Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

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Posts Tagged ‘Nia studio’

Good Things And Not-So-Good Things

Posted by terrepruitt on February 15, 2014

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia at the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Zumba, PiYo, Gentle YogaWell, I am not doing a weekly post to check in on your Goodie Jar, but I do hope you are still doing it or some variation there of.  Are you?  Are you taking time to recognize the good in life?  I hope so.  I am.  I believe I mentioned that I wanted to us something else to hold my notes regarding the good things.  I have a lot of beautiful bowls and plates.  I decided to use this beautiful blue bowl shaped like a flower.  I think it will be good for another month or so.  I love having this little gem on the counter.  I started off the year using Christmas wrapping paper scraps.  I have other wrapping paper scraps to use and little pieces of paper.  It all adds to the “goodness of the jar” to me.  So far the year is a good one in which to focus on the good things.  As with life there are good things and not-so-good things and that is why we have a good things jar.

I have been teaching Nia at a studio in San Jose where I rent the space.  I have been renting there since January 2009.  At first I rented an hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  But after six months I decided to just rent Mondays and Wednesdays.  Well, after five years, I have decided to just rent Wednesdays.  So it has been five years of teaching on Mondays at the studio.  Monday, February 24, 2014 will be the last one for now.  Mondays are a great day to teach because on Holidays people who work are able to attend, but we don’t have enough holidays.  It could be that something else will come up for Mondays or it could be that one day I start teaching there again on Mondays, but for now, we will not be dancing on Mondays.

The classes at the community center is growing.  I love that more and more people are coming to Nia there.  Also I enjoyed my short time substituting a Nia class at the YMCA in Mountain View.  I am teaching a Gentle Yoga class on Thursday evenings.  And have been asked to teach another Gentle Yoga class on Tuesday mornings.  So while one class ends a new one begins.

We are going to have to move our after-Nia-Class-visits to Wednesday.  We have one more Monday that we are going to meet.  We have been going to Peet’s on the second to the last Monday of the month for about a year now.  So we will have to move it to the second to the last Wednesday.  I love that our little Nia community gathers after class.  I need to get this type of gathering going with the community center Nia group.

So, I am still putting things in my goodie jar.  Still looking for, finding, recognizing, seeing those good things.  I hope that no matter what is going on in your life you are able to find something good.  Something you want to make a note of so that you can read it later on.  I really enjoyed reading my good things at the end of the year.  Much of it was about Nia but not all of it.  Most of it had to do with love.  People showing ME love and that is MORE than a good thing, that is GREAT.  I hope you have a lot of moments of love that you can jot down and put in your jar.

Well . . . . how is it going?

Posted in Good Things in the Goodie Jar | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Halanda Studio Holiday Party 2011

Posted by terrepruitt on December 13, 2011

Nia Studio, Dance Exercise, Cardio Dance, Aerobic Exercise, San Jose Nia, Halanda Studio, Willow GlenI teach Nia at a studio in San Jose.  The studio is in a part of San Jose called Willow Glen.  In January (2012) I will have been holding Nia classes there for three years.  It is a studio that is owned by two women who teach and perform belly dancing.  One woman is named Hala and the other Amanda.  The name of the studio is Halanda.  See how they did that?  Well, every year they have a Holiday Party which is like Christmas Parties at offices once were, a BIG thank you.  The teachers come together to display their talent in front of the audience made up of students, other dancers, and neighborhood people.  It was an awesome show and a great party.

Halanda Studio Holiday Party, Nia, Nia Teacher, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia classes, dance exercise

As I mentioned in a previous post, this is the first year that I have been able to attend.  I was very amazed and impressed.  I am going to spend from now until the next party telling my students they really want to attend next year.  It is a busy time of the year, but it is so great to come and see all the beautiful dance we have going on in the studio.

There was a lot of food.  As you can see there were vegetables, fruit, meat, and cheese.  There were several types of crackers.  Someone brought sandwiches.  Someone brought spanakopita!  There were trays of cookies.  You can see the huge trays of turkey wraps.  There was so much food.  As one dish was emptied something else would replace it.  The table was like the never ending table of food.

As you may know it is difficult to watch something AND take pictures at the same time.  So I really rushed through taking pictures.  I was using my phone and my camera.  I was taking pictures on my phone and posting them to various social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, and Streamzoo.  In addition to this being a “thank you” party, it is also a networking party and a way to try to get people interested in taking classes at the studio.  So I was trying to watch at the same time I was Facebooking, tweeting, and posting to Streamzoo.  All of this in addition to the fact that the subject(s) are shaking, shimmying, bouncing, and jittering caused me to have mostly very blurry shots.

dance exercise, Nia, San Jose Nia, Nia in the South Bay, San Francisco Bay Area Nia, Nia Classes

 

 

 

The first dance shot is of Farima and her Students performing a Silk Road Fusion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dance exercise, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Cardio workout, Nia, Nia classes, Nia teacher

Then there is Marie Manila showing us what Hot Hula is.  It appeared to be hula dance, with her telling you what muscles you are working.  Maybe they repeat some moves more than they would in a typical hula dance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

dance exercise, Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia teacher, Nia classes, San Jose Nia, Nia in Willow Glen

Then there is a picture of Farima and some more of her students.  They are doing a Persian Dance and they are dressed like princesses.  I think the costumes are one of my favorite things about belly dancing.  They can be very sparkly and shiny.  I love that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

dance exercise, Nia, Nia San Jose, San Jose Nia, Nia teacher, Nia class, belly dance, Laura Thompson, Setareh

Here is a shot of my friend Laura Thompson.  She is multi-talented.  Here she is dancing under her stage name, Setareh , with a sword.  I have known here for years and I have never seen her dance.  It was awesome.  Her other passion is jewelry making and her talent lies not only in the beautiful pieces she creates, but in the way she can tweak one of her creations to match you perfectly.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is Amanda, a co-owner of the studio, doing a Turkish Dance.  dance exercise, Nia teacher, Nia class, Halanda Studio, Nia studio, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below is photo of Vy performing an Egyptian Oriental Dance.

 

 

 

dance exercise, Nia, Nia Class, Nia dance, Nia workout, belly dance, Nia teacher, Nia routine, San Jose, Nia

 

 

Next is Hala, the other co-owner, doing Egyptian Bellydance.

Dance Exercise, Nia San Jose, Nia teacher, Nia dance, Nia class, San Jose Nia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then a shot of Michelle and her students.  Michelle teaches something called No Rules Dance, which I believe is for belly dancer who have belly dancing experience, but want to learn new things and “break” the rules.Dance Exercise, San Jose Nia, San Jose Nia classes, San Jose exercise classes, Nia teacher, No Rules Belly Dance

 

I didn’t take pictures of all the performers, plus some that I did take were too blurry to post. Every dance was a delight to see. So much talent at the studio!

I did a two song Nia demo and many people joined me. It was awesome. We had a great time. I was so happy to be able to share Nia with so many people.

 

Well, I will probably point you to this post as NEXT December nears so that you can be reminded of what a GREAT time the party is and maybe (if you are around) you will attend.  It really is a treat to be able to see so many different types of dance and belly dance all in one show.  Thanks always to Hala and Amanda for having such a great little place we all can dance!

Posted in Exercise and Working Out, Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Nia Temporary Studio – Because We Love It

Posted by terrepruitt on October 4, 2011

If you follow me on Twitter, are a Facebook friend of mine, or look at my website, you will have seen that my Nia students and I have been doing Nia in the park.  I teach Nia at two different facilities.  There is my Monday and Wednesday class that meets at 9:00 am.  We meet in a little dance studio in an area of San Jose called Willow Glen.  The studio is about 900 square feet, it has a laminate floor and a large mirror.  It is long and slightly narrow.  It is a nice little place.  I have been teaching there for over two and a half years.  Some of my students have been dancing Nia with me for that long.  In November of 2010 I started teaching Nia on Fridays at a different studio in Los Gatos.  It was a different type of studio . . . it was more of an exercise studio where exercise classes are held.  They had a separate room for Pilates Reformer classes.  Well at the end of August this studio said they were moving.  When they would be done with the move and how it all was going to work was very up in the air.  At one point I was told by one of the owners that we would only miss one Nia class.  So I just decided that one class would be ok to miss.  It would not be worth the time involved to secure another place to hold a class.  But then the next week we were told it would be at least another week.  So I asked my students if they wanted to hold a class in the park.  Many students are wanting to participant in Nia three times a week so they said yes.  We decided to try it.

Well, I think that not having Nia that one Friday really helped us all realize that we do like to have it three times a week.  Monday, Wednesday, and Friday just seems pretty perfect.  On the Friday we met in the park we didn’t know how it would go.  We didn’t know if the weather would cooperate.  We didn’t know if there would be too many people for us to dance on the volleyball court.  See that is one thing, I have often entertained the idea of do Nia in a park, because grass really sound likes a great place to dance barefoot.  Natures cushioned dance floor.  But I have always been concerned about holes, bumps, and ruts.  The thought of someone turning their ankle on the grass has always kept me from following through with it.  Plus, the idea that was tossed about had always been an evening class.  I imagine parks being really busy in the evening.

This park that we have been at is really close to the studio in Willow Glen.  There is a basketball court and a volleyball court that have been empty in the mornings.  I imagine the basketball court is occupied in the evenings, but while we are there it is empty.  The volleyball court is somewhat in the shade and provides us with a smooth flat surface to move on.  The park seems rather busy the hour before we arrive.  Seems like many loving dog owners take their dogs out for morning exercise.  There are mother’s and children at the playground.  We have had to dance without music when the lawnmower has obliterated the sound.  But that was only once or twice for a song or two.

The studio has been closed for longer than we had anticipated.  So we have been doing Nia in the park for four weeks.  The weather has been very nice.  Once it was warmer than we like, but so far we have had great temperatures.  This week it is raining.  The forecast is saying that it will be sunny on Friday, but we will see.  The studio has also announced that it will not be open for two more Fridays.  So we might get this week in at the park and next week.  I have been leaving it up to my students.  If they tell me they are going to be there, then I say, I will be there too!

I have really enjoyed our time at the park.  I sort of wish that we could do it there all year, but with winter coming, although winters in the San Fransisco Bay Area are not full of snow, we do get rain and I don’t think we want to dance in the rain.  So I am sad that our time in the park is ending.  I hope that we will be inspired to do Nia in the park again at some point after these next two weeks.  I am really doing it because my students wanted to do it because we love Nia.  I know that some classes take place on the beach and other outdoor places.  I am so happy that I have been able to experience Nia outdoors and share it with my students.

Yeah, this is me sharing.  🙂

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Salsa, Tango, and Nia

Posted by terrepruitt on January 4, 2011

When I first started teaching my Nia classes I was doing it three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at the studio in Willow Glen. Not every class had many students. I remember talking to different people about the low numbers. Some of them suggested not having that many classes in a week, not having that many dance lessons a week. Understandable. Most people didn’t know what Nia was. Since it is dance many people thought of it as a dance that you learn. But Nia is not like Salsa or Tango where you are shown steps, then asked to mimic them, then instructed to practice, then allowed to practice to music. Nia is not a dance lesson type of dance.

Even though Nia incorporates nine different movement forms, Nia is more comparable to Zumba or Jazzercise where the music is playing and the participants follow the lead of the teacher. No experience in or with any of the movement forms is required. Nia is a cardio dance workout, it is exercise so it is GREAT to do it three times a week. It is recommended to participate in a form of cardio exercise at least three times a week to maintain heart health. Depending upon your individual needs and goals cardio more often might even be in order. So Nia three times a week is great.

When I had the opportunity to hold a third class in a week that is exactly what many of my Monday and Wednesday students said, “Nia three times a week is great!”  Now I have a third Nia class on Fridays in Los Gatos.  (I know I have said that before, but I am excited.  Plus I need to get the word out!)

Another point about Salsa and Tango is a partner is needed. Nia does not require a partner so it is often easier to actually do it three times a week since you are not trying to coordinate with another person to meet and dance three times a week.

Participating in Nia with any regularity participants will learn, but it might not be dance steps. There are many things to learn when participating in Nia, but it is not taught as steps and or patterns are taught in a dance lesson.  Instead of Nia being a dance lesson, you will learn lessons as you dance Nia.  🙂

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Nia Journey

Posted by terrepruitt on February 9, 2010

Nia is a workout, and a great one at that.  It is fun and interesting.  We get to play and move our bodies and work our muscles. Our exercise consists of all types of movements.

Presently I teach at two facilities. I teach in San Jose at a dance studio where I rent time by the hour.  And I teach at a city recreation department.  Here is a picture of my class.  This is my San Carlos City Park and Recreation class.  This is not all of them, but the ones that were there a few minutes before class.

I took this picture because I wanted to document this.  I am posting it on my blog because I want to document this and share it.

For me, Nia is a workout, but it is more.  It is a journey.  I am learning a lot with these ladies.  I am learning a lot with this space.  I am learning a lot on this particular path of my journey and I wanted to have record of it.

I asked for permission to post this, but I didn’t get anything signed so I will not be naming anyone, but we are having fun.  These ladies are on a Nia journey with me too. 

We are starting a new session next week, and I have agreed to do more after that, but this one is special because it is the first one.  The first one for me, the first one for San Carlos, and the first one for a lot of these women. I have been contacted by some men and hope to have them in our future sessions, but for now it is just us girls.

I am posting this to remember and honor these wonderful women who are on a wonderful journey with me.  Cheers to us!

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Nia In Many Forms

Posted by terrepruitt on November 7, 2009

There is always something Nia going on. Often times visting instructors will host a workshop or two. When they are in an area doing a workshop they often tack on a class or two so that even if you are not going to partake in the workshop you still can do Nia with them. It is a great way to other teachers from all over. This weekend there is a workshop that I am able to attend but I was able to go to the Nia class that was held the night before the workshop.

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It was an hour and a half class. Due to the huge amount of commute traffic from San Jose to Concord we missed the first 20 minutes, but we were able to jump right in and get a great workout in the time we had.

The visiting instructor was Winalee Zeeb. She has been doing Nia since 1991. She is a first degree Nia Black Belt, a Nia White Belt Trainer, and she has her own studio in Michigan called Heartdance.

The event is being held at The Big C Athletic Club. The class I went to was also at that location.  I had a great time moving on carpeted thick padded floor. We moved fast and slow, and experienced fire and soul. It was a great workout. Always amazing me because it never feels like exercise. I am always amazed when the class ends. It was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting Winalee. She said we did a bit of Aya and a bit of Velvet. I am not sure what other routines were in there, but it was a great time.

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I often post events on my site so if you are interested in attending Nia workshops and events in my area check my site.

 

 

 

 

 

I was still trying to get in the swing of things when I decided to snap a few photos.  I was planning on taking more, but since we had missed a few minutes already I didn’t want to take time standing around taking the pictures, but I snapped it and a couple more just to give you an idea.

Posted in Nia | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »