Get a sneak peek into the exhilarating dance fitness experiences that await you. Immerse yourself in the rhythms and movements of various dance styles, each designed to make fitness feel like a celebration.

Explore the vibrant tapestry of dance with our featured artists

• Bellydance with Kendra
• Capoeira with Maestre Lobinho
• Afrobeat with Heather
• Afrobeat with “Hollardave”

World Dance Workout – 20-minute Cardio Dance is a dynamic class that follows the bell curve. We lift the heart rate right from the beginning- allowing the body to get maximum benefits.

The class centers around the WDW’s unique style of teaching combination moves that support brain health and are taught by repetition to keep you moving the whole time.  Dance to inspiring music from around the world, you won’t even realize you’re burning calories!

World Dance Beat – 20-minute Cardio Drumming is an exciting class that uses a stability ball, a stand, and drum sticks for a full body and mind workout.  Using the WDW method for teaching combination moves- this class has the added advantage of more opportunities for brain health by increasing hand-eye coordination, creating new neural pathways, and reducing stress.  Discover your inner drummer and bring the music to life!

World Dance Workout is a unique dance fitness program designed by an Occupational Therapist for a fun, effective, full body and mind workout.  Inspiring, easy-to-follow dance combinations, together with strength training, pilates, and yoga create space for heart health, muscle toning, flexibility, and weight control. 

This 45-minute class also improves brain health through intentional body and mind connection that tones mental and spiritual wellness. WDW was motivated by our passion for movement and music as the universal language that connects us.  In this one-of-a-kind fitness setting, you’ll enjoy uplifting world music and find yourself instantly steeped in the global community while you sweat, move, and grow. 

World Dance Beat builds onto the World Dance Workout foundation.  In this 45-minute, full-body workout, stability balls, and drumsticks are used to bring the music to life with cardio drumming.  This high-energy class provides more opportunities for brain health by increasing hand-eye coordination, creating new neural pathways, and reducing stress.

  This unique and exciting class also utilizes the stability ball for strength training, toning, stretching, and core balance exercises.  Discover your inner drummer and ignite your growth!

World Dance Workout Barre Tone is a total body workout inspired by Pilates, Strength Training, Yoga, Meditation, and Ballet.   This one-of-a-kind class uses cardio dance as a quick and effective warmup.  You’ll be guided into different poses, on or off the Barre or Chair, to tone your core and more. 

Experience the benefit of each position that pushes you to find your challenge- changing muscles and finding inner strength you didn’t know you had!  

World Dance Workout Strength Training is a unique twist on a classic workout.  Combine a fun, full body warmup with light weights, resistive bands and/or against your own body resistance.  This format is designed to protect your joints while fatiguing your muscles to increase bone density, muscular endurance and build strength.  Finish with a cool down and good stretch for lengthening and flexibility.

World Dance Workout Yoga is a series of yoga classes that center around breath and steady, intentional motion.  Each experience offers the opportunity to find space inside a movement.  You will be guided in a way that allows you to stay present and mindful while increasing flexibility, range of motion and reducing stress.

Sandy is an enthusiastic and dedicated fitness instructor, dancer, and mother. She’s been teaching fitness classes for over 20 years beginning at Eastern Michigan University where she studied Occupational Therapy.

As an occupational therapist, Sandy has extensive knowledge of neuroanatomy, gross anatomy, and how the body works. She is able to apply that knowledge to the design of World Dance Workout classes for the best use of safe and effective body movement that gives results.

She was first certified through AFAA (Aerobic and Fitness Association of America) as well as holds certifications in Zumba and Turbo-Kick, a cardio kickboxing class.

While soaking in everything she could in the fitness industry, Sandy was also introduced to W. African dance, the best total body workout ever.  She fell in love with the connection between drummer and dancer/rhythm and movement, music and dance. From there, she took a deep dive into the study of movement ranging from African diaspora dance to a variety of mind-body shaping and conditioning techniques through stretch, meditation, and visualization. This experience ignited her passion to offer a uniquely formulated movement program that has been influenced by years of working in the fitness industry and years of experiencing dance in various art forms.

Sandy was a professional dance performer for a combined 10 years in troops; Like Water Drum and Dance and Tree of Life Drum and Dance Society. She has taught her uniquely designed dance fitness program throughout Ann Arbor, her hometown, for the past 20 years. The organizations that she has taught for include the Ann Arbor Rec and Ed, Ann Arbor Senior Center, Ann Arbor YMCA, Eastern Michigan University, and M-fit for the University of Michigan.

At a young age, Jaclyn was drawn to the arts and inspired by the everyday fitness of her parents. Jaclyn has followed many of her early etched paths. She is a multi-emphasis teaching artist in theatre, art, dance, and music. And has worked with many programs in TN and Southeast Michigan (such as the Ann Arbor Arts Center, Wild Swan Theatre, University Musical Society and YMCA), as well as organizing classes in Jamaica for a short time.

20 years ago, while studying Modern Dance, Jaclyn was introduced and quickly fell in love with West African Dance. Since that time, she has searched out opportunities to study, perform, and teach dance of the African Diaspora. Jaclyn performed and traveled with Like Water Drum and Dance- from California to Guinea, West Africa. She has also performed and choreographed for World Dance Fusion companies such as the Tree of Life Drum and Dance Society and Tableau Cadre Movement Ensemble, as well as Modern Dance companies Blue Moves in Nashville TN, and the Movement Artists Guild in Ann Arbor Michigan.

9 years ago, Jaclyn became a Pure Barre instructor. She loved learning more about the mechanics of an efficient workout. And even though teaching adults terrified her at first- she discovered she was really good at this whole fitness instructor thing!

7 years ago, Jaclyn joined forces with Sandy Pierani to teach World Dance Workout. This workout is the perfect combination of her passions. She continues to study dance of the African Diaspora and beyond. Jaclyn humbly shares this dance fitness experience as a student herself in hopes of broadening minds and connecting through movement.

Nikki is in love with movement, health, and wellness! She enjoys learning from and educating others. She is a mother, physical therapist assistant (PTA), fitness instructor, dancer, and wholesale account manager for Artemis Brands LLC.

She was certified as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor in 2005 through NETA (National Exercise Trainers Association) and went on to study physical therapy at Baker College. She holds certifications in LSVT’s BIG program which is designed to treat Parkinson’s disease, Pilates, and Drums Alive, a cardio drumming program. She has taught classes at the University of Michigan-Flint Recreation Center, Curves, Soul Oasis Spa, and multiple senior centers across Genesee County. 

 Nikki took dance classes during her childhood and began studying various styles of World Dance in 1998. She fell head over heels for styles of the African diaspora. She was blessed to study drum and dance abroad in Guinea West Africa in 2006 and 2008. In 2001 while living in Sarasota, Florida, she took her first Classic Middle Eastern dance class, later inspiring her to seek out Belly Dance Fusion.

She has performed across the Mid-West at music festivals, art festivals, and special events as a solo artist and as a member of professional troops Like Water Drum and Dance, Tree of Life Drum and Dance Society, and Tableau Cadre Movement Ensemble. She also worked at Ms. Bridget’s School of Dance in Fenton, MI for 15 years. She taught children, teen, and adult dance classes as well as created multiple award-winning choreographies for their competition team.

As a PTA, Nikki treats patients with many different orthopedic and neuromuscular conditions, thus possessing an understanding of kinesiology and the neuromuscular system. Combining her education in therapy with her love and experience of dance, she is able to design each fitness class to produce a full-body workout, so participants will receive the most benefit from each session.

“Movement is medicine, let’s go!”

—Nikki

Mylita has had a passion for wellness and embodiment for her entire life. As a US Army Specialist serving in Germany, she became certified to teach Aerobics and Step Aerobics to Remidial PT Soldiers. After her time in the Military, Mylita continued to provide fitness and dance classes around the country.

She became a sought after Belly Dance performer and instructor in the San Francisco, DC, and Detroit Metro areas. In 2007 Mylita received her 200 hour Yoga Training Certificate from Rising Sun Yoga School, and in 2016 became a Goddess Life Burlesque Instructor. Combining her passion for movement, learning, teaching and healing, Mylita brings a powerful, well grounded, and compassionate teaching style to all of her classes.

Natasha has been dancing all her life and teaching yoga since 2007. She is an ERYT-500, YACEP, RYS-200, Meditation Coach, and certified Ayurveda Lifestyle Counselor. Natasha’s core practice is trust and surrender to the Great Architect of Life – Nature, the one who gave us one-of-a-kind gift of life.

Yoga is here to help us remember the truth of who we are – part of that gift, endowed with great wealth of karmic inheritance – our to enjoy and transform into spiritual strength, growth and freedom. Natasha shares that understanding through yoga, ayurveda, trainings, coaching, traveling, blog, and arts. She teaches classical yoga, as described in ancient texts – with focus on function rather than form and with belief in organic simplicity of practice being the most healing of its qualities. But Natasha’s most cherished practice is yoga for the mind – meditation.

Trained in the tradition of Himalayan Masters, it is here she finds her inspiration, joy and ultimate freedom. Visit her site www.involution.yoga for more information.