My personal journey of the dance
I have many intstuctors whom have taught me a lot and. I have danced with dancers in the Greensboro area I live in now and have made many dance friends. I have been professionally taught, and love gothic music, metal, industrial, all drum and bass, jungle rave, gypsy and belly dance music. As dance the music is in my blood. I put passion, emotion into all my art forms no matter what music I dance to. When I practice, hang out, I practiced and perform to many styles of dress/dance, bring it on!.
After meeting dancers from all over the world, I know now my heart is in the tribal dance. I wish to start a tribal group. I live in Burlington NC if you are interested!! For now I am not in a troupe but dance solo. My dance styles range from traditional ethnic to fusion of all sorts. Sensual, dark and mysterious as my aura and feminine allure. I dance from within, my very spirit lifted through dance and music. I consider dance as a ritual dance and by far the most divine power from the very depth of my soul.. I have been passionately studying Middle Eastern Dance for years now. The dance is my personal journey, and I realize part of the dance is learning about ones self. This journey also includes learning more about sisterhood and friendship. I have made a lot of friends in the Middle Eastern Dance Community. I also realize that learning about dance, and all wisdom in life is an ongoing process, and never stops! Impassioned with Middle Eastern dance, music, and culture, it is my desire to learn, entertain and educate my audience, and friends on the mystery and beauty of the ancient art of Middle Eastern Dance.
Since I have entered the spiritual realm of the dance, I have been on an intense personal journey. Since then the dance has helped transformed my character, and helped lead me to positive healing and growth.
As the dance extends into the spiritual realm, its greatest essence is expressed through the creator's divine spirit. This resides deep within every one of us. Knowing this I realize and take the very best care of my body and its health, as my body is a temple of the soul. I feel every dancer should become aware of this.
Every day I wake up thankful for each day, and thankful that I get to keep dancing, growing and learning! I am thankful and realize I am a reflection of the creator, and am thankful for my creative and dance abilities given to me. I am dearly grateful for!!
I have many people that are complete inspirations. Click here to read about some of the special people who have inspired and influence me.
Workshops/training
My first belly dance workshop was such an amazing experience! The Island of Isis hosted Aida al Adawi, a former Bal Anat member. It was a 3 day overnight Intensive Dance and Rhythm workshop in Loveland, Ohio. I drove over 12 hours to get there and back! What I remeber about Aida is her caring great personality, talent and my introduction to Jamila Salimour's finger cymbal format, and intensive rhythm and music study. I remember her telling us how upset her husband was at her bringing all music, videos, books to share with us at this workshop! What a great collection of information to share! I am so thankful to her for sharing so much information about the dance. I learned so much! Several nights I stayed up and talked with her (none of the other students stayed awake surprisingly!), looked through her extensive collection of photos, books, writings about middle eastern dance. And she told me stories about the legendary Jammila Salimpour. This was the first time I heard of the legendary Jamila Salimpour! I felt so priviledged to be able to talk with her.
I have attended many workshops with many instructors. The first time I really got confidence and took myself and the dance to a new level, was my first workshop with Suhaila Salimpour in New Jersey. I have attended many of her worshops on the east coast. In January 2005 I attended her weeklong intensive in Berkeley, California.
This five day workshop was intense! I flew out to California by myself, and wasnt sure how hard this workshop would be!! I was physically in shape, and ready, but this workshop was very mentally challenging. I can guarantee this is the best "belly dance camps" you could ever attend! It pushes you harder than one thinks they can be pushed!! Suhaila's format gives me hope that there will always be a higher level to achieve. Her fourmat is the first substantial attempt at creating a standard format for our dance. For anyone serious about belly dance I would highly recommend any of Suhaila's Workshops as a way to intensely refine their technique, and learn more about their weakness and strengths. I am looking forward to attending more of her workshops this year... her 2 day workshop in Asheville in October and her 3 day workshop in August 2005 in South Carolina.
Another great experience I would like to share is when I attended the Folk Tours 3 day camp in Pennsylvania, I was first introduced to "American Tribal Style". All I have to say is WOW!! I love it. I took classes with Kajirra. She is so kind hearted and down to earth, and real easy to talk to. I love her book "The Tribal Bible". After this camp, I started quickly to study the American trible style, even though no one I knew at the time liked this style of dance. Another style of dance i am drawn to is gothic dance. Clich here for examples of what gothic belly dance is.
I have studied with and taken numerous weekend workshops with Suhaila Horatio and Beata (Berlin), Morocco and Tarik (USA), Aida al Adawi(USA), Kajirra Djoumahna(USA), Rhea of Greece and her daughters (Daughters of Rhea) Piper, Melina , and Artemis Mourat (USA), Hadia (Canada), Nourhan Sharif and Kathyrn Ferguson(USA), and Conchi (Ohio) . My other dance interests include Polynesian Dance which I am studying with Linda Bryan.
I enjoy performing at events, festivals, parties and haflas. She has performed in the Northen VA, DC area, and the North Carolina Triad. Professional bellydancing is available in the North Carolina Triad area. If you have a special event please email.