Growing the Next Generation of Practitioners: Welcoming Our Belmont OT Interns

At MOVE Inclusive Dance, inclusion doesn’t stop at the studio doors. It grows through relationships, shared learning, and the people we invite to walk alongside us.

One of our favorite ways we bring that to life each year is through our partnership with Belmont University’s Doctor of Occupational Therapy program. Since 2020, we’ve welcomed OT interns into our studio every spring, and it's become one of our favorite traditions.

These internships aren’t just observation hours or checklists to complete. They’re immersive, hands-on, heart-first experiences where future therapists step into our mission, build relationships with our dancers, and actively help us create more accessible, joyful movement opportunities for all.

This semester, we’re thrilled to introduce three incredible interns who are already making their mark at MOVE.

Meet Our Spring Interns

Kymberli Reynolds

Kymberli will graduate with her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy in May 2026 and earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Alcorn State University in Mississippi. She brings a deep passion for advocacy and community engagement to MOVE.

During her time with us, Kymberli is leading workshops, presentations, and even teaching a dance class — all focused on expanding access and awareness around inclusive movement. She’s especially excited about her mOTivate movement project, which aligns beautifully with our mission of helping every dancer feel supported, confident, and. capable.

Her goal is simple and powerful: create spaces where dancers feel seen and excited to move.

Lauren Tribeck

Originally from Pennsylvania and a Penn State Kinesiology grad, Lauren grew up dancing and knows firsthand the joy and belonging that dance can create. She’ll graduate this May with her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from Belmont.

This semester, Lauren is combining her love of dance and her clinical knowledge to build sustainable tools for our community. She’s developing a framework for adult dance classes through our community partnerships, creating a body mechanics booklet for dancers and teachers, and helping plan new performance opportunities.

At the heart of it all is Lauren’s desire to help every student experience that same sense of belonging she felt growing up in a dance studio.

Matthew Gunn

Matthew, also graduating this May with his OTD from Belmont, grew up immersed in the arts and understands how creative spaces can build confidence and connection.

At MOVE, he’s using his strengths in storytelling and media to create specialized training videos for staff and volunteers, clarify class expectations, and support outreach efforts. He’s also helping us strengthen partnerships across the greater Nashville area to expand access to inclusive dance in more communities.

Matthew is passionate about empowering dancers to try something new, trust themselves, and have fun along the way.

Why Internships Matter to Us

When we started partnering with Belmont’s OT program back in 2020, we hoped it would be a mutually beneficial experience. What we didn’t expect was just how deeply these interns would shape our studio — and how much we’d learn from them in return.

Occupational therapy and inclusive dance are such a natural fit. Both focus on participation, accessibility, confidence, and meaningful engagement in everyday life. Our interns help us look at our programs through a new lens, ask thoughtful questions, and create systems that better support every dancer who walks through our doors.

And in return, they get real-world experience in adaptive teaching, relationship-building, and community-based practice that you simply can’t learn from a textbook.

It’s a true partnership.

Each year, we watch interns arrive curious and eager, and leave as confident advocates for inclusion. Many carry what they learn at MOVE into their future clinics, schools, and communities, multiplying the impact far beyond our walls.

That ripple effect is what it’s all about.

If you see Kymberli, Lauren, or Matthew around the studio this spring, be sure to say hello. We’re so grateful they chose to spend their semester with us and we can’t wait to see all the ways they continue to help our dancers (and our team) grow.