Born and raised in Queens, New York to parents of Guyanese descent, Nayana Shorts has been stomping her feet and shaking her hips since she was 10 years old.

From ballet to Bolly, Nayana has trained in and played with many different styles of dance.

When you see her choreography, you’ll most likely see the Chutney style of dance on vibrant display.

Chutney is a lesser known dance technique that originates from the Caribbean, with it's birthplace in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Guyana. The high energy movement is married with Calypso, Soca, Indian Classical and Bollywood music.

In her years in the dance community, Nayana has recognized that Chutney isn't well known or well represented. She is determined to change that through Dance Nayana®.

By telling stories with this genre as the vehicle, Dance Nayana® seeks to break down the stereotype that professional dance is limited to ballet/modern/jazz so that no one is ever discouraged from pursuing dance and expressing themselves freely.

Because ultimately, dance is a language of the soul.

Dance is whatever you want it to be.

Dance is you.

If after a Dance Nayana® showcase, you're not uplifted, empowered, inspired, and reinvigorated to conquer your world, we didn't do our job.