Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalya Z. She and her team shared their story with us below:
Natalya Z is a dancer, instructor, and choreographer based between Seattle and Los Angeles. She has been teaching and choreographing for over ten years and is known for her unique ballroom and Heels movement style & teaching methods.
As one of the youngest dancers in the United States to turn professional in the DanceSport industry, Natalya has extensive training and expertise in Ballroom technique. After almost two decades in the ballroom industry, Natalya suffered from a car accident that forced her to pivot her career. Six years ago, Natalya transitioned out of the intense Ballroom competition circuit to find her voice in the style of Heels Dance. She felt like it was the perfect space for her to apply all she had learned in her career in an innovative and empowering way that served the community & progressed her movement language into a new direction. Natalya’s love for teaching, expressing, and directing in this style has led her to found ZTHEORY – a brand that focuses on Heels training and femme empowerment through movement & mindset.
ZTHEORY is a Seattle-based Heels dance training program & performance company that is now expanding to Los Angeles. Natalya’s company strives to dive deep into, explore, & REDEFINE Heels dance through their performances & projects. To simultaneously honor & push the bounds of the traditional. To not only master the craft of dancing in Heels…but most importantly, to feel empowered to embrace ALL parts of ourselves through our expression along the way.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has been FUN! The most difficult part has definitely been maintaining momentum & a sense of presence in 2 cities simultaneously. I’ve been flying & living between Seattle & LA for close to four years now, & it can feel jarring to have to change locations, habits, communities, etc as frequently as I need to in order to have my company running in both LA & Seattle. The amount of organization and energy it takes to juggle multiple programs, casts, and performances is quite the challenge for both myself and my dancers. This entire year we have been rehearsing huge projects mostly through virtual rehearsals via ZOOM. Luckily, many of them get to fly with me and perform in both cities as well – so we have quite the nomadic community of performers! Sometimes it feels like I am living two lives, but I try my best to ground myself in the moment when that is the case. I am so grateful to truly be living the best of both worlds – a world where I get to nurture my hometown & dance community, & a world where we get to live our dreams out in LA!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
ZTHEORY is a dance brand that specializes in the art of HEELS DANCE created by Natalya Z. It is BOTH a training program for all levels, & a professional Heels Performance Company.
Our mission is to unite dancers by providing them with the movement & mindset tools they need to feel safety, growth, & freedom within themselves & their artistry. This year, ZCO has held classes LA & NYC, & as well as multiple performances on LA stages – all while prioritizing the development of an inclusive, supportive, & mindful community along the way!
Learn more about Natalya Z through her Instagram @natalyaz_official
Learn more about our programs & performances at ztheorydance.com
Contact Info:
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- Website: ztheorydance.com
- Instagram:
- https://www.instagram.com/nat
alyaz_official
- https://www.instagram.com/z.
theory/ - Facebook: facebook.com/
ztheorydance - Youtube: youtube.com/@
ztheorydance
Image Credits
Photographer Credits: Andrew Valantine, Alan Salazar, Matt Repplier
