FUSION
People. News. Information. VOLUME 17, ISSUE 4
2020 Group Publisher Sanjay Agnihotri Editor Ramya Ramanathan rramanathan@metroland.com Editorial Design Safi Nomani Digital Media Developer Kamil Mytnik Sr. Ad Manager Ricky (Kawaljit) Bajaj rbajaj@metroland.com Tel: 905 273 8170 Assistant Manager Laura Jackman ljackman@metroland.com General Inquiries: info@canadianimmigrant.ca Circulation/Distribution Inquiries: ljackman@metroland.com ISSN 1910-4146 Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher
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NINA PEREZ
Exploring the relationship between dance, relating and connection By Ramya Ramanathan
N
ina Perez is founder and director of Baila! Dance Today and a social dancer and Latin dance instructor in Vancouver. Perez is also a connection coach and helps people enhance their relationships through the lenses of dance and other modalities. Born and raised in Argentina, Perez started dancing ballet, flamenco and national folklore from a very young age. She now has over 37 years of dancing experience and has been teaching for the last 20 years. Perez discovered Argentine tango in her teens and performed for the likes of Nestor Marconi at the Vancouver Orpheum Theatre with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 19, she was introduced to Salsa and her instructor asked her to become part of his dance team. This is when Perez fell in love with teaching and embarked on a journey of personal development. Her focus was on accelerating learning and removing the blocks to connection with others and enhancing the communication in relationships. Perez has taught many workshops and trainings, from somatic disciplines to designed conversations and has merged her dance expertise and personal development to a brandnew way of looking at dance, relating and connection.
Tell us about your journey to Canada.
I was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, until the age of seven when we immigrated to Vancouver. I was young enough for it to be a smooth transition, I learned English and made new friends quickly. During the recession of ‘91 we actually moved back to Buenos Aires because my father was laid off. This was a very eye-opening time for me. I was a young teen and we were there until I was 15 which allowed me to see how different life was between the two countries. When we returned to Vancouver in 1995, I decided that I wanted to stay in Canada. I still visit my homeland but my life, my present and my future are in Canada.
evolution of your passion. This is how Thrive Today! was born. We hold interactive workshops that involve dancing and teach the deeper skill of connection. Our newest expansion to our business has been Give Today! which was launched during COVID where we give back to the community in different ways, with free dance classes, wellbeing workshops and an impact club, where we partner with our students and donate part of our sales to a charity to be launched in 2021.
Tell us more about the relationship between dance, relating and connection.
Connection is something we all crave and are wired for, but often people don’t know how to obtain, maintain, enjoy and grow it in ourselves, in our relationships, and in our lives. When we feel connected to ourselves, to others, and to our community at large we feel we belong. We feel less loneliness and isolation. Our sense of confidence grows and with that, our happiness. People can learn so much from dance because they are sometimes bypassing the intellectual mind and are entering into feeling. Which is a much faster teacher. There is a great Zen Budhism saying that goes “how you do one thing is how you do all things.” Dance is a great vehicle that can quickly teach us the principles needed in everyday life when relating to others. In dance, when something is not working you will feel it and, vice versa, when something is working you will feel it and then be able to replicate that feeling. The same principle applies in conversations and relating to other people.
What inspires you?
What inspires me through my work is giving people new experiences that provide an opportunity for them to transform from the inside out. Dance is a fun way to learn so much about yourself and how you relate to others. Dance is very generous in the rewards it gives. It is great for your life, your immune system, your confidence, your Tell us about your work. social life, but best of all it’s fantastic for teaching lessons I have had the pleasure of sharing my Latin heritage by that spill into other areas of your life and improve all your opening a dance school over 20 years ago, called Dance relationships, conversations, and moments. Today! We specialize in Latin partner dancing: salsa, bachata and Argentine tango. We hold indoor, outdoor What is your advice to other immigrants? I would encourage immigrants to embrace their roots, and online lessons for singles and couples, and provide group and private instruction. Our slogan is No Partner! bring their culture with them and combine it with all the new things that they have learned in their lives and share No Rhythm! No Problem! When a person has done something for a long time, it with the world. This is why Vancouver, and Canada at I believe it ultimately evolves into something deeper large, is such a beautiful melting pot of diversity. and the desire for expansion is part of the growing and Learn more at ninaperez.ca
CANADIAN IMMIGRANT Volume 17 Issue 4 | 2020
