Born and raised in NYC, Yuhka studied modern, jazz and ballet at various studios, but found her home studying improvisation and choreography with Ellen Robbins at the old DTW. Switching focus to hip-hop and street jazz in college, she moved around and at one point found herself teaching hip-hop to high school students in rural Japan. After a hiatus, Yuhka made her way back to dance when she discovered the Simonson technique in 2017 in NYC. She has studied Simonson with Te Perez Ceccon, Laurie DeVito and Diane McCarthy. She completed the beginner level certificate in SMTT (Simonson Method of Teacher Training) in 2021 with Te Perez. The technique focuses on the dancer’s individual body and encourages dancers in any style to work within their own bodies’ range of motion to increase strength and stability and stave off injury.

Yuhka is honored to be a part of the Dance for PD community since 2017, first as a volunteer and now as an Assistant Teaching Artist. She is also an ATA at the School at the Mark Morris Dance Center (youth programs). Outside of the studio, Yuhka is a freelance architectural designer in retail design.