Yoga & Ethnic Dance with Yolanda

Bellydancers are supple, feminine, earthy, mysterious, playful and strong. That dancer is you! Come learn among friends and awaken your inner fire. Releasing stress and feeling great about your gentle body! Build community and self-knowledge while honoring the inner divine feminine. Be sure to tell your friends. The only thing better then taking bellydance classes are taking them with your friends!

Fusion Funk Belly Dance-Beginning Technique – Building a strong foundation is very important in belly dance.  Being able to conduct the music on your body is an essential part of Danse Orientale.  Intro to history and music - Building strong basic dance skills - Basic alignment- Shimmies- Isolations- figure 8, circles, and undulations - Beautiful arms and hands gestures using Mudras -Simple combinations.
This class focuses on solid foundation work for new dancers. Fusion Funk belly dance is Yolanda’s methodical style that fuses together traditional to modern forms of ethnic dance which include: Raqs Sharqi, Tribal style belly dance, Bellywood (combination of Belly dance & Bollywood) & Spanish gypsy.  As with the practice of Yogini Yoga, experienced dancers can deepen their practice of belly dance by working thoughtfully into the fundamentals as your body, mind, and heart open to this ancient art of movement.  Lessons in this class are for fun, require no previous experience and are open to women of all shapes and sizes and levels of physical conditioning.  Yolanda’s class is modern and primitive, urban and tribal, all in a nonjudgmental environment. Be prepared to learn more subtle nuances in these powerful foundational moves.

Bellyrobics Workout - Mixed level - Exercise class to dance your new moves into your muscle memory and have fun. Great class for beginners to practice and returning dancers to build strength and awaken old knowledge. Sweating and laughing will be on the agenda. This class is to shake everything loose and inspire new ideas. We won't be stopping to break things down. This is a chance to learn by example and self-exploration. 

Fusion Funk Youth Dance-Mixed level- This class is always full of energy that you never know what to expect!  Through ethnic dance Fusion Funk youth will build self-awareness, empowerment, and confidence in a nonjudgmental environment.  Sign up your young lady today, and experience the beauty of the world through dance.

 Fusion Funk Collective-“Sacred Mandala Movement” Continuing Bellydance Fusion Class and an ENMU student –community organization.  Previous ethnic & modern fusion dance/music experience is strongly encouraged. Built for drummers, dancers, & artists - Please bring: Zills (finger cymbals), Veil, drum or any percussion instrument, dance journals, knee pads. The last night of each session is a workshop night where we work on a special topic for the entire class time.  Building ideas for performances in our community and giving back to our community in this medium.  No cost for this class or organization fee~ Volunteer Basis Class location is TBA   Please Email Fusion Funk Collective to Pre-Register and get on the email list for further details.  fusionfunkcollective@yahoo.com

 Instructor Bio
Yolanda’s burning desire to continue exploring dance was set into motion in 1998, finding her first teacher right here in her hometown of Portales New Mexico, not knowing she would be dedicating 10 transformational years studying yoga and ethnic dance with her teacher.  Since then she just hasn't been able to escape yet! Yolanda has twice traveled abroad and attends the Middle Eastern Music & Dance camp every summer where she continues her knowledge with the top international Middle Eastern artists, and also, networking and supporting(the gypsies) workshops held here in New Mexico. As a longtime Yoga and dance instructor here at ENMU, her classes are designed with your bodies’ health and vitality in mind. She creates a warm, fun, community environment that is a wonderful blend of both the silly and sacred.

Yolanda can be seen in performance with her bellydance troupe DiDi Ethnic Dance and Fusion Funk Collective. She has been hosting Queen Harish, who is a Bollywood actor, dancer, & international performer, for the past two years and will travel to India with her students to study yoga and dance in Rajasthan this coming year.  She is a certified YogaFit Instructor Level 2.  Yolanda is currently training for the Kundalini Teacher Training that will be held Fall 2010.

What should you wear to class…?
Yoga or any workout clothes are perfect. Wearing a hip scarf will help you see hip movements more clearly in the mirror. You can purchase scarves with coins or beads or just grab a beautiful scarf from home that you can tie around your waist to start. Some students like to get a little more dressed up in long skirts or harem style pants with a pretty top. There are LOTS of fun costume things that you can experiment with down the line but there really isn't much that you need to get started.

Upcoming Shows: TBA