Meet David Paris
Author • Educator • Facilitator • Performer
David Paris is an author, educator, dance artist, and facilitator whose work brings together movement, conversation, and community-based learning. Over the past twenty-five years, his work has spanned public education, contemporary performance, Latin dance, partner acrobatics, and social-emotional learning. Rather than separating these disciplines, his practice integrates them—treating embodiment, dialogue, and relationship as central to how people learn, connect, and make meaning.
Education, writing, and facilitation
David has spent more than three decades teaching in New York City public schools, with extensive experience in English Language Arts, and social-emotional learning. He is the author of more than thirty books, including social-emotional learning resources for classrooms, early childhood education, fiction for middle school students, books of reflective questions, and memoir. His facilitation training includes certification as a Circle Keeper through Planning Change with Kay Pranis, advanced training with the Alternatives to Violence Project as a certified gold trainer, and years of study and facilitation in Nonviolent Communication through NYCNVC. He is also certified in Transformative Mediation. David holds a Bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College, with a thesis focused on multicultural education and the sociology of knowledge, and a Master’s degree in Education from Goddard College, where his thesis explored critical pedagogy in the classroom.
Dance, performance, and community arts
Alongside his work in education and writing, David is an accomplished dance artist and community arts leader with over thirty years of experience teaching Latin dance, partner acrobatics, and creative movement throughout New York City.
He has taught salsa and Latin dance at major NYC dance organizations including Nieves Dance Studios, Piel Canela, and Razzmtazz since 1999, working with more than 10,000 students across levels. His teaching emphasizes musicality, connection, partnering, and expressive confidence, and includes choreography for showcases and community performances. David is a co-creator and long-time instructor of one of the NYC dance community’s longest-running salsa-acrobatics programs through Paradizo Dance, where he has trained dancers in lifts, partnering safety, and theatrical performance. His performance work blends Latin dance, contemporary acrobatics, and storytelling, bridging social dance and stage-based expression. His dance career includes national and international recognition as a seven-time Cabaret Champion and a semi-finalist on America’s Got Talent. He is also the author of 50 Salsa Stories, a collection of cultural reflections and personal narratives drawn from decades of immersion in the salsa community. David has led dance and movement programs in NYC public schools for over twenty-five years and has designed senior wellness programs through Dulce Vida Lifestyle, supporting mobility, balance, emotional well-being, and social connection in Brooklyn senior centers
About David Paris Books
- David Paris Books exists to support deeper conversation, embodied awareness, and human connection—through books, live experiences, and simple tools that invite reflection rather than instruction.
- The work across this site shares a common intention: to create spaces where people can slow down, notice what’s present, and engage with themselves and others in ways that feel honest, grounded, and human.
- Some offerings take the form of books and card decks.
Some take the form of live performances, workshops, or intimate gatherings.
All are rooted in the belief that insight doesn’t come from being told what to think—but from being given the conditions to discover for yourself.
What guides the work
- Across formats, a few principles remain consistent:
- Embodiment matters. Thinking alone rarely creates change. The body, attention, and lived experience are part of understanding.
- Conversation can be transformative. The right question, asked in the right context, can open more than answers ever could.
- Participation is optional. Reflection can happen through speaking, listening, moving, or simply witnessing.
- No fixing, no preaching. This work is not about self-improvement, optimization, or advice-giving. It’s about exploration.
- Depth without pressure. Curiosity is invited, not demanded.
- Whether you’re opening a book alone, using cards with others, or attending a live event, the goal is the same: to support moments of clarity, connection, and meaning—without forcing them.
David Paris Books includes:
- Books that blend reflection, questions, and lived experience rather than rigid frameworks
- Conversation card decks designed to spark depth in relationships, classrooms, families, and communities
- Live performances and gatherings, including Cathartic Theater, that bring movement, dialogue, and presence into shared space
- Workshops and educational offerings shaped by decades of experience in classrooms, arts spaces, and community settings
- These offerings are used by individuals, families, educators, artists, and organizations looking for ways to engage more thoughtfully with themselves and each other.