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My Credentials
My dance studies and experience have been wide and varied both in Australia and overseas, over the past 30 years. I have been teaching dance since 1983. I am an accredited Belly Dance Teacher with 13 years experience. I have attended expert workshops and conferences in Sydney Melbourne Perth and the United States, workshops by renowned dancers Raqia Hassan Cairo, Yasmina from Cairo, Hadia from Canada, Jillina USA, Beata and Horacio from Berlin as well as talented Australian teachers Amera Eid (Sydney), Melusina (Melbourne) Rose (Perth) to name a few. I have performed at the Rakkasah Middle Eastern Festival in San Francisco, the Sydney Middle Eastern Festival, and also in Melbourne and Adelaide. I have had the opportunity to dance at a wedding reception in Istanbul held on a cruise boat travelling along the Bosphorous, the channel that connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, where east meets west.
As well as Belly Dancing I also studied the ethnic folk dances of Eastern and Western Europe, at Adelaide Traditional Dancers here in Adelaide, starting in 1977. I eventually became one of the instructors. This is where I learned my love of exotic rhythms, the lilting cadences of Macedonian and Bulgarian music among my favourites.
I have taught people at every level from absolute beginner to advanced students and of every age. My oldest students have been in their late seventies and I hope that no one feels that there is any age barrier in this experience. Equally, I have had students as young as 7 and it is great to see the power of a love of dance for young and old. |
About the Dance Form
The proper name for belly dancing is "Oriental Dance" from the Arabic words raqs sharqi, meaning, "dance of the Orient". While popular depictions of the dance may emphasise its flirtatious aspects, those of us who are committed to it know it to be a form that invites a range of qualities, as do other classical forms of dance in both the East and West. In particular, it invites you to be naturally graceful, agile, rhythmic, supple, joyful, and disciplined in your movements and as you master each level you will experience a great satisfaction in what you have learnt.
Performing & Choreography
Some people never want to perform and that is fine. Most people at some stage decide that they are ready to perform, whether in public or amongst their peers. At Belly Dance Amethyst what I can offer you is the benefit of many years of choreographic capacity, and I personally love putting together music and dances that will give everyone a chance to show what they can do. |
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