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Adenuga = A Nigerian Surname, of Yoruba origin, meaning “The Crown Has Foundation”

Welcome to Adenuga Afro-Latin Dance & Wellness!

Mission: To promote movement, positivity and wellness through the use of Afro-Diasporic music, dance and cultures; To help expand the South Jersey Salsa dance community; To introduce South Jersey to other AfroLatin Dance styles; and to help preserve cultural folkloric dances.

Method: We believe that in order for a dance and wellness practice to have a strong foundation, it must be supported holistically. That means through body, mind and spirit; and also through a balanced focus of both individual and communal wellbeing. All of the classes, workshops and programs are built on the foundations of positive psychology and mindfulness. This means that our teaching philosophy and approach is based in the belief that anyone can flourish when provided a safe, supportive environment, focused on building personal strengths rather than focusing on weaknesses (positive psychology); and the belief that we all have body wisdom that can be expressed through self exploration and creative movement.

Styles Taught: At Adenuga Afro-Latin Dance & Wellness, we offer group dance classes and workshops in the following styles: Salsa (On1 & On2), Bachata, Cha-Cha, AfroCuban Folkloric as well as Afrobeats and other West African dances. We also offer Afro-Therapeutic Dance (general movement meditation).

Classes run on Sundays, where dancers of all skill levels are welcome. From beginners who are completely new to dance, to more advanced dancers who want to deepen their mind-body connection, and challenge themselves to be performers and even competitors! We have something for EVERY BODY! Check out our schedule to see what classes workshops and events we are currently offering!

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“Dance is an invitation to explore complex yet intuitive movements stored deep within the body, all while discovering a new level of freedom in creative expression and healing.” – Aliya

About Aliya

Aliya is a dancer with 14+ years of training and experience in African and Afro-Latin dance. She began her training in West African dance in 2004 under the direction of Mama Kariamu and later under Dr. Patricia Merritt-Reid. From there, Aliya followed the drums all the way to Salsa, Bachata, ChaCha and Rumba. Her training in Afro-Latin dance began in 2006 where she trained and performed with student dance team Esencia Latina. After taking a break to finish her academic studies, Aliya resumed her Afro-Latin dance studies under the direction of Barbara Capaldi, Devin Guzman and Yareli Urbina. From there, Aliya went on to study under the direction of World Champion Darlin Garcia at Art in Motion Dance Academy, where she built on her performance skills and was introduced to competitive level dance. Aliya also began to study AfroCuban Folkloric dance under the instruction of Teresa Castaneda and Yesenia Selier, whom Aliya continues to train under. Aliya went on to become an instructor at Art in Motion Dance Academy in 2017, where she taught Salsa, Bachata and AfroCuban Folkloric Dance. Through all of these experiences of training, performing, competing and teaching, Aliya has maintained a deep love and appreciation for dance and passion for life. As a result, Aliya strives to promote that same level of passion in every class that she teaches. At Adenuga Afro-Latin Dance and Wellness, Aliya aims to merge all of her experiences and training, and share her knowledge of African, Afro-Latin Social and AfroCuban Folkloric dance with her students. Her biggest goal is to create a safe, supportive space for students to fall in love with these dances just like she did all those years ago!

“In the fiddler’s house, all are dancers” – Rwandan Proverb

Have a question? Contact us now!