photography by Alex Ribowski

Nava Dance

Nava Dance is a contemporary and holistic dance practice developed by Miriam Peretz.  Nava Dance draws deep inspiration from Silk Road (Central Asian) themes and movement aesthetics, as well as from the devotional practice of whirling.  Each Nava Dance class incorporates Miriam’s signature ritualized warm ups, sequences in the Nava style, as well as the study of traditional Central Asian dances including; Persian, Tajik, Uzbek, Azeri, and Afghan.

Building sisterhood is at the heart of the Nava Dance philosophy and classes are structured to foster a strong sense of community and supportive nurturing energy amongst students. Each class is a journey through the physical, spiritual and emotional realms of being, and a call to open our hearts to one another and to the universe. 

Nava is a beautiful example of a word shared by the Hebrew, Farsi, and Turkish languages. In Farsi and Turkish Nava means sound or tune. It is also the name of one the main Dastgah (musical modes) in the Persian and Turkish music traditions. In the Hebrew language, Nava means pleasant, graceful, beautiful and is a common girls’ name. Also, in Hindi, Nava means young or new.

Sacred Circle of Dance

Any point in time that we form an intentional circle with connection and eye contact it is an opportunity to create a sacred community space and therefore a beautiful opportunity for gathering the energy, connecting our hearts and sending out blessings and healing to the world.