France-Laude Gohard was born and raised in Paris, France. At the age of 23, she moved to the U.S. on a journey of self discovery leaving a professional path in the medical field behind her. In 1989 she met Debbie and Carlos Rosas in San Rafael, Marin
County, CA and started a 9 month training...

This is when she reconnected with dance and movement as a path of Joy, Self-expression, Creativity and Healing. A few years later, France-Laude became one of the first Nia Trainers.

France-Laude’s study includes Authentic Movement and different dance modalities such as the Hawkins Technique and Jose Limon. Her Nia practice is profoundly influenced by the work of "Conscious Embodiment" developed by Aikido teacher Wendy Palmer.