It's time to really connect.
We're done with fake smiles.
We're done with "looking over the audience's heads" because we can't face them.
We're done with resting bitch face.
We're done with stiff, stilted dancing that bores everyone. (You know it does!)
We're done with holding our breath.
We're done with people feeling bad for us, and done with feeling judged and embarrassed.
We're done!! We are ready to own it, ready to enjoy it, ready to BREATHE with it!
How much do you want that connection with your audience?
Are you ready to shine like you deserve to? To be comfortable in your own skin when you are in the spotlight?
Ready to not stick out as the "scared one" in your group performances?
Ready to feel like the master and not the victim?
Or...
Are you already a star (you know it!) ...and you want to take it even further, to command your audience?
Or maybe you're a teacher or troupe leader looking for inspiration, to truly help your dancers shine?
Since I began teaching the elements of the Breathwork for Performance method two decades ago, I've helped thousands of dancers and other performing artists to accelerate their development and amplify their presence in front of their audiences. Are you ready to get access to these tools, to use for yourself?
I cannot recommend Ranya enough!
Before I met Ranya I felt like I wanted to speak but I had no voice. Through Ranya’s coaching methods she has taught me how to unlock my potential and become a really effective performer and artist. Now I feel like I can truly connect with myself, my audience and share my voice through my dance. Learning how to dance from my core, how to focus my attention and use of breath work through Ranya’s methods has really transformed my dance. I cannot recommend Ranya enough. If you truly want to invest in your dance and take it to another level, invest in Ranya, you won’t regret it!
Tammy
oakland, california
She really does listen, and actually engages you. And it encourages you to take risks. Ranya has really taken a lot of time in her personal education to learn about the mechanics in terms of how we move and how we breathe. She also has a really good appreciation for different body types and different abilities in the dance, and different sensibilities, and it makes a world of difference in her teaching and people's ability to learn and take in things. I also think it encourages people to take risk and chance in a way that they wouldn't normally do. With Ranya, if she doesn't understand she takes the time to understand. I tried out things I had never seen someone with my body type do, because Ranya was talking me through it.
Julia
Stuttgart, germany
Ranya's coaching is genius! I am largely a self-taught and I was used to filming myself in order to analyze and improve my dancing, so I already had a lot of ideas about what might be better. But Ranya made me realize things i would never have seen by myself. Her comments are always spot on and at the same time always super encouraging. And she will not only tell you what kind of changes might improve your dance but also how to achieve them.. Especially her expertise on stage presence and performance qualities is invaluable and makes her coaching format unique. I highly recommend her program to any dancer who wants to not only dance better but also feel bet about their dance.
Raena
Dallas-FT worth, Texas
My dance has catapulted to a whole new level since the first coaching session. I've felt the difference in my performances and also felt it contributed to very positive outcomes in my first solo competitions. People (including judges) have shared great feedback and those who know me more personally have commented that they almost didn't recognize my dancing. One actually said, "Did magic fall into your head or something?" Ranya is extremely in-tune and insightful so she challenges you to step out of your comfort zone in a way that isn't too much. The group setting also offers you great insights. You get to observe others challenging themselves and can observe how it all can apply to you in some way. I don't think I would have gotten as much from private sessions as I did you from group set-up. I highly recommend this class to anyone who wants to level up their dance!
Intro to Breathwork for Performance, the origins, the method, the philosophy: written and video exercises for tuning in and assessing your relationship with your own breathing, facial expression, and physicality; and we'll assess your comfort and discomfort zones that you'll work on during the series. Taking Stock Of Your Breathing & Diagnostics.
Breathwork for Connection with Yourself: Using breathwork tools to take stock of how you feel, calm/relax yourself or pump yourself up; mental and physical preparation before performance using breathwork tools; benefits of "finding neutral".
Breathwork for Shaping the Body for Bellydance: How breathing interacts with the dance musculature; how to maximize your breathing for technique enhancement; organizing your breathing for different belly dance technique needs; technique situations where you need to hold your breath and how to cover for this (so no one knows your secret).
Breathwork for Connecting with the Space: Intro to different breathwork-painting styles to spread your energy around the performance space; different levels of eye gaze and sending energy in the space; working with different types and sizes of performance space; learning how to relate with the space no matter how large or small the audience is. Pushing and pulling the air with muscle power; sending, taking, and ‘vapor breath'.
Breathwork for Musicality: Using breathing as a score for the music; working with different ways of "playing" or accompanying the music with your breath; how and when to apply sound in your breathwork practice. Working with rhythms and melodies.
Breathing The Music – Working With Rhythms And Melodies Philosophy of breathwork connection with the audience; practical tools to connect with the audience using your breathing as a focusing tool; different breathwork actions you can apply using your audience (e.g. sending, taking, "vapor breath," "throwing a net," "breathing along a string," "casting a spell"...) Working With Rhythms And Melodies.
Eye gaze: Connecting with an audience. Pairing breathwork and eye gaze in connecting with audience members; working with different kinds of audience members, fellow performers, and band members.
Breathwork Troubleshooting:
Sharing the Air – Connecting to audience through breathwork bridges, with volunteers!
Connection in different-sized spaces: Working with a big stage and a big audience; working with a small space and a small audience.
❝
"The breathwork is magic."
HEATHER/ YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
Fifi Faatina
Naples, Florida
I took Ranya's breathwork class a while back. I first realized the power of breathing when I was doing a live improv performance several years ago. I took long languishing breaths while dancing because I was in a zone and I felt really great. My dance friends noticed the breathing and said it was amazing. I remember that was my first encounter with realizing that breathing was special. Fast forward, I saw Ranya's class online and instantly knew it was something I wanted to learn more about. Ranya's class was (and still is) so transformational for me. Breathing is the key to life and, of course, dancing! Since taking the class, I practice breathing in everything I do but I will say, my dance has transformed and continues to do so with the breathwork. Breathing brings power and engagement, it feels good and it surfaces so many emotions. I still work on my breath every day and with each practice I have new thoughts, ideas, characters, and creativity. The air is magical and I love that Ranya incorporates this into all her classes. Thank you Ranya for making me fully aware of breathing!!
"
Over the past couple of years I've been trying different online sources of learning with some of my favorite teachers. The others have been helpful and useful because they helped me with technique, but is this the first one where it feels specific to me, [designed] to help me be a better dancer.
I was working toward an overall goal of trying to incorporate concepts, breath, really trying to make an impact on the audience. And Ranya’s coaching made me grow in the sense that there were things that I didn't realize I was doing or not doing. That really impacts the impact that I have on the audience.
Bobbie - Victoria, BC Canada
ABOUT BREATHWORK FOR PERFORMANCE
Breathwork for Performance is an integral part of my dancing, teaching, and coaching method, and something I've been developing since 1996. It covers all the ways you can apply your own breathing to the different aspects of your dance and performances. Calming your nerves, preparing to go out onstage, settling into yourself, connecting with your music, connecting with your space, connecting with your audience, self-acceptance and "uplift," letting go of self-doubt or feelings of judgment from others... it's all in there, in an integrated approach that will make you feel powerful and in control even as you enable the audience to see you and connect with you in a more profound way.
Ranya’s technique is like having a secret recipe to go and to be able to play like a musician.
ALEJANDRA
I have been breathing my whole life, but there are ways to do it for dance and there are way ways to manipulate your breathing that will get you to the point that people can feel you, that people can get your message that you can be part of something bigger.
Ranya’s technique is like having a secret recipe to go and to be able to play like a musician. You can deliver your message, you can empower people, you can empower yourself, you can be sad, you can do whatever you want on the stage based mainly on your rhythm. Of course you need your technique and spatial awareness, but if you don't breathe it is kind of flat. I'm so happy and thankful for Ranya to give me that tool because it's for life.
HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL GET IN THE
BREATHWORK FOR PERFORMANCE PROGRAM:
WHEN YOU JOIN...
You'll learn techniques to open yourself up as a dancer and performer, gain more confidence, and relax your body and facial expression.
Breathwork for Performance video training modules that you can watch and digest on your own time, on any device! In each video, I'll go over a different aspect of the Breathwork for Performance method, including general Breathwork for Performance training as well as Breathwork for Bellydance. The mental aspects, the physical aspects, the tricks and tools, the psychology and practice of it ...all of it!! Most of the videos include "jumplinks" - counter number notes that allow you to jump from subject to subject within the video.
video training modules
forum page
Dedicated login-based forum area on my site to ask me questions, and share your successes.
Downloadable printable PDF references on the Breathwork for Performance method, diagnostics (very useful for teachers too!), and checklist of tips and tools you can put into use each time you dance or perform.
references
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I recently experienced an awakening when I applied my focus to Ranya’s breathing techniques. My natural state of being is one of much energy and kinetic movement. I wanted a way to tune out peripheral static and tune totally into my dancing in the moment. It was the breathing that made me feel as though being transported into something that slows down time and simplifies the universe. For me, it creates a meditative-like frame of mind that calms and connects me with the audience and musicians/music. This is a new practice for me, and I’m excited about continuing to work on carrying it forward to be a staple part of my dancing and other instances in life.
Lisa - San Antonio, Texas
Ask additional questions using the yellow chatbot at lower right, or email to
I'll answer your Breathwork for Performance questions myself!
TECHNIQUE FOR BREATHWORK
Adding in Ranya's breathwork method to my dancing has deepened my own connection with myself as a dancer, and it enhances how I communicate and express myself to an audience. As a naturally shy and introverted person, it has helped me bring out more of my personality as a performer and also helped me to know myself better. I totally recommend Ranya's Breath Work for Performance!
Annya Ishtara | New Mexico
Ranya’s breathwork has taken my dancing to a whole new level.
Ranya’s breathwork both in her classes and workshops has taken my dancing to a whole new level. Performances since taking her breathing workshops have enabled me to relax and really feel the music as well as relate to audiences, from small intimate gigs to large staged events. I highly recommend her to all my students as well as to my professional dancer friends. No one else is teaching this, and I feel Ranya’s technique is essential to anyone who wants to feel more at home in their own body and at home in a performance.
Ranya is an extraordinarily gifted instructor and performer.
I have found her breathwork techniques to be very effective in learning how to bridge the gap between the audience and the performer, as well as in learning how to create connections with others when dancing in a group. Ranya guest-facilitated one of the PURE (Public Urban Ritual Experiment) rehearsals and many of the dancers were blown away with what she had to share.
I promise you’ll get a host of powerful tools in this series.
Once you experience this method, you'll never look at performances the same way again!
BREATHWORK FOR PERFORMANCE
Join now, and get *lifetime access* to the on-demand BFP program on the Ginger City membership site.