Testimonials

A real treat and so much more!

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Nia testimonials

“I can’t find adequate words to express how precious Nia has become for me over the past 6 or 7 years since I joined your class. Every Monday is an unmissable date in my otherwise very full diary, a real treat and so much more! I still yearn to be able to fit in two classes a week….” and “As a therapist and healer, well, I rate the class as a stand alone form of holistic therapy, no less, and as such I often recommend it to my clients.”

Sophia Smith

Reflexologist, Doula and Healer

“I’m an eighty year old, awaiting heart surgery and I wake up on  a Tuesday with a  singing  heart, knowing that my Nia  class  will  bring  energy, happiness  and  a positive feeling  to  my  day. Although I’m short of puff, I’m  able  to join  in  at  my own  level  and  lose  myself  in  the  music.”

Lynette Malitski

“I just loved this routine (Soul) and can still feel the joy. I will be back next week to taste a little more of it. Thank you from bringing this delight into our village and our lives x”

Danyah Miller

Storyteller

“Nia is quite simply the highlight of my week. Whatever way I’m being when I walk in, I skip out taller, stronger, more connected with myself and the group and ready for anything!” 

Sophie Aldred

“I’m so grateful to have discovered Nia, and to have the good fortune to live near Michele so I can attend her classes. I love the invitation to listen to my body and adapt the practice to suit my needs exactly, knowing it will be different every time and that’s how it should be. I love Michele’s gentle and joyous way of sharing the movements and ideas. I was also lucky enough to get to do the Whitebelt training a couple of years ago, and that brings an extra layer of enjoyment and identification to the classes for me.” 

Judith Silver

Musician and Songwriter 

“Where else can I dance and prance to my hearts content and feel the love and freedom that I can express, along with other women. It’s a great feeling.” 

Judi Holmes

”I did Michele Kaye’s Nia class this morning at 9.15 in Kings Langley. Awesome. My two left feet and uncoordinated arms and legs felt very comfortable there. I’ve never been able to do dance classes for worrying so much about the moves that I don’t end up exercising properly but this was so different.
Tribal beats, a combination of dance and Thai chi moves that weren’t complex and really worked my muscles. Bringing conscious thought and mindfulness to body parts and gentle but expressive flowing movements left me feeling connected to the air, the room, my body and the ground. It felt so natural. What a break for my brain.

“A refreshing change to my clock watching gym sessions. The class went so fast. There was such a beautiful feel in the room of acceptance and a lack of ego. A really friendly place to be.
I will be returning for sure. Loved it!”

Amanda Wells

Psychotherapist

“Nia is fun, offers freedom of movement and fantastic joy! An uplifting way to exercise and move my body! Free the inner dancer with Nia. And Michele is amazing – she brings light, joy and passion to the whole Nia experience!” 

Lin Serlin

Healer

“Makes me feel I have moved and unlocked some stiff areas in my body, lovely people, lovely teacher.”

Debbie Harrington

Retired Teacher

“I absolutely love my Nia classes. Michele is an amazing and gifted teacher. From the minute I walk into her class I feel myself relax and really look forward to the next hour. I am never disappointed. Her classes are not only fun but her routines energise me. I feel a different person when I leave. I believe Nia awakens the mind, spirit and body.” 

Marilyn Whyman

Massage Therapist

“For me, aged 69, Nia is the most uplifting form of exercise I’ve come across and I’ve tried lots! Nia is so enjoyable to do – you can do it at any age as it’s done at different levels within the class.  I have problems with my knees and also occasional back pain. After only 3 classes I can already feel the improvement in my body.  Nia is gentle yet energising at the same time and I particularly love dancing to the different music rhythms.”

Julia

“Nia is everything medicinal without the side effects. And Nia is very clever, it has this slow release valve that keeps me well in between classes.” 

Christine Orzel

“I attended Michele’s Saturday morning Nia class. The addition of two drummers, who also sang, lifted everyone’s mood and I personally found myself high on energy during and after the session. A great work out. Loved it!” 

Ann Bastow

“Nia is simply a place for me, where I am not wife nor mother, not daughter nor sister.”

Sue

“Simple things like getting up unaided, bending down to pick up a rubber band or filling up the salt container of my dishwasher without doing my back in, would not be possible for me, without Nia. Apart from being a lot of fun with great music, now in my 70s Nia is an absolute must! Thank you Michele.” 

Marianan Ingleby

“Well, now, how can I begin to speak about Michele and the joy that is Nia? I started some years ago now, soon after Michele first started teaching I think and when I first retired, at 59. It was a revelation. I enjoyed having a structure to work to and confidence that the movements were all aimed at exercising the whole body. I was shocked at first at how I had lost a lot of mobility after a sedentary job. My balance was poor. My knees were weak.

”I found myself really connecting to the music and my body started leading the way, after a lifetime of being led by my head. I found myself particularly enjoying the martial arts kicks and punches and the release of pent-up tensions was such a relief and empowering. Then, in certain free dance sections I felt soooo good, a real clown appeared and silly walks and whirling round was absolutely fine. The music is great, good variety and different rhythms, melodic and flowing, jazzy and street, African beats, and soulful. I love dancing barefooted too. My body is able to express itself freely for the first time really since I was a child. And the group holds however each one of us wants to be, quiet and reflective, wild and big, sensual, hesitant, vulnerable, giddy and all in the space of an hour, which is much more suited to women’s bodies than a gym workout. I really exercise all of me, but never feel aching or exhausted afterwards. Just good.

Over the years Michele has taught me to be gentle with myself, to listen to my body and to look for the pleasure. She uses few words, but those she does takes me into an imagination of movement rather than a physical description – I am a cat, my fingers caterpillars, I am an angel, cleaning a table, I am strutting a catwalk, a 20s flapper……
Michele has a lightness of touch, a ready smile and a yes we can attitude. I love it. 
Last year I badly fractured my ankle on a cliff walk. I missed Nia for six months, (terrible!) put on a stone and a half then came back, limp and all. Now, a year after my break I can sit back on my heels in a crouch, balance on the injured foot, have lost the weight and have been complimented by the physios on my flexibility. I'm 66 and can’t imagine being without Nia now. Thank you Michele. In the words of one of our dances……Yes! Yes! Yes!!!!” 

Ann Worrell

“What was beautiful to see was the look of joy and pleasure on the face of some of your most elderly or shy students. I felt very moved when all the students interacted with each other at some point and thought to myself that such opportunities should be more widespread. Lovely work you are doing.” 

Nathalie

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Michele’s book 'Eat Dance Shine

“Just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading Michele‘s book. It is my bedside companion and often follows me around the house during the day time. I have recommended it to clients, who tell me that have recommended it to others. I find something new and wonderful in it every time I read it. Jxx”

Julia Jenkins

Mindful Sound, Gong & Meditation

“Eat, Dance, Shine has all the ingredients to make everybody feel better. Michele has stepped into my home and inspired me to make healthier food and lifestyle choices for myself and my family. The recipes are surprisingly easy to follow and have impressed even my dinner guests! Her joy from her vast experience and knowledge of nutrition and movement jumps off the pages and have landed in my kitchen. Now I have a friend inviting me to join her in a journey of life long health, in mind and body.”

Nikki Chevette

“Lovely book very inspiring. A great philosophy in life especially the dance Nia is very close to my heart and would recommend it to everyone.”

A. Gripenstedt

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