta the opportunity to work with renowned dance masters such as Anna Sokolow, Rudolf Nureyev, Diego Pinon, Jeremy Nelson and Daniel Nagrin to mention some. Laura’s choreographic and teaching work, flow from her roots in Pre-Hispanic and Latin American dance; all the way to a vast repertoire of dance styles that go from Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Contact/Improv and Butoh dance; she also incorporates ethnic dance forms from around the world, like; Middle Eastern, Afro-caribbean, Bhangra and Baratanatyum Indian dances. She has trained with ethnic dance master teachers like Kadhem Harkati, Sujatha Chandramohan, Badia Star and the Belly twins of Hollywood. In 1993 Armenta founded Ad Libitum Dance Company in Mexico City. In 2000, Ad Libitum Dance Company was reborn in Grand Rapids, Michigan Ms. Armenta leads the troupe to be an independent and professional modern dance company with an eclectic mix of ethnic dance and emotional content. Through Ad Libitum Dance Company Ms. Armenta develops themes that will target all cultures equally. Laura taught at the School of the Grand Rapids Ballet Company for 5 years; where she was mainly focused on the GRBC outreach program, guiding hundreds of children from the Grand Rapids Public School system into the art of dance. She has been faculty member at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and was the main artist in residency at the Grandville Avenue Academy for the Arts; building the dance program as well as working on the outreach program created to target the children in the Hispanic community. Such program was sponsored by the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs.

In 1991, the recovery from a severe knee surgery put her on the path of Yoga, developing inner spiritual awareness and a better understanding of the human body mechanics. For Armenta, Yoga has become not only a fitness or moving technique but, a new life style to prioritize love an compassion towards the self and others. She is now a certified yoga teacher from the White Lotus Foundation; and has had the opportunity to study and practice various styles of Hatha Yoga from Iyengar, Kundalini, to Astanga, Yin Yoga and more. Ms. Armenta has been blessed with the opportunity to work and learn from yoga masters like Ganga White, Rod Striker, Donna Farhi, Vyana Slatery, Deva Das, Rodney Yee, Erich Schiffman, Janice Clarfield and Gurmukh Khalsa to mention some. Ms. Armenta created OLLIN YOGA, as a technique or personal style in which she would combine physical and emotional strength with a dynamic yet safe approach to asanas, powerful pranayama practice and joyful meditation. Developing kids, pre and postnatal versions as well. Laura has colaborated with Leslie Ottavi/ Chakra Productions to create and develop a series of P.C. software to practice Astanga Yoga, Prenatal Yoga and Great Series. (Available at The Armenta Studio) Laura is also a certified practitioner of Yoga-Thai Massage, a healing sister disciplene of Ayurvedic Medicine and Yoga. She is an ongoing student of SomaVedaT Traditional Thai Medical Massage at LUMA Center nas Dr. Anthony James. She is an AFPA certified personal trainer, and has received certifications in Tai Chi and Kickboxing. Ms. Armenta has been featured in the local Grand Rapids Magazine as one of the women making a difference in the Grand Rapids community. In October 2003, Laura opened The Armenta Studio Energy in Motion; a new home to perform her dance creations and where she continues sharing her love for the art and discipline of dance yoga and fitness.