To Book Nina Amaya for a Workshop
Please email your workshop proposal to Nina; there are so many details to be worked out for each individual event. Financially, besides travel expenses, Nina charges 60% of the workshop net, or $150/hr, whichever is greater, and the workshop host may attend the workshop at no charge. Nina has hosted workshops herself with Ozgen, Artemis Mourat, Kajira Djoumahna, Aszmara, Shems, Atef Hassan, and many other teachers, so she can help you work through the hosting process if it is new to you.
Workshop types here, and descriptions of many are below:
"Enchant with Your Dance"; "Turkish Belly Dance"; "The Mystery and Sensuality of the Silk Veil"; ""Sword, Single and Double"; How To Grow a Hafla"; "Juicy Combinations"; "Vintage American Cabaret"; "Dynamic Troupe Performance"; "Floorwork"; and "Shimmies for Work and Play"; and Choreography Workshops in: Veil (many), Joyful Sword, Drum Solo, Iranian Pop, Rajasthani, American Cabaret, 2 Minute Karsilama, and a Troupe Veil Finale ( with written notes and most have video links) and some can be combined ( like veil and floorwork into Cabaret or Turkish, and "Professional Performance Tips" can be added, too.
Workshop types here, and descriptions of many are below:
"Enchant with Your Dance"; "Turkish Belly Dance"; "The Mystery and Sensuality of the Silk Veil"; ""Sword, Single and Double"; How To Grow a Hafla"; "Juicy Combinations"; "Vintage American Cabaret"; "Dynamic Troupe Performance"; "Floorwork"; and "Shimmies for Work and Play"; and Choreography Workshops in: Veil (many), Joyful Sword, Drum Solo, Iranian Pop, Rajasthani, American Cabaret, 2 Minute Karsilama, and a Troupe Veil Finale ( with written notes and most have video links) and some can be combined ( like veil and floorwork into Cabaret or Turkish, and "Professional Performance Tips" can be added, too.
Dramatic and Joyful Sword Dance
Photo by http://gskeptonphotography.com/
Enchant With Your Dance
Will be taught Saturday, February 2, 3-5pm at Pittsburgh Dance Center | 4765 Liberty Ave, 2nd floor | Pittsburgh PA 15224
Join Nina Amaya for a dance adventure that goes beyond technique and into presence. Let go of your fear and dance in the moment. Identify your own personal “toolkit” of moves and use them to engage, entrance, and inspire your audience. Learn how to change pace within your own dance. Nina is known for the fun and fearless energy and drama she brings to her dance. She teaches others how to be the dancers they are, rather than the dancers they are not. Open to all levels, though previous belly dance experience will be beneficial.
Join Nina Amaya for a dance adventure that goes beyond technique and into presence. Let go of your fear and dance in the moment. Identify your own personal “toolkit” of moves and use them to engage, entrance, and inspire your audience. Learn how to change pace within your own dance. Nina is known for the fun and fearless energy and drama she brings to her dance. She teaches others how to be the dancers they are, rather than the dancers they are not. Open to all levels, though previous belly dance experience will be beneficial.
Available Workshops
Enchant with Your Dance
Will be taught Saturday, February 2, 3-5pm at Pittsburgh Dance Center | 4765 Liberty Ave, 2nd floor | Pittsburgh PA 15224
Join Nina Amaya for a dance adventure that goes beyond technique and into presence. Let go of your fear and dance in the moment. Identify your own personal “toolkit” of moves and use them to engage, entrance, and inspire your audience. Learn how to change pace within your own dance. Nina is known for the fun and fearless energy and drama she brings to her dance. She teaches others how to be the dancers they are, rather than the dancers they are not. Open to all levels, though previous belly dance experience will be beneficial.
Introduction to Turkish Belly Dance
What makes Turkish Oriental Dance, or belly dance, different from its Arabic cousins? Learn the moves, old and new, that make this fiery style of belly dance so entertaining. Win this workshop, we can dance to the 9/8 time signature, or stick to more familiar rhythms.
Nina Amaya has taken workshops in Turkish dance from Turkish legends Reyhan, Ozgen and Sema Yildiz, American Turkish style masters Eva Cernik and Artemis Mourat, and has done intensive video study of Tulay Karaca. In 2012 Nina studied with Lara Adrienne, an American working as a professional bellydancer in Turkey today. Nina will be in Turkey February 6-13, 2013.
The Mystery and Sensuality of the Silk Veil in Belly Dance
Experience joy as your veil catches the air. Dazzle your audience with an ethereal vision of you and your silk. Learn swoops, swirls, turns, and tricks. This workshop will cover traditional use of the veil in belly dance: entrances, illusions and interactions. We will also explore recent innovations in veil dancing. Novice dancers welcome, advanced dancers will learn something new. NIna Amaya teaches how to make Veil look easy, natural, and beautiful, and welcomes all genders to the class. Dancing with double veils is also an option.
Turning Swords into Ploughshares
A sharp metal blade is an object’d’arte! You can dance as a scary badass, a mysterious spirit, or you can dance joyfully, even with sword. Learn moves and attitudes, entrances, combinations, poses and moves for soloists or troupes. We will cover various balnce points such as hand, knee, chest, head. Duets and troupes can make patterns in space, do ‘double sword’ moves with one sword each, and otherwise interact.
For advanced dancers, Nina has hot new double sword moves. Floorwork and spinning are optional parts of the workshop.
Putting Together a Show
A belly dance performance changes depending on your style, and depending on your audience. Put together the right performance for your event. Restaurant, party or Hafla? Egyptian, Turkish, AmCab?
Entrances can be lively, mysterious or dramatic. A soft, flowing veil dance, a prop balancing routine or folkloric piece, a drum solo, an upbeat dance to contemporary Middle Eastern pop music, and a finale are the typical parts to most shows. Encourage audience participation during the penultimate song; maybe getting the guest of honor up to dance, or teaching the guests to shimmy.
Optional workshop add-on: The Business side- What questions do you ask when booking a gig? A contract? A deposit? What are safety and ethics concerns? How does your new job affect your larger dance community? How do you get enough practice performing to feel like “going pro”? Can you go pro without taking private or restaurant gigs? If adding this section, bring a notebook!
Floorwork
In Turkish and Vintage American belly dance, dancers perform entrancing movements on the floor during a slow section of a performance, usually during a mawwal or a taqsim. The movements showcase the dancers personality, musicality and athleticism. We will learn floowork techniques and strategies for moving to and from the floor safely.
This class is recommended for intermediate/advanced students but all may come who are interested! Bring kneepads if you can, or legwarmers.
Improvisational Belly Dance
Learn to embrace the art of improvisation! Belly dance is often improvised, especially when performing to live music. We will explore how to “hear” and respond to the music and how to interact with live musicians. Recognize your default dancing and learn how to maximize and enhance it. Explore combinations to spice up your improvisational dancing.
This workshop is ideal for those who enjoy dancing to live music, but have been shy about improvisation in the past!
Shimmies for Work and Play
Twist shimmy, tension shimmy, body quake (subway shimmy), torso shimmy, pelvic shimmer, Lebanese shimmy, Egyptian straight leg shimmy, swing shimmy, bent leg shimmy, glute shimmy, oblique shimmy, inner thigh shimmy, shoulder shimmy, hand shimmy, chest shimmy, monster shimmy, 3/4 on the up shimmy, 3/4 on the down shimmy, 3/4 swing shimmy, your shimmy, oh no, not the tricep shimmy... okay, now I'm shimmying, what's next?
Find your shimmy, try new shimmies, find out which of these 2 shimmies I can't do (but maybe you can!) and then let's try seeing what we can do with ourselves once we're shimmying.... prepare to glow with effort, learn exercises to help various shimmies that can be done in the car, washing dishes, etc. This workshop is, actually, really fun....
Belly Dance for Nondancers
Want to learn to bellydance, but you are afraid you can't follow the directionns?
I'd like to teach a workshop for you!
Nina Amaya is a professional dancer with dancelexia! When i was learning, I went right when everyone else went left, was always on the wrong foot, and couldn't remember a sequence of steps. And i overcame it.
As a school teacher, I studied different learning styles, and I'll help you to find your dance learning style. In a workshop limited to ten students, we'll go over some of the basic and not-so-basic moves.
Thiis class is limited to those who find it hard to learn, or those teachers who want to learn how to teach dancelexics. It will be supportive and fun. Just remember to breathe!
Will be taught Saturday, February 2, 3-5pm at Pittsburgh Dance Center | 4765 Liberty Ave, 2nd floor | Pittsburgh PA 15224
Join Nina Amaya for a dance adventure that goes beyond technique and into presence. Let go of your fear and dance in the moment. Identify your own personal “toolkit” of moves and use them to engage, entrance, and inspire your audience. Learn how to change pace within your own dance. Nina is known for the fun and fearless energy and drama she brings to her dance. She teaches others how to be the dancers they are, rather than the dancers they are not. Open to all levels, though previous belly dance experience will be beneficial.
Introduction to Turkish Belly Dance
What makes Turkish Oriental Dance, or belly dance, different from its Arabic cousins? Learn the moves, old and new, that make this fiery style of belly dance so entertaining. Win this workshop, we can dance to the 9/8 time signature, or stick to more familiar rhythms.
Nina Amaya has taken workshops in Turkish dance from Turkish legends Reyhan, Ozgen and Sema Yildiz, American Turkish style masters Eva Cernik and Artemis Mourat, and has done intensive video study of Tulay Karaca. In 2012 Nina studied with Lara Adrienne, an American working as a professional bellydancer in Turkey today. Nina will be in Turkey February 6-13, 2013.
The Mystery and Sensuality of the Silk Veil in Belly Dance
Experience joy as your veil catches the air. Dazzle your audience with an ethereal vision of you and your silk. Learn swoops, swirls, turns, and tricks. This workshop will cover traditional use of the veil in belly dance: entrances, illusions and interactions. We will also explore recent innovations in veil dancing. Novice dancers welcome, advanced dancers will learn something new. NIna Amaya teaches how to make Veil look easy, natural, and beautiful, and welcomes all genders to the class. Dancing with double veils is also an option.
Turning Swords into Ploughshares
A sharp metal blade is an object’d’arte! You can dance as a scary badass, a mysterious spirit, or you can dance joyfully, even with sword. Learn moves and attitudes, entrances, combinations, poses and moves for soloists or troupes. We will cover various balnce points such as hand, knee, chest, head. Duets and troupes can make patterns in space, do ‘double sword’ moves with one sword each, and otherwise interact.
For advanced dancers, Nina has hot new double sword moves. Floorwork and spinning are optional parts of the workshop.
Putting Together a Show
A belly dance performance changes depending on your style, and depending on your audience. Put together the right performance for your event. Restaurant, party or Hafla? Egyptian, Turkish, AmCab?
Entrances can be lively, mysterious or dramatic. A soft, flowing veil dance, a prop balancing routine or folkloric piece, a drum solo, an upbeat dance to contemporary Middle Eastern pop music, and a finale are the typical parts to most shows. Encourage audience participation during the penultimate song; maybe getting the guest of honor up to dance, or teaching the guests to shimmy.
Optional workshop add-on: The Business side- What questions do you ask when booking a gig? A contract? A deposit? What are safety and ethics concerns? How does your new job affect your larger dance community? How do you get enough practice performing to feel like “going pro”? Can you go pro without taking private or restaurant gigs? If adding this section, bring a notebook!
Floorwork
In Turkish and Vintage American belly dance, dancers perform entrancing movements on the floor during a slow section of a performance, usually during a mawwal or a taqsim. The movements showcase the dancers personality, musicality and athleticism. We will learn floowork techniques and strategies for moving to and from the floor safely.
This class is recommended for intermediate/advanced students but all may come who are interested! Bring kneepads if you can, or legwarmers.
Improvisational Belly Dance
Learn to embrace the art of improvisation! Belly dance is often improvised, especially when performing to live music. We will explore how to “hear” and respond to the music and how to interact with live musicians. Recognize your default dancing and learn how to maximize and enhance it. Explore combinations to spice up your improvisational dancing.
This workshop is ideal for those who enjoy dancing to live music, but have been shy about improvisation in the past!
Shimmies for Work and Play
Twist shimmy, tension shimmy, body quake (subway shimmy), torso shimmy, pelvic shimmer, Lebanese shimmy, Egyptian straight leg shimmy, swing shimmy, bent leg shimmy, glute shimmy, oblique shimmy, inner thigh shimmy, shoulder shimmy, hand shimmy, chest shimmy, monster shimmy, 3/4 on the up shimmy, 3/4 on the down shimmy, 3/4 swing shimmy, your shimmy, oh no, not the tricep shimmy... okay, now I'm shimmying, what's next?
Find your shimmy, try new shimmies, find out which of these 2 shimmies I can't do (but maybe you can!) and then let's try seeing what we can do with ourselves once we're shimmying.... prepare to glow with effort, learn exercises to help various shimmies that can be done in the car, washing dishes, etc. This workshop is, actually, really fun....
Belly Dance for Nondancers
Want to learn to bellydance, but you are afraid you can't follow the directionns?
I'd like to teach a workshop for you!
Nina Amaya is a professional dancer with dancelexia! When i was learning, I went right when everyone else went left, was always on the wrong foot, and couldn't remember a sequence of steps. And i overcame it.
As a school teacher, I studied different learning styles, and I'll help you to find your dance learning style. In a workshop limited to ten students, we'll go over some of the basic and not-so-basic moves.
Thiis class is limited to those who find it hard to learn, or those teachers who want to learn how to teach dancelexics. It will be supportive and fun. Just remember to breathe!
