Asiya Khasnutdinova 10/28/20 Asiya Khasnutdinova 10/28/20

Adapting To Change Through The Power of Dance

This year has been nothing but normal, but in the midst of chaos, we've grown so much. Our goal at Valeo has always been to keep people moving, and staying happy and healthy. The pandemic has changed a few ways we typically do that, but we have adapted. Here's how!

Virtual Workouts

We have always found a way to reach our Valeo family, even when we couldn't meet face to face. Virtual workouts have always been something we wanted to try, and we finally had the chance to go for it. Self-quarantine was the push we needed to jump-start our virtual workout classes, and we're so glad we did! Since then, Valeo Dance Fitness has grown with over 379K subscribers on YouTube, with over 80 million views worldwide! In addition, we've connected with people across the globe through our choreography. This truly shows how powerful and connecting dance can be!

Our online workouts vary, just like our in-person classes do. Our workouts focus on healthy weight loss, stress relief, and strength. You have the chance to burn up to 1,000 calories in one hour as you tone your entire body, define your waistline, and strengthen your core. We combine intense dance fitness cardio with interval training to meet the needs of each of our participants. We add variety to our dances through the use of weighted hula hoops, free weights, fitness drumming, and balance balls. Every muscle works while you sweat!

Exercise is known for its wonderful benefits for both your body and mind. As stated before, clients are burning up to 1,000 calories per session and releasing stress in a healthy way. Our choreography ranges in style and music genre, so there is something for everyone!

To learn more about our styles of dance and our virtual workouts, check out ValeoClub on YouTube! We have hundreds of videos to meet your needs and mood for the perfect dance workout. You can always find more information on the benefits of dance and what we do on our website. Don't let this pandemic keep you from working out, and join us online today!

Asiya Khasnutdinova 7/1/20 Asiya Khasnutdinova 7/1/20

The Foundation of Ballroom Dancing

The key to dancing well with a partner and enjoying it is the right balance of leading and following. Although choreographed routines are used in competition and performance, ballroom dancing is, at its core, social dancing, which means that it relies on communication between the dancers. One leads, determining the direction they go and how far they move, and the other follows, keeping up with the changes without overstepping. It can be challenging, but with practice, you can make it look just as effortless as the professionals!

Leading

In ballroom dancing, the man generally leads. He almost always steps forward first, usually on his right foot. The man leads his partner through a variety of small movements and weight changes. For example, a slight backward pull of his shoulder indicates that she should step toward him, while a press against her raised hand tells her to step back. It's crucial to maintain a proper dance frame because, without it, those communications can get lost.

The lead has a lot of responsibility in the dance. It's his job to take his follower through every step, which means he has to make decisions on the fly if there's no choreography. This can be daunting, especially for beginners, but leading is just as important as knowing the steps.

Following

It's generally the woman's role to follow in a dance. That sounds easy, but it requires just as much skill as leading. She's just as responsible for maintaining the dance frame, and she must pay attention to all those small changes in her partner's hold. If she gets too close or too far away from him, their connection will be lost, and they'll lose the ability to dance together smoothly.

For many women, following is the hardest part of ballroom dancing. The follower shouldn't move at all until she gets a signal from her lead, regardless if he's off the beat or out of time. Every move she makes should be dictated by the lead, which can be difficult. Following requires trusting your partner to communicate well and make you look good.

Valeo Dance Fitness Studio offers private ballroom dance lessons with Asiya Khasnutdinova, voted Best Ballroom Dance Instructor in Atlanta. From salsa to swing, tango to foxtrot, we have the style for you! To start learning the art of lead and follow, contact us today!

Asiya Khasnutdinova 2/24/20 Asiya Khasnutdinova 2/24/20

A Lifelong Affair with Dance, Health and Fitness: Valeo Dance Fitness Studio

Asiya Khasnutdinova's love affair with dance and fitness began back in Russia as a little girl. When Asiya's parents saw how highly energetic their child was, they figured it would be a good idea to find an activity she could channel her energy through. In near-Arctic Russia, that was figure skating. Very soon, Asiya was showcasing her talents to audiences looking to see some of the best figure skaters in the world. Out of concern for their daughter and to redirect her to a less injury-prone activity, Asiya's mother suggested dance. As they say, the rest is history.

It's A History Worth Telling

Remember, Asiya is a highly-energetic person. She finally met her match on the dance floor through Latin dance. She then competed professionally across Russia, Europe, and the US for 15 years. In what looked like a rather interesting turn of events, Asiya came to the United States to study finance and earn her MBA. As a result, it led her to work in some of the top financial institutions in the United States. She figured like many may think, "dance is not a real job, and I should probably get one," and her passion sat on the back seat for seven years.

But the dance floor kept calling, and one day, it could not be ignored any longer.

What's Next?

Thanks to her strong business background, and her experience in the financial industry, Asiya knew what she was doing. Asiya has a strong command of the way businesses work and the hurdles an up-and-coming small business could face. Like usual, her mom was by her side, and despite her doubts, Asiya started Valeo Dance Fitness Studio. It began with a group class featuring a neighbor and her biggest cheerleader. That small start evolved into a YouTube channel with over 200,000 subscribers. Then came dance fitness classes featured in national publications: SELF magazine named Valeo Dance Fitness Studio, one of the Top 10 BEST cardio workouts in the US.

VALEO's signature cardio workout combines a variety of tools to create the best workout. Those include "weighted hula hoops, resistance bands, free weights, fitness drumming, and balance balls that will ultimately tone the entire body." Asiya developed the VALEO method along with Svetlana Khasnutdinova, MD, Ph.D. Svetlana brings 30-years of medical expertise and understanding of body types, muscular structure, and physiology to the table. In other words, they created a fitness experience that embodies the meaning of VALEO perfectly. VALEO, a word of Latin origin, means "to be healthy, strong, and feel good."

You can read more about Asiya's story here.

VALEO's focus is to help you feel good through dancing and movement every day of the year. Contact us to learn more about our signature packages. Your first class is on us!

Asiya Khasnutdinova 11/14/19 Asiya Khasnutdinova 11/14/19

The Relationship with Dance, Health and Fitness

Asiya Khashutdinova developed Valeo Dance Fitness Studio to be a place of empowerment. Staying true to its name, it's a place that combines fitness and fun.

Asiya and her mother who is a big inspiration in her career

Asiya Khashutdinova developed Valeo Dance Fitness Studio to be a place of empowerment for women. With the help of her mother, a pediatrician and professor at Northern State Medical University in Russia, she created workouts that are holistic in their approach to help people achieve a healthy lifestyle. She named her studio "Valeo" after the Latin meaning "to be healthy, strong, and feel good." Staying true to its name, Valeo has become a place where people come to dance, strengthen, achieve fitness, gain confidence, and have fun.

Asiya's passion for dance began at a young age. While growing up in Arkhangelsk Russia she was an active child with energy to burn. Her parents got her started in figure skating, which she excelled at, becoming an opening act for many great professionals. However, after one too many injuries, her parents put her into dance classes instead, and she quickly fell in love with the expressive activity. She developed into a skilled dancer, competing professionally for 15 years. She is a 5 time champion of the North West Russia Latin and Ballroom Competition, has competed among the top 20 women of the popular American televised dance competition "So You Think You Can Dance", and has danced for the Royal Russian Tsar family, among other accomplishments.

Setting her dancing career aside in favor of pursuing a degree, she studied Business and Finance in the United States. She had a successful career in finance for 7 years before she decided to once again pursue her passion for dance. Using her knowledge from her finance career, she opened her own dance studio, and slowly grew her first 2 person class into a business that serves not only her community, but over 200,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Valeo is now a highly praised Dance Studio. It is well known for its group dance lessons "Valeofit1000" which combines dance cardio with weighted hula hoops, resistance bands, free weights, fitness drumming, and balance balls, to tone and strengthen during a great hour long workout. She also offers private ballroom dance lessons and wedding dance lessons. It is a place which is proud to offer the joyful practice of dance, while helping women achieve their health goals.

If you would like to join Valeo's growing community check out our YouTube channel or contact us to get started dancing.

Asiya Khasnutdinova 5/30/19 Asiya Khasnutdinova 5/30/19

Fitness Drumming: The Music Lover's Workout

If you enjoy music while working out, then fitness drumming might be what you've been missing. It combines the movement of drumming and a cardio routine.

What is Fitness Drumming?

If you really get into the music when you're working out, then fitness drumming might be exactly what your workout routine has been missing. It combines the simple movement of drumming and a complete cardio routine and creates a full body music-centered workout that exhilarates your senses while burning calories.

Who is Fitness Drumming For?

You don't have to be a professional musician to reap the benefits of this drumstick-wielding workout, just let the beat of the music be your guide as you pound out the rhythm against the mat and work up a sweat. If you love music and you want to put a little groove in your cardio routine, then fitness drumming will have your heart pumping and your face smiling in no time at all.

What Can Fitness Drumming Do for Me?

Not only can fitness drumming burn calories, but the workout can target and strengthen many muscle groups including your abs and core! Because this portion of the class is centered around music, dance, and drumming, it has become a growing trend that is catching on with all ages; it's fun and adaptable and never feels like the same old boring workout.

Check it Out

If you want to see what fitness drumming is all about, check out one of our videos and witness the excitement and energy that our classes have to offer. Valeo Dance Fitness Studio also presents a range of thrilling classes that ensures your routine will never go flat. You can pop in and swing those hips with weighted hula hoops, then mix it up while bumpin' with resistance bands, and of course come in and just dance with our cardio jive classes.

We've got group dance fitness packages and memberships that will fit everybody's needs and your first class is free!