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Taisa Jah Surya (Gontar) – ATS® and Tribal-Fusion dancer, teacher and choreographer. Since 2006 founder and director of «Jah Surya» Dance Group – one of the leading Tribal groups of Ukraine. Sister Studio Fat Chance Belly Dance® since 2011. Completed Level 1 in Suhaila Salimpour format in 2013. Yoga instructor since 2016.

TRIBAL

Taisa got acknowledged with Tribal in 2006 when in Ukraine you could hardly meet teacher of this style. So she had to become a teacher to herself and dig in on her own, getting information from youtube and workshops in Europe and US, with dip trust to body intuition.

Probably that were her particular way of self-learning Tribal and more than a decade of teaching experience which both made her widely known as a talented and profound teacher with a unique gift to find approach to each student and explain even the most intricate points in a simple and easy-to-understand manner, with her unfailing sense of humor

ATS®

Taisa studied ATS® in USA from style founder Carolena Nericcio in April 2011 (Birmingham, AL) and became the first Ukrainian dancer who gained the honorable status of Sister Studio Fat Chance Belly Dance®. Studying run in a Devyani Dance Company together with Megha Gavin. Taisa and her “Jah Surya” Dance Group explore and practice “pure” improvisational ATS® and also experiment with staging of compound performances based on ATS® vocabulary.

TRIBAL FUSION

To develop her Tribal Fusion technique Taisa attended Dance Studio of Suhaila Salimpour in San-Francisco in 2013 and became the first Ukrainian dancer who passed the certification in Level 1 Suhaila Salimpour Belly Dance Format®.

Taisa studied from the world’s most famous Tribal-Dancers: Rachel Brice, Zoe Jakes, Mardi Love, Kami Liddle, Mira Betz, April Rose, Ashley Lopez, Steven Eggers, Sera Solstice, Coleena Shakti, Sharon Kihara, Asharah, Frederique David, Sherri Wheatly, Edenia, Jill Parker, Ami Sigil (Unmata), Daniela Adriaenssens, Deb Rubin, Ela Rogers, Frank Farinaro, Donna Mejia, Heather Stants, Olivia Kissel, Kae Montgomery, Mimi Fontana (USA), Samantha Emanuel, Philippa Moirai (Great Britain), Manca Pavli (Slovenia), Devi Mamak (Australia), Tjarda Van Straten (Netherlands), Illan, Anasma (France), Matthias Lauwers (Belgium).

As a choreographer and performer Taisa is known for her exquisite technique, musicality, variety of images and her skill to create extraordinary solo and group performances of a different genres of Tribal. Gothic, Indian, Ukrainian, Balkan, classical Tribal Fusion: everyone will find one’s favorite piece to enjoy and to study.

YOGA

What is usually called “way to yoga” was pretty gradual for Taisa. From segmental yoga workshops at Tribal festivals, through systemless practice on her own. Through unlucky visits to classes either frustrative hard or boring easy. With breaking through as usual as harmful belief that yoga is “benefit through pain”.

Happy turning point in yoga for Taisa was when she run onto Zap’s yoga videos and tutorials on youtube showing yoga of relaxing, happiness and enjoying each moment of practice.

Since then Taisa started to practice yoga regularly with video lessons and different classes in Kiev till the moment of inspiration came to study yoga on its Motherland – in India. With this purpose she travelled to India where studied yoga in Rishikesh which Indians are naming no other way but “a world capital of yoga”.

As a yoga teacher Taisa got an intensive training at International Yoga Festival in Parmarth Niketan Ashram, where she studied from the world known yoga instructors: Jules Febre, Brian Siddharth Ingle, Bharath Shetty, Dr.Indu Sharma, Krishnamurthy Mohan Raj, Gloria Latham, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Sukhmandir Singh Khalsa, Mohan Bhandari, Sadhvi Abha Saraswati, Yogrishi Vishvketu, Yuva Dayalan, Krishan.

In practice, especially remembering her not easy way to yoga, Taisa believes joy from each asana and harmony with one’s body to be the recipe for success. Being primarily a dancer she developed special sets meant to work out the most important aspects of the dance basement: core, balance and arms.

Study yoga with Taisa whether you are newcomer or level-up student and you will find

MEDITATION

Taisa is practicing meditation since 1998 and believe it to be the most necessary foundation to all kinds of human activity. She started with Qigong, graduated 4 levels of it and was practicing till she got acquainted with vipassana which became the second biggest purposes of visiting India.

Taisa passed 10 days Vipassana course in dehradun (India) in meditation centre Dhamma Salila. This practice appeared to embrace all the most important points for spiritual development and now this is the practice that Taisa is devoted to and running groups on anapana – the practice of conscious breathing which makes the basis and beginning of Vipassana. Meditation classes in Kiev are held now and then as the group of at least 6 people is formed. So please send your request to join meditation class. You can also invite Taisa with meditation class to your city