Workshop Testimonials
See what workshop participants are saying about Sa'diyya!
(These quotes are responses from an anonymous survey that Sa'diyya asks workshop participants to fill out.)
(These quotes are responses from an anonymous survey that Sa'diyya asks workshop participants to fill out.)
"So much energy and knowledge!" "I wish you were local!" "I would gladly recommend Sa'diyya as a workshop instructor. She is the perfect balance of fun and being challenging." "The individual correction that was offered was caring, diplomatic, and constructive." "OMG! So much fun - so much energy!" "She addressed what not to do when doing movements. She is really precise. And she smiled a lot. I love HER!" "Sa'diyya is a good mix of "down to business" to keep on track but still very approachable." "Being able to take a video for my personal use was great! Also liked the info given about the music used." "Sa'diyya is a patient, friendly and giving instructor. She is articulate and detailed." "Got some great ideas for choreographies." "Everything was explained, examples were given and usage demonstration was wonderful." "The layout of the workshop was so organized. Technique discussed, technique taught, technique used - then repeated!" "I really like her upbeat and sweet personality." "Great combos, like the info on musicality!" "Sa'diyya has more information than I can ever hope to get my head around!" "I enjoyed how Sa'diyya "deconstructed" the movements and explained transitions." "The most fun and challenging dance I've ever learned!" |
"I am appreciative of the attention to detail." "I loved that there was a feeling of accomplishment - right from the start. There was never a doubt that I was going to learn something and be able to take my new knowledge with me and use it successfully in my young dance journey. I loved the positive energy!" "Sa'diyya presented information, movement and I walked away with a different perspective on bellydance." "Sa'diyya is charming, fun, kind and a lovely dancer. She is also very creative and talented. I thoroughly enjoyed her instruction." "I greatly appreciate your generosity in videoing the choreography and calling the steps so we can recreate it in performance. I have to admit, though, that my favorite part was seeing you perform it Friday night, knowing as I watched that I could never recreate it -- and then spending the next day learning how." "Sa'diyya was so personable. She made a personal contact with everyone in the workshop. No one was sitting or feeling left out." "I was very pleased with the workshop and Sa'diyya." "The instruction was wonderful." "The content was discussed before the workshop began. It was a give and take type of discussion, not a lecture! Examples were given of how things would be incorporated prior to class participation!" "Very challenging!!" "Again, OMG, so much knowledge and energy. Easy to connect with Sa'diyya." "She was all over the studio making sure that everyone could see her." "I wish I lived in Texas so I could take classes from Sa'diyya!" |
Sa'diyya is fluid yet dynamic, feminine yet powerful, and extremely inventive. She is an amazingly gifted dancer, instructor and choreographer. She is also fun and lively throughout, always smiling and enthusiastic. I hope she will come back to Indonesia again!
-Mia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Sa'diyya does not hold back- she will share her knowledge and skills with you and you can rest assured you will be getting the best! Belly dance is so much fun and getting to train with someone on her level is definitely something to take advantage of.
-Tricia, Sachse TX
I love a good workout and you offered a lot of new, creative information. I really liked the way you split the class down the middle and had us dance for one another. And, I did notice that you moved to the middle of the room so that the people in the back could see you. You're great teacher, have what appears to be an endless amount of knowledge (probably because you never stop challenging yourself to learn and grow as a dancer.) You create interesting, unique and diverse choreographies and display extreme patience and kindness with your students. All of this combined with your ability to break down movement into smaller, easier interpreted parts, makes you an amazing teacher.
-Cindy, Wylie TX
Sa'diyya's workshops are energetic and a great learning experience! She offers you a challenge while having fun!
-Tugba, attended the 2014 Saffron Dance event featuring Sa'diyya in Washington, D.C.
Sa'diyya's samba workshop stretched my dance in fabulous new directions.
-Hope, Arlington VA
I already knew I enjoyed Sa'diyya's teaching style from Combination Nation Vol 2. She also had the respect of my friends Badriya and Najmat. In fact, many respected Boston-area dancers made the trek up to New Hampshire – and that speaks volumes...Sa'diyya did something that is the mark of a good workshop instructor. She created tracks of her music for each section of her choreography, allowing us to easily start from the middle or end when we were working on those parts. She also had tracks that slowed the music down. She was pretty good at keeping the workshop at a level that everyone could follow, while also adding in notes of additional things you could do if you already had the foot and hip work, like hair accents, facial direction, and "style". We got to see the whole performance at the end. She is quite the athletic dancer! She had an impressive ending pose that would take me a while to master, and I mean, a while with a bench press machine! I wanted to ask what she does to work out in addition to dance. Her style combined both Egyptian dance and jazz and ballet stylings. She is a real original, not just a good dancer – but a creative dancer.
-Nepenthe Ahlam, attended the 2010 "Shimmies are Forever" event featuring Sa'diyya in Nashua, NH
Your training and preparation are impeccable and it showed. The workshop exceeded all of our expectations. I think your classes were highly successful and all of the attendees kept telling us how much they liked them. And what can I say about the show? Your shows were fabulous. I really think you blew everyone away, including the musicians.
-Amy Smith, Workshop Sponsor, Boston, MA
It was also refreshing to meet someone who was in the limelight, getting attention for what they do, but who was also very approachable and non-diva. If she had any elite airs about her, they did not show to this attendee.
-Aurel, attended the 2004 Northeast Belly Dance Assoc. event featuring Sa'diyya
-Mia, Jakarta, Indonesia
Sa'diyya does not hold back- she will share her knowledge and skills with you and you can rest assured you will be getting the best! Belly dance is so much fun and getting to train with someone on her level is definitely something to take advantage of.
-Tricia, Sachse TX
I love a good workout and you offered a lot of new, creative information. I really liked the way you split the class down the middle and had us dance for one another. And, I did notice that you moved to the middle of the room so that the people in the back could see you. You're great teacher, have what appears to be an endless amount of knowledge (probably because you never stop challenging yourself to learn and grow as a dancer.) You create interesting, unique and diverse choreographies and display extreme patience and kindness with your students. All of this combined with your ability to break down movement into smaller, easier interpreted parts, makes you an amazing teacher.
-Cindy, Wylie TX
Sa'diyya's workshops are energetic and a great learning experience! She offers you a challenge while having fun!
-Tugba, attended the 2014 Saffron Dance event featuring Sa'diyya in Washington, D.C.
Sa'diyya's samba workshop stretched my dance in fabulous new directions.
-Hope, Arlington VA
I already knew I enjoyed Sa'diyya's teaching style from Combination Nation Vol 2. She also had the respect of my friends Badriya and Najmat. In fact, many respected Boston-area dancers made the trek up to New Hampshire – and that speaks volumes...Sa'diyya did something that is the mark of a good workshop instructor. She created tracks of her music for each section of her choreography, allowing us to easily start from the middle or end when we were working on those parts. She also had tracks that slowed the music down. She was pretty good at keeping the workshop at a level that everyone could follow, while also adding in notes of additional things you could do if you already had the foot and hip work, like hair accents, facial direction, and "style". We got to see the whole performance at the end. She is quite the athletic dancer! She had an impressive ending pose that would take me a while to master, and I mean, a while with a bench press machine! I wanted to ask what she does to work out in addition to dance. Her style combined both Egyptian dance and jazz and ballet stylings. She is a real original, not just a good dancer – but a creative dancer.
-Nepenthe Ahlam, attended the 2010 "Shimmies are Forever" event featuring Sa'diyya in Nashua, NH
Your training and preparation are impeccable and it showed. The workshop exceeded all of our expectations. I think your classes were highly successful and all of the attendees kept telling us how much they liked them. And what can I say about the show? Your shows were fabulous. I really think you blew everyone away, including the musicians.
-Amy Smith, Workshop Sponsor, Boston, MA
It was also refreshing to meet someone who was in the limelight, getting attention for what they do, but who was also very approachable and non-diva. If she had any elite airs about her, they did not show to this attendee.
-Aurel, attended the 2004 Northeast Belly Dance Assoc. event featuring Sa'diyya
