Middle Eastern Dance: The Art of Expression
We’ll explore how movement flows from inside us, cultivating presence, breath, and intention to bring softness, strength, and clarity to each gesture. With special attention to arms, hands, and the upper body, this workshop offers a space to refine the quality of your movement and deepen physical awareness. Drawing from the foundations of Middle Eastern dance traditions, you’ll develop a more embodied approach to expressiveness - shaping movement with nuance and feeling, grounded in sensation rather than sound. All levels and movement backgrounds welcome.
About Natalie Nayun
Natalie is an international teacher specializing in contemporary and folkloric styles from Central Asia and the Middle East. She was lucky enough to study dance in her travels to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Oman, and has been dancing for more than 17 years and teaching for more than 11. Natalie is the director of UC Berkeley’s Central Asian and Middle Eastern Dance Company, Sorayya, and former director of Adara Dance Company. You can see her dancing with Nava Dance Collective, with Ballet Afsaneh, and as a soloist.
Natalie has performed and taught in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Israel/Palestine, and New Mexico, and locally in California as a guest lecturer at Stanford University. She hopes to share the beauty of the cultures she has come to know, as expressed through regional dance.