Dance Classes: Dance, Movement, & Motion
COVID Update: Please enter / exit studio with masks on. Pre-Enrollment is highly encouraged. Space is Limited. We have expanded our Class Offerings!
MASK POLICY: Optional in Most Dance Classes. Dance Classes Requiring Masks: Danceography & Tropical Fusion.
Class Sizes are Highly Limited – No Refunds for No Shows
Dance Prices: $18 Drop In / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Monthly Unlimited. You can still access the $108/Month with a 6 Month AutoPay Membership
TO ENROLL CLICK HERE: Pre-Register / View Live Schedule / MindBody App
All Levels, All Bodies, All Ways are Welcome Always!
Did you know we have a DEDICATED DANCE STUDIO? Please, tell all of your fellow adult / teen / collage dance friends!! This is where it’s at! We are bringing back dance to the adult dance community! We dance for the light in our souls. ANY ONE CAN DANCE!
We offer Adult / Teen Dance Classes, Dance Fitness, BUTI Yoga, Pilates, ABS & Splits, and more!
We dance for ourselves. We dance to ignite the light in our souls. We dance for JOY! We dance to express. We dance to let go. We dance to heal. We dance to celebrate. We dance to relate. We dance to release our fears. We dance for each other. We dance to love ourselves. Dance with us!
We offer All Levels – No Prior Dance Experience Necessary Levels Classes. We just want to dance and spread the joy of dancing to our community and to anyone who has ever wanted to dance. Your time is now!
All Levels, All Bodies, All Ways, are Always Welcome!
Thank you so much for continuing to support our studio! We are expanding our dance classes and offerings with many intensives coming this summer (see below!) and have leveraged local dance favorates to build our instructor base. It’s ON like Donkey Kong!
Current Dance Studio Class Schedule:
- Monday 5:30pm – Cardio Funk w/Alison Chesley (choreography add-on class)
- Thursday 5:30pm – Cardio Street Jazz w/Joy Smith (choreography add-on class)
- Monday & Friday 10:30am & Wednesday 12pm – Abs & Splits w/Vaidehi Amair (Conditioning Class)
- Friday 9am – BUTI Yoga w/Vaidehi Amair (Conditioning Class)
- Tues / Wed 9am – Urban Cardio Glow w/Desiree Philips (Dance Fitness / Hip Hop)
- Thurs 9am – Danceography w/Myra Ryan & Shannon Ketterman (Dance Fitness / Hip Hop)
- Tues 10:30am – Zumba w/Renee Menard (Dance Fitness / Latin)
- Wed 10:30am – Tropical Fusion w/Allison Haley (Dance Fitness / Afro / Latin)
- Thurs 6:45pm – Tropicalismo Dance Party w/Marsea Marquis (Intermediate to Advanced)
- Tues / Thurs 12:00pm – Pilates Flow w/Elizabeth Charelton (Conditioning Class)
Upcoming Events, Dance Pop Ups, & Workshops:
- October 31st – Sunday at 4:00pm – 5:15pm – Danceography Pop Up Class with Shannon Ketterman & Myra Ryan
- December 4th – Saturday Morning & Afternoon Sessions – Rollerdance Workship with Richard Humphrey
- January TBD – Friday 6:00pm – 7:30pm – Pleasure Point Goddess with Daisy Duke & Sunny Daze (Plus Sexy Photoshoot)
- Coming Soon – Day / Time TBD – Pole Conditioning & Pole Choreography Classes with Vaidehi Amair
Enroll in our Dance Workshops & Intensives HERE!
Please pass this along to all of your dance friends so we can continue to expand our dance community and add more classes! Your support is keeping dance alive!
With so much gratitude,
Pleasure Point Dance and Instructors
Studio Rental & Availability: The Studio is also availabe for Rent!! If you are looking to rent the dance studio for your independent dance school, to host privates, rehersals, dance practice or looking for an ideal place for your dance or movement classes – we’ve got you! The studio is equipped with ceiling hardware and ready for Hanging / Flying Arts, Aerial, Trapeze, Hammocks, Slings! Please email info@pleasurepointyoga.com.
Dance like no one is watching!
OR
Dance like EVERYONE is Watching! Fire!
All Levels, All Bodies, All Ways are Welcome Always!I
Dance Price List & Pricing Packages
Pricing: Drop-In: $18 / 10 Class Pass: $150 / $145 Monthly Unlimited / First Class Free!
6 Month Auto-Pay Membership: $108 / Month
Intro Week: $20 (limit 1 per customer)
Intro Month: $49 (limit 1 per customer)
Express yourself and dance your way to health and happiness! Dance passes are good for in studio, livestream, or outdoor dance classes only (excludes Yoga classes). Give yourself the ultimate in self love and adornment with a Dance & Massage Package. available.
All come with a PPY Sweatshirt.
Massages are conducted by Pleasure Point Yoga’s approved and highly recommended Victoria Icaza, Certified Massage Therapist #10884.
For purchase, please email info@pleasurepointyoga.com or purchase directly via your account within MindBody.
Tropicalismo Dance Party / Brazilian Samba with Gisella Ferreira (Oct 28th)
INSTRUCTORS: Gisella Ferreira
DATES: Thursday, October 28th
TIMES: 6:45pm – 8:00pm
COST: $18 drop in / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Unlimited Monthly / First Class Free!
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive – DANCE Studio
DESCRIPTION:
Experience a full-body workout while synching your spirit to the rich music and dance found within regions of the *African Diaspora. Brazil, Cuba and the Caribbean featuring Samba, Salsa and Calypso are but a few of the dance styles found at our weekly party!
Please bring a long, full circle, skirt for each class. Part of class will be danced with a skirt as we embody the rhythms and connect to joy. Skirt time includes men’s movement and will be taught concurrently.
Instructor Bio:
Gisella Ferreira, a Brazilian-American performance artist and instructor specializes in: Samba, Afro-Brazilian, Capoeira, Hip- Hop, Burlesque and Brazilian Baile Funk. Her titles include: The first Samba Queen USA/ Rainha do Samba, Musa do Brazilian Day , Hollywood Carnival Queen, and currently a passista do Salgueiro (one of the most prestigious dance positions and Samba Schools in Rio).
Gisella studied at UCLA’s Dept. of World Arts and Cultures, focusing on dance choreography and performance, as well as on art activism. She began teaching dance at age twelve in Santa Cruz CA and has taught in Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), Salvador (Brasil) and started her own dance company and studio in Los Angeles CA.
She tours and performs worldwide and trains extensively in the U.S. as well as Brasil in many dance forms including Capoeira, Samba and Hip-Hop. She was named one of “LA’s Hottest Trainers” and has been active in Health day LA as well as Let’s Move LA for many years, dedicating time to help the LA community become more active and inspired through dance.She can also be found performing at The Floor Show and improv nights around LA. Gisella now lives in Santa Cruz, where she performs and teaches Samba.
Gisella Ferreira loves sharing her passion for life through artistic movement expression, and dances as a form of energy work & healing for herself and others. She is inspired to live each day in joy and gratitude and help to give back to the world through dance.
Danceography: Halloween Dance Fitness Party (October 31st)
INSTRUCTORS: Shannon Ketterman & Myra Ryan
DATES: Sunday, October 31st
TIMES: 4:00 – 5:15pm
COST: $18 drop in / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Unlimited Monthly / First Class Free!
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive – DANCE Studio
Halloween Costumes Encouraged but not Required
Masks are Required
DESCRIPTION: DANCEOGRAPHY is Hiphop inspired dance fitness with multi cultural influences. Super fun and sweaty choreography! Co-taught by the dynamic duo Shannon Ketterman and Myra Ryan! They are FIRE and a Santa Cruz dance community favorite!
ALL LEVELS WELCOME – No prior dance experience necessary
What to Bring:
Face Mask, Water, and hand towel.
The Dancer in your heart!
Masks are Required at all times in our Danceography Classes.
Pleasure Point Goddess with Daisy Duke & Sunny Daze (Jan 14)
INSTRUCTORS: Daisy Duke and Sunny Daze
DATES: Friday – January 14t, 2022
TIMES: 6:00 – 7:30pm
COST: $25
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive – DANCE Studio
DESCRIPTION:
Original Goddessexotics Daisy Duke and Sunny Daze are back to help you find that Goddess Groove. Take back your power with sexy moves from Lap Dance, Funk, Exotic, Pole, Belly Dance, Burlesque, and More! This is about female empowerment and sisterhood building body and emotional confidance for all women. This is about feeling good in your own skin. The Trouble Starts Friday, 22 October.
Dress in what you makes you feel most comfortable! Costumes are welcomed! So are sneakers and baggy pants!
Ladies Only Event!
ALL LEVELS WELCOME – No prior dance experience necessary
What to Bring:
- Water and hand towel
- The Goddess Within
- An Open and Supportive Mind
- Attire: Dress in what you makes you feel most comfortable and / or most sexxxy! Costumes / Sexy Outfits are welcomed! So are sneakers and baggy pants! Heels are not required and not recommend for the dance portion of this event.
Abs & Splits with Vaidehi Amair (Conditioning Class)
INSTRUCTORS: Vaidehi Amair
DATES / TIMES: 60 minutes
- Mondays & Fridays 10:30am – 11:30am
- Wednesdays 12:00pm – 1:00pm
COST: $18 Drop In / Regular Class Pricing
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive – DANCE Studio
DESCRIPTION: Tired of wishing your core was stronger, toned and that you could do the splits or at least be close? Fret no more! Join this class to commit to this goal in a group setting and work your way towards your abs and splits in a consistent way. Abs and splits is a 60 min class dedicated to working your core, and opening up your hips and hamstrings with the goal of increasing your flexibility towards the splits. The first 10-15 minutes of class are dedicated to active and passive muscle engagement and movement to warm up your whole body, followed by a 10-15 minute series of core exercises to tone and strengthen your core muscles. The second half of this class is focused on hamstring, hip, quad, psoas and inner thigh strengthening and opening practices that when practiced regularly, will help you move towards your front and side splits. We close with a five minute practice to further you along your splits while listening to a soulful jam. Best part! Come ready to work and get your consistent, focused dose of abs and splits.
INSTRUCTOR BIO: Vaidehi Amair is a lover of movement. Whether it is dance, yoga, aerial dance, freestyle movement, or stretching, she truly believes in the power of movement to heal, nurture and recharge the human being on all levels of body, mind and spirit. As a movement instructor and soul purpose coach, she loves to incorporate her different movement backgrounds into her daily life and work through her own practice as well as through teaching others and creating sacred space for others to participate. She is a certified BUTI Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga and Pole Level 1-2 instructor that has a deep connection to music and its dynamic catalytic effect on the body and is ready to help her students develop not only their own practice and physical expansion, but an awakening love for a personal movement quality they can call their own.
What to Bring:
Yoga Mat, towel, and water
BUTI Yoga with Vaidehi Amair (Conditioning Class)
INSTRUCTORS: Vaidehi Amair
DATES: Friday
TIMES: 9:00am – 10:00am
COST: $18 Drop In / Regular Class Pricing
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive, in our dedicated DANCE Studio.
DESCRIPTION: BUTI yoga is a dynamic asana practice fused with primal movement, tribal dance and deep core engagement. Increase your flexibility, strengthen your muscles, and get your heart rate up to fun dance music. Men and women welcomed. Do note there is a lot of spiral hip movement. Come ready to sweat, work out, and shake your booty! Bring a yoga mat, towel, and water.
ALL LEVELS WELCOME – No prior dance or yoga experience necessary
INSTRUCTOR BIO: Vaidehi Amair is a lover of movement. Whether it is dance, yoga, aerial dance, freestyle movement, or stretching, she truly believes in the power of movement to heal, nurture and recharge the human being on all levels of body, mind and spirit. As a movement instructor and soul purpose coach, she loves to incorporate her different movement backgrounds into her daily life and work through her own practice as well as through teaching others and creating sacred space for others to participate. She is a certified BUTI Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga and Pole Level 1-2 instructor that has a deep connection to music and its dynamic catalytic effect on the body and is ready to help her students develop not only their own practice and physical expansion, but an awakening love for a personal movement quality they can call their own.
What to Bring:
Yoga Mat, towel, and water
Cardio Funk with Alison Chesley (Choreography / Add-On)
INSTRUCTORS: Alison Chesley
DATE: Mondays
TIME: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
COST: $18 drop in / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Unlimited Monthly / First Class Free!
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive, in our dedicated DANCE and Movement Studio.
CARDIO FUNK is a high energy all level choreography dance class to upbeat music where we build a fun and accessible dance routine over the hour for some serious satisfaction by the end. Starting with a warm-up then breaking down moves with a continuous cardio flow that includes some gut and ab toning, Alison’s clear and experienced style makes dancing our way to wellness AWESOME and available to all levels with no dance experience necessary!
Cardio Street Jazz Dance with Joy Smith (Dance Fitness + Choreography)
INSTRUCTORS: Joy Smith
DATE: Thursdays
TIME: 5:30pm – 6:30pm
COST: $18 drop in / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Unlimited Monthly / First Class Free!
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive – DANCE Studio
Cardio Street Jazz with Joy Smith!
The notorious and glorious Joy Smith will be teaching Cardio Street Jazz! Joy is widely known for her heart pounding, soul awakening routine’s taking dancers from “Show Girl” to “Hip Hop Street” dancer . You will learn step-by-step, non-intimidating breakdown of Street Jazz and its essential moves and styles (Street Jazz, Cardio Funk, Hip Hop, Shuffle, Latin) – – Joy covers vastly diverse styles with authenticty and freshness, which is part of her creative genius!
The first half of class will be Dance Fitness based (pre-choreographed routines to popular music that are easy to follow). The second half of class will build a dance choreography routine that will be learned and practiced over several weeks at a time.
This class will deepen your dance knowledge and technique. Come one, come all! And access the dancer inside of you!
ALL LEVELS WELCOME – No Prior Dance experience necessary. Joy knows how to get both folks with “two left feet” AND Skilled Dancers engaged, stoked, and dancing happily at their desired level, all in one class.
Come one, come all! And access the dancer inside of you!
Instructor Bio: Joy Smith – Owner and director of Santa Cruz Dance Company and Growing Wild (online nutrition courses and retreats). Internationally awarded instructor and choreographer for music videos, film, television and musical artists in France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Brazil, Japan and the US.
International dance and fitness presenter, master trainer and Zumba Education Specialist (ZES) for Zumba Fitness LLC–for France, Belgium, California, Washington and Minnesota. Previously awarded ”Best of Santa Cruz Aerobic Instructor of the year” for Zumba instruction. ACE and AFAA faculty and CEC provider.
Danceography: Dance Fitness + Choreography Class (Hip Hop / Pop)
INSTRUCTORS: Shannon Ketterman & Myra Ryan
DATES: Thursdays
TIMES: 9-10:30am (90 mins)
COST: $18 drop in / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Unlimited Monthly / First Class Free!
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive – DANCE Studio
DESCRIPTION: DANCEOGRAPHY is Hiphop inspired dance fitness with multi cultural influences. Super fun and sweaty choreography! Co-taught by the dynamic duo Shannon Ketterman and Myra Ryan! They are FIRE and a Santa Cruz dance community favorite!
Class Format:
- 45 Mins Dance Fitness
- 45 Mins Choreography / Routine
ALL LEVELS WELCOME – No prior dance experience necessary
What to Bring:
Face Mask, Water, and hand towel.
The Dancer in your heart!
Masks are Required at all times in our Danceography Classes.
Pilates Flow with Elizabeth Charlton (Conditioning Class)
INSTRUCTORS: Elizabeth Charlton
DATE / TIME:
- Tuesday 12:00pm – 1:15pm IN STUDIO
- Thursday 12:00pm – 1:15pm Livestream
COST: $18 drop in / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Unlimited Monthly / First Class Free!
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive – Dance Studio OR Livestream Only
LEVELS: All Levels
Class Description: PILATES FLOW: ALL LEVELS. This is a refreshing one-hour and 15 minute, mind-body workout. Pilates Flow emphasizes proper breathing, correct spinal and pelvic alignment, and concentration on smooth, flowing movement. The class consists of classic Pilates exercise and Yoga positions that are choreographed to music and flow from one move to the next. This low-impact workout treats the body as an integrated whole, focusing on the core, lower body and upper body strength as well as flexibility and posture. This is a class for all levels, all bodies and all ages. Modifications are taught alongside the most challenging moves. Come and give Pilates Flow a try!
Excercise Method: low-impact flexibility, muscular strength, and endurance movements
Benefits: proper postural alignment, core strength, and muscle balance
She discovered the joys of dance fitness with Zumba and has been a Zumba instructor in town since 2009. Elizabeth took Pilates Mat 1 training six years ago and later became a certified POP Pilates instructor.
Elizabeth’s Pilates Flow class is a synthesis of classic Pilates Mat and POP Pilates. She is looking forward to sharing her love of Pilates with Pleasure Point Yoga.
Tropical Fusion with Allison Haley (Dance Fitness + Choreo: Afro / Latin)
INSTRUCTORS: Allison Haley
DATE: Wednesdays
TIME: 10:30am – 11:30am
LEVEL: All Levlels & Suggested Prerequisite for Tropicalismo Dance Party
COST: $18 drop in / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Unlimited Monthly / First Class Free!
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive, in our dedicated DANCE and Movement Studio.
Tropical Fusion is a high-energy dance fitness class with music from Brazil, the Caribbean, Latin America, and beyond. We’ll journey through dance styles like Samba, Salsa, Dancehall, Afrobeats, Soca, Rhumba, Cumbia, Calypso, and more resulting in one hour of juicy and joyful movement! Class includes a warmup, cardio dance, easy-to-learn choreography, and cool down. Open to all levels and abilities! Come free your hips, shake your booty, open your heart, express yourself, and feel the Tropical rhythms feed your soul!
Instructor Bio:
Allison Haley shares her love for dance through an approachable teaching style that combines infectious music, fun choreography, and lots of juicy movement! She feels passionate about sharing the empowerment, expression, community, and mind-body connection that dance provides.
Allison is a lifelong student of dance with an endless curiosity for cultural dance forms. For over 15 years she has studied African Diasporic dance with teachers from Brazil, Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America—learning Samba, Afro-Brazilian, Dancehall, Soca, Afrobeats, Salsa, Rhumba, Bomba, Calypso, and more. Her first exposure to these dance styles was as a teenager when she would travel to the Caribbean to visit her father, who lived there part of the year. As an adult, she is grateful to have learned from master teachers such as Marsea Marquis, Dhanda DaHora, Rosangela Silvestre, Vera Passos, Alvaro Reys, Marcelo Chocolate, Libby Miga, Latoya Bufford, Betty Rox, Erica Dixon, and many more. Allison has a long performance history in both dance and musical theater, both as a performer and event producer. She is also a certified Zumba instructor, bringing that knowledge to her classes to create an inviting, inclusive environment for self expression! Learn more about Allison at allisonhaley.com/dance
Tropicalismo Dance Party with Marsea Marquis (Intermediate to Advanced)
INSTRUCTORS: Marsea Marquis
DATES: Thursdays
TIMES: 6:45pm – 8:00pm
LEVEL: Intermediate to Advanced
Optional Prerequisite: Tropical Fusion / Zumba / Samba
COST: $18 Drop In / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Monthly Unlimited
PLUS a $5 monthly donation to support the Live Drummers who will play at the first class of each month. Please bring cash.
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive – DANCE Studio
DESCRIPTION: Tropicalismo Dance Party with Marsea Marquis
Experience a full-body workout while synching your spirit to the rich music and dance found within regions of the *African Diaspora. Brazil, Cuba and the Caribbean featuring Samba, Salsa and Calypso are but a few of the dance styles found at our weekly party!
Please bring a long, full circle, skirt for each class. Part of class will be danced with a skirt as we embody the rhythms and connect to joy. Skirt time includes men’s movement and will be taught concurrently.
Live drums the first Thursday of every month. Playlists used otherwise.
Masks are Optional. Please note, Marsea, who is vaccinated, will be teaching / dancing maskless due to a medical condition.
Link here for a cotton full circle skirt online. (Choose small as they are really big and long, with an adjustable waist.)
*African Diaspora is the term commonly used to describe the mass dispersion of peoples from Africa during the Transatlantic Slave Trades, from the 1500s to the 1800s. This Diaspora took millions of people from Western and Central Africa to different regions throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.
INSTRUCTOR BIO: Marsea Marquis is a passionate artist offering community classes and performance art in Santa Cruz, CA and beyond. Her work in dance has contributed to a foundation for the advancement of cultural art here in the US, through her Dance of Brazil community and network she founded in Santa Cruz, CA in 1995. Teaching Brazilian dance for thirty years, as well as her dedicated study beforehand to dance originating from Trinidad, Tobago, Puerto Rico, Cuba, many African regions and beyond, Marsea has led and entertained groups of adults and children with love and devotion through the decades.
Marsea remains focused on learning, sharing and celebrating music and dance traditions nascent to the diasporic communities that she is influenced by. She stays committed to bringing her teachers for master workshops and performances in order to remain a student herself. Dedicating to this exchange, she helps foster awareness and the opportunity to learn more about the rich history from which these dance and music expressions originate. These encounters enhance community building and help support and preserve traditional art forms and their legacies. Marsea is a believer that dance, music and art, brings us inspiration, fuels self-esteem and fosters hope. This hope in turn invites the opening of an evocative gateway, which enlivens our spirits and leads us to a more embodied connection to ourselves, one another and the larger global community. Something worth celebrating!
Urban Cardio Glow with Desiree Phillips (Dance Fitness – Urban / Hip Hop)
INSTRUCTORS: Desiree Phillips
DATE: Tuesday & Wednesday
TIME: 9:00 – 10:00am (Optional 15min choreo routine review from 10-10:15am)
COST: $18 drop in / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Unlimited Monthly / First Class Free!
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive, in our dedicated DANCE and Movement Studio.
Désirée Phillips is a local dancer with a 20+ year background of promoting self-esteem and body-love through movement, dance, workshops, and motivational seminars worldwide. People of all backgrounds, ages, and fitness levels benefit from her passion to spread the experiences of self-love through urban hip-hop moves and dance.
This urban hip-hop dance class blends a warm-up, light choreography breakdown, steady-state cardio and a short cool-down.
Zumba with Renee Menard (Dance Fitness – Latin)
INSTRUCTORS: Renee Menard
DATE: Tuesday
TIME: 10:30am – 11:30am
LEVEL: All Levels & Suggested Prerequisite for Tropicalismo Dance Party
COST: $18 drop in / $150 10 Class Pass / $145 Unlimited Monthly / First Class Free!
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive, in our dedicated DANCE Studio
This dance class is an hour of high energy, booty shaking, sweaty fun, filled with the tropical and latin vibes of Samba, Salsa, Reggaeton, Soca, Dancehall, and more. Join us as we travel through a global music and dance journey!
Livestream Process
COST: $15 Drop-In / $130 10 Class Pass / First Class Free!
For those who prefer to dance in the comfort of their own home or hotel while traveling, please join us via Livestream!
Step 2: Please check your email for the link to class. We will email you this roughly 15 minutes before the start of each class. The email will come from pleasurepointyoga@gmail.com. Please click on the link in the body of that email. This will redirect you to the Registration step with Zoom. If you cannot find this email in your inbox, please check your Junk folder.
Step 3: Register with Zoom: Please check that the First Name, Last Name, and Email you see on the registration step matches with your account info you used to enroll in class via MindBody (Step 1). If this matches, Zoom will let you into the livestream environment.
Step 4: Get ready to sweat and drop it’s like it’s hot in a fun, safe, and supportive environment.
LIVESTREAM CLASS SCHEDULE:
Thursdays 12:00pm – 1:15pmAmerican Tribal Style Belly Dance
THIS IS A DANCE SCHOOL INDEPENDENT FROM PLEASURE POINT YOGA
CONTACT INFO: Inna Dagman: (415) 672 – 4259 / healingdancer25@gmail.com
LOCATION: 3603 Portola Drive, in our dedicated DANCE and Movement Studio.
American Tribal Style Belly Dance® (Also knows as ATS® and FCBD® style) is a modern dance dialect with ancient roots. In this style we learn a common dance vocabulary, which allows us to dance together improvisationally. This keeps it incredibly alive, spontaneous, and allows us dancers to experience a moment-to-moment connection to our own creativity and to each other, which helps create much joy and fulfillment. These healing, joyful, sisterhood-creating aspects have led to this dance style spreading across the world!
The movements of ATS® belly dance are inspired by traditional Middle Eastern belly dance, classical Indian, north African, and Flamenco dance styles. These classes will help you develop strength and flexibility, a healthy uplifted posture, confidence, self-love, and a healthy connection to your femininity. All ages, backgrounds, and shapes welcome!
Level 1: Wednesdays 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Fundamentals of American Tribal Style Belly Dance® (FCBD® style) – beginner level, no experience necessary.
Level 2: Wednesdays 7:15pm – 8:30pm
Intermediate, student performance troupe. Knowledge of ATS® foundations and instructor approval needed.
About the instructor: Inna Dagman
Inna has had a passion for dance her whole life, however, finding belly dance represents a transformative moment in her evolution as a woman, artist, and healer. This ancient feminine form of movement first entranced Inna in 2010, in San Francisco CA at the legendary Fat Chance Belly Dance® studio, the birth place of the now world-renowned American Tribal Style® Belly Dance. She witnessed women of a variety of shapes, ages and backgrounds, proud beautiful bellies exposed, dancing together as empowered sisters. The room was filled with joy, pride, and the magnetic power of the feminine. Inna was hooked. Since that moment years ago Inna has become an acclaimed tribal belly dancer, teaching and performing regularly in the Santa Cruz area and beyond. She leads a student troupe of women dancers, Shekinah Tribal Belly Dance, where the focus is on embodiment of the Divine Feminine, and healthy connection among women.
Inna has also completed an extensive internship focused on the healing effects of dance, at the Center for Arts in Medicine at the University of Florida. She has had the honor to learn from leaders in the filed of healing through creativity and went on to facilitate workshops and groups on healing creativity and dance at hospitals, universities, in private settings, and currently, at an addiction recovery center, Embodied Recovery. In 2015 Inna has also entered private practice as a healing bodyworker, specializing in Craniosacral therapy.
Currently, in both her performance and teaching dance offerings, Inna focuses on dance as a transformational force for healing and embodiment of the Sacred.
Websites:
https://www.facebook.com/santacruzATS/
Healing bodywork: http://www.wildcreekhealingarts.com