The best students make the best teachers

After another fabulous weekend of workshops with Aradia of Las Vegas, I've been thinking about what it is exactly that makes her workshops so fabulous.  Comparing them to other dancers I've had the opportunity to learn from, I think it comes down to one major thing - where most dancers present "dance moves" to you, Aradia presents the dance, along with its context. 

Let me give an example of what I mean - Dancer X may explain a move like so: "This is a hip circle, but it only goes to the front, so push to the front and then contract back in before you start to circle back."  Aradia, however, will say "This is a hip circle that only goes to the front.  We do it this way when we are dancing in the style of the Golden Era, because the dancers back in those days considered pushing their butts to the back to be vulgar. So, before you start to circle around to the back, contract back in to center."

Or, Dancer X might say "now we are going to do tush pushes to the left."  Aradia would say "Now we will do Mona's gooey tush pushes to the left.  Mona El Said does these while looking over her shoulder at her hip; she's very flirtatious with this step so that is how we will do it." 

Just looking at the notes Aradia hands out after every class, you can see they contain not just the descriptions of dance moves, but the names of the dancers to whom the signature move belonged.  Learning a choreography from Aradia means you are also learning the history, culture, and context of the dance. 

Aradia is the ultimate student. She absorbs information from dancers all over the globe, and spanning across generations, and is able to pass that information on to her own students.  It makes for a so much more of a rich class, when you can learn more than just a dance move, but the who, what, how and why of that move as well.

Bellydancing and....Italian food?!

Yes, that's right - come see me and members of the Daniela Dance Company performing at Cascarino's in Bayside on October 10th, and enjoy a delicious dinner (Italian food, of course!) as well!

Tickets are $30 and include the show, dinnner, dessert, and non-alcoholic drinks. 

Buy tickets below!  (name will be held for reservation - you will not receive an actual ticket).

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Name (for reservation)

Back to (Dance) School!

I don't know about you all, but I am itching to get back to dance class!  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a little time off; it's nice to have all of my evenings free to hang out with my daughter and my husband.  But by the beginning of September, I'm ready to DANCE again!

Please join me for a new season at one of my classes (listed below).  There will be all new choreographies, new music, and new and improved warm-ups!  So, don't miss out!

All classes resume next week (9/12).


Mondays, 7:30 - American Dance and Drama Studio (188-22 Union Tpk, Fresh Meadows)
*Open level class (please note there is no seperate intermediate class at this time. HOWEVER, if there is a demand for it, it will be reinstated. So, if you would like the intermediate class to resume, you MUST come to this open level class or else they will never know that there are serious students interested in the intermediate level. Intermediate level will resume as soon as there is demand demonstrated, so come to class as soon as possible so that we can have the intermediate class back quickly!!)


Wednesdays, 7:00 - Queens Dance Project (NEW location - 214-26 41st Ave, Bayside)
*Open level class (stay for Zumba after and get a discount!)


Sundays, 10:00am - Ultimate Fitness (26-50 Brooklyn Queens Expressway, Woodside) (formerly BQE Gym)
*Cardio belly/Open level

I'm also teaching yoga at 7:30 on Monday mornings at Queens Dance Project (address above).  This is a mixed-levels vinyasa style class; no experience necessary and all are welcome! 

I hope to see you in class soon!

The information on my website is currently slightly out-of-date (stay tuned for a BRAND NEW website coming soon!), so email me with any questions!