Our Instructors

Ashley Oladehin is the owner and Artistic Director of Creative Soul. She earned a Master of Arts in Dance Education with a concentration in Teaching Dance in the Professions from NYU Steinhardt in 2020. During her studies, her research focused on reimagining how dance education can be taught in the private sector. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dean College in Franklin, MA where she received the Drusilla Carlson Phelps Award, for talent in performance and a future promise in dance education. Additionally, she successfully completed the Horton Pedagogy teacher training at Alvin Ailey in 2017 and is a member of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). Most recently she taught on faculty as part of NYU Steinhardt’s Summer Dance Intensive and was an adjunct professor of modern dance at William Patterson University in New Jersey.

Ashley began her dance training at the Berkshire Dance Theater and has been teaching, performing, and choreographing for over 20 years. She taught in both public and private schools including North Reading School of Ballet and Clarksburg Public School. Her choreography has been featured at various professional venues including the Boston Opera House. Ashley has performed with contemporary modern companies in Boston and New York, as well as toured, danced back up for various recording artists and has worked as an extra both on television and in music videos.

Her love of dance brought her into the fitness world in 2010. Ashley is a licensed Zumba and Barre instructor. She was an instructor at Cambridge Athletic Club, where she was part of a team recognized by Boston’s Alist as “Boston’s Best Zumba Class.” Ashley taught in the Physical Education Department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA where she received the MIT Recreation Award, recognizing her outstanding contribution toward enhancing the lives of the community. This school is a culmination of Ashley’s passion, education, and life experiences, and she is grateful for the opportunity to bring this vision to her hometown.

With a teaching philosophy firmly anchored in the belief that well-being is everyone’s natural state, Erin Lenski brings her near decade-long experience to the Creative Soul community. Holding certifications in Pilates, Yoga, Barre, Spin, and Group Fitness, Erin offers diverse class profiles focused on anatomical authenticity, safety, and guiding individuals to their personal excellence.

Following the completion of an MS in Exercise Science with concentrations in both Wellness and Nutrition, Erin has offered strategies to enhance and augment well-being to audiences in and around Berkshire County, teaching at MCLA and facilitating group fitness opportunities through Berkshire Health Systems.

In addition to a belief in movement medicine, Erin is a practitioner of the healing arts, certified in both Thai massage I & II, and Reiki I. Erin will soon embark on licensure in Craniosacral therapies to further expand access to well-being and alignment for her students and clients.

Olawale “Wale” Oladehin has had a unique journey in dance. Wale attended Princeton University, where he joined a breakdancing group, Sympoh. It was his first experience with dance as a creative and educational outlet. Wale had the opportunity to combine different dance styles, including Poppin’, Krumping, Breakin’, and House, with a focus on originality. After college, Wale moved to Boston and continued his passion for dance. In Boston, he began training in Salsa and Afro Cuban with several companies, including Salsa Y Control, MetaMovements, and Masacote.

After several years of training, Wale joined Masacote as an instructor and performer in their professional Salsa company. Masacote’s emphasis on musicality and culture helped Wale better appreciate the interconnectedness of music and dance. With Masacote, Wale has had the opportunity to perform in Canada, London, Istanbul, and across the US. More importantly, Wale met his future wife and the love of his life, Ashley, through salsa dancing.

Wale is currently an Executive at Amazon. As a Director of Solutions Architects, Wale leads a global team of technical experts who help customers develop solutions using cloud technologies. Along with leading an international team, Wale also mentors youth interested in pursuing STEM careers. Wale believes that the skills he’s learned through dance, such as collaboration, improvisation, performance, and storytelling, have influenced his professional career.

Laurel Lenski, a Berkshire native and owner of Intrinsic Movement, has more than ten years of experience facilitating an array of dance, fitness and wellness programming for various populations, ranging from toddlers to senior citizens. She holds degrees in Dance and Expressive Art Therapy as well as a certification as a Nia White Belt Instructor.

In 2022 she started her business, Intrinsic Movement, after more than a decade long career in the health and human services field. After offering creative movement classes at a local library, she was soon asked to facilitate creative movement groups, founded in social and emotional learning, for client groups throughout Western Massachusetts.

Her passion to share the therapeutic powers of dance, movement and expression are present in her approach to facilitating groups of all ages. She enjoys engaging each participant in movement exploration and meeting them where they are at, in that moment.