Instructors

Monday & Wednesday evening instructor

"I began my practice of T'ai Chi Ch'uan as a student of Debby Gordon's in 1985. As a physician, I find that T'ai Chi has many sound health benefits and will continue to practice it for the rest of my life. I have received many benefits from teachers Debby Gordon and Ben Lo, and from many of his senior students as well."

Carol Haynes

Wednesday morning instructor

Marie Schwind

Assistant Instructor

"I had problems with my lower back since I was a teenager; these problems probably resulted from high school gymnastics. Eventually, I had surgery for a herniated disk, but re-ruptured the same disk soon after surgery. In the winter of 1995, I was looking for a type of exercise that wouldn't hurt my back. A friend suggested I try T'ai Chi, so I began taking classes from Debby Gordon's senior students. After just a few weeks of T'ai Chi, I realized that I no longer woke in the mornings all achy, and soon I realized that weeks had passed since my last "tension headache". This drove me to be a serious student of T'ai Chi in my first year of training. After years of practice and lots of support and corrections from the La Casita teachers, I am in better physical shape than I was when I was in my 20's, 30's and 40's. I now realize our health does not have to diminish with age and, in fact, can improve with time and T'ai Chi. I began teaching the beginning T'ai Chi class at La Casita in 2006. I'll never stop being a student, and I feel a great deal of gratitude to Debby, Darin, Russell, Suzette, and teachers from the past, Shi and Todd, for all those corrections and even holding postures."

Debby Gordon Mortazavi

Program Founder

After receiving her degrees from West Virginia University in her hometown of Morgantown, Debby taught dance and physical education at that institution before continuing her career in Arizona. After receiving further degrees from Arizona State University in 1967, she became a professor of International Studies and Native American Studies at Mesa College. It was there in 1982 that she began teaching T'ai Chi in addition to her lecture courses. She began with one class of 22 students and built T'ai Chi into a program of 300 students each semester. "I am most proud of my teacher program which provided T'ai Chi teachers for parks and recreations, Y.M.C.A.s, senior centers, and fitness centers as well as other colleges all over Arizona." The Arizona Republic calls Debby "The Mother of Martial Arts in Arizona".

Her career took her to China several times as a U.S. Representative to the All China Women's Federation. She not only led tours for students and teachers at Mesa College, but also for universities across the U.S.

Over the years, Debby has hosted workshops with well known teachers such as Benjamin Lo, Robert Smith, Dr. James Wang, Garrett Chinn, Kim Kanzelberger, and Charles Ettner. Debby's husband, Massoud Mortazavi, and her daughters, Kelly Prosnier and Amy Corder, have all been T'ai Chi practitioners.

In January of 2001, Debby, along with Dr. Darin Henry, Jean Ettinger, Russell Maneely, and Suzette Maneely opened a private school, La Casita T'ai Chi, which still flourishes today. "The person who has most influenced my teaching is Ben Lo," she says.
In 2005, Debby and her husband returned to her roots in West Virginia where her ancestors have lived since 1751.