Bellydance is my life.
I have been performing bellydance for over six years in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area of North Carolina. I am a member of Blue Moon Dance Company, the Devoted Dance Collective, and Sparkle Oasis, and I dance locally as a soloist.

My main influences include Ultra Gypsy, Zafira Dance Company, FatChanceBellyDance, John Compton, and Rachel Brice.

In addition to teaching and performing tribal and fusion, I am a student of all styles of bellydance. My goal is to incorporate all styles into my personal practice in a holistic and respectful manner. I'm always striving to learn more Folkloric, Egyptian, and American Cabaret, and I would very much like to learn Turkish, although I've only taken a workshop or two. I will always be proud to call myself a student of this dance form.

I have been dancing since I was 4. Like many little girls, I took ballet and jazz classes, along with a bit of acro. When I was 12, I quit ballet due in part to what I perceived as a sinister level of criticism over young girls' bodies. I had just moved to North Carolina and left the open, relaxed studio where I had always studied behind in New York. I suppose the transition to a more traditional studio never exactly worked out for me.

When I was 15, my mom started bellydance classes. At first I thought it was very odd and wanted nothing of it (if nothing else, simply because my mom was doing it). Of course, eventually I broke down, admitted it was sort of cool, and agreed to start taking lessons myself. I was 17 at the time.

As a neophyte I obsessed over my mother's VHSs taped from festival shows. I watched performances from Ultra Gypsy, Zafira, Awalim, FatChanceBellyDance and Gypsy Caravan over and over again as if I could absorb their grace and power from my television set. From time to time we would drive out to Asheville to take workshops from people like Jill Parker and Heather Stants. Meanwhile I took classes with my teacher Nandana, who learned most everything she knew (at that point) from Zafira. What I learned from Nandana became the basis for everything I do, my perspective and my point of reference.

I'm a ham, so as soon as I started taking lessons, I wanted to start performing almost immediately. For a few years I performed exclusively with my sister Emily. I was, and still am, so lucky to have her as a dance partner- her innate talent and fabulous personal dance style always inspire me to work harder. As the months and years went by, I started performing more and more with Blue Moon Dance Company and eventually became a full member of the troupe. Later, a little over two years ago, I joined the women of the Devoted to practice and share information. Our Tuesday night practice sessions eventually evolved into the performance collective that we are today. Most recently, Emily and I joined forces again to explore our own peculiar brand of bellydance fusion through our side project, Sparkle Oasis.

After studying Tribal exclusively for a few years, I decided that I wanted to learn more about some traditional styles of bellydance. Since then I have studied with local instructors Aziza Fadwa and Gozde, both of whom have been excellent mentors and whose instruction I highly recommend.

I am committed to my pursuit of bellydance as an artform. I strive constantly to be a better dancer-- not necessarily a dancer who can do jaw-dropping stunts (although those are nice too), but someone who dances as naturally as most people breathe. I hope to grow a little closer to that goal every day, every time I practice.

I don't pretend to be an expert dancer, but I hope that my passion for the dance is apparent both in my performance and in my instruction.