Testimonials
Dear Sir or Madame, I am a member of the Berkeley YMCA and have been attending Lateef's class for a few years now. Even though I live just blocks away from the Oakland facility I now travel 8 miles to Berkeley because Lateef actually motivates me to get my butt into the gym and moving and shaking.
His instruction is infectious. He attracts people of all shapes, races, ages and personality. His mood is upbeat and positive in an authentic way that causes everyone to "pay it forward" once they leave his world and go back to the rest of the day's pressures. In other words, his is not a fakey, canned, nicey-nice positivity. Lateef is the real deal. He embodies what he teaches.
He unleashes the power of art in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, building community, expanding the mind as well as the body, when you just thought you were going to get a nice little work out. He lives by his convictions. He pushes each and every one of us to pay attention to and aspire to detail (after all, generality is the enemy of all art, to quote Shaw). Yet, he teaches us to make it up and keep moving if that's what it means to participate. He has taught me the miracles that can happen when I open myself up to that which is difficult, if I trust and keep moving. He's right. Sooner or later, I "get" it. As well as I can, anyway.
His power to create connections is life-changing. That is why I write. He did not ask me to do this. I simply offered it to him. The real story of Lateef's success lies in the smiles and enthusiasm beaming from the faces of his loyal followers. People are always bringing their friends to his class, myself included.
He accomplishes what all super-star teachers do: reminds us of the joy of learning for learning's sake. He brings out the purity of the experience of learning that the little kid within still yearns for instinctively, while using the sophisticated medium of dance to elevate us to our greatest. Somehow, his class is one of the most difficult and yet accessible things I have ever participated in.
I believe that Lateef truly makes the world a better place each and every day. He shines when he teaches. It is clearly his calling. I believe everyone deserves to have someone like Lateef in their life, teaching them to take risks, to learn, to experience pure joy . . . and for that he is way beyond a teacher; he is a community builder. So, this is my attempt to spread the word. Sincerely, Natalie T.
Dear Lateef, Since I've been in your Modern Jazz class weekly for years I just wanted you to know how fascinating and helpful it has been. I love the way you blend jazz, classical ballet and modern dance in one combination. The music you choose; from the jazz standards with their great orchestrations to the blues to the independent, crossover artists is so very, very wonderful and dancey Your class shows theatrical discrimination and taste, with amazing range and depth. Thank you for the great workout! Judith B.
Dear Lateef, I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed taking your Modern Jazz class these past few weeks. I appreciate the kind of energy and commitment you gave your students. It is a rare treat working with you and has given me a kind of feel for what makes movement dance, as opposed to simply hurling the body through the air and moving feet. Thank you, Abby F.
I Have Known Lateef as my Dance Instructor
at the Berkeley YMCA for the past two years. I take his World Hip Hop one to three times each week, and have also had him as an instructor for Friday Hip Hop Class. These are drop-iin classes for people of all levels of experince. Lateef is ptich perfect in creating moves and combinations that are both achievable for amateurs and challenging enough so that we get a rigorous aerobic and mental workout. It is a testimonial to Lateef's skill as a dance teacher that he choreographs a new dance for each class and that, by the end of an hour--without fail--we create a new dance.
Hip Hop classes tend toward exuberance. It was a few weeks before I realized that Lateef is actually one of the better, most serious teachers I have been fortunate to know. He is competent, dedicated and efficient. I think it is because he is confident that we will go beyond our own expectations.
I hope that it says what I want to get across about Lateef's personal qualities and professional skill that, although I had never taken a dance class and certainly never performed in public, I danced once again last weekend with the class at Berkeley's Farmers Market. We were fabulous.
A word about the music. Appropriate. Always. (My more conservative friends and family member have speculated on what I could possibly be dancing to.) A fellow World Hip Hop class member asked me to write this, by the way--not Lateef. I will be happy to provide any more information. Robin T.
(Robin will contact you on request:
r-swain@sbcglobal.net)
