A little info about our instructors
March 23 - 25, 2012
2nd Annual
Belly Dance Festival in Ocean City, Maryland
Hosted by
Naimah and Amandari
Michelle De Vine is an incredibly high-energy performer so please bring your stamina to the workshop. Originally trained extensively in classical belly dance, Michelle found her heart and power in tribal fusion and she is the producer of an event that celebrates both: the annual Rakkasah Spring Caravan in NJ. Her workshop are focused on material suitable for all belly dance performers, but each is stamped with her powerful style. She has taught in Europe, North America, and parts beyond.
Mavi is Washington DC’s blue maven of the sword: a fusion belly dance artist known for her compelling presence, dark aesthetic, and mastery of balancing blades.A featured performer on the Gothic Belly Dance Revelations DVD by World Dance New York, she has shared the stage with national and international acts, including Peter Murphy, Chebb i Sabbah, Beats Antique, the Dresden Dolls, Android Lust, and Corvus Corax. A former member of DC's premier Tribal Fusion duo Romka, Mavi now teaches and performs her unique style of fusion belly dance across the country. Mavi is a regular performer at the Palace of Wonders, and co-hosts the monthly DCTribal Cafe, and the annual Belly Horror Show festival.
Asharah is internationally renowned for her strong technique, dramatic fusion of tribal and cabaret belly dance, tough but compassionate teaching style, and her dedication to raising professional and artistic standards in belly dance. She has taught sold-out workshops throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe; her 2008 instructional DVD, Modern Tribal Bellydance with Asharah, is considered one of the best instructional belly dance DVDs on the market for belly dancers of all styles and levels. She holds a B.A. from Princeton University in Near Eastern Studies, a Level 2 certification in the Suhaila Salimpour belly dance format, and a Level 1 certification in the Jamila Salimpour belly dance format. She is fiercely dedicated to educating dancers about the history and culture of the Middle East, as well as fostering creativity and individuality in each dancer. After living on the East Coast for 12 years, she now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Read her blog on dance, art, integrity, and business at www.bdpaladin.com, and learn more about her upcoming events at www.asharah.com.
Shiraz is a full-time multi-award winning belly dance performer and instructor from Delaware. You can catch her weekly performances at venuesthroughout the tri-state area, and she holds classes in Newark and Wilmington, DE. She's also busy finishing up her B.A. degree in cultural anthropology with a Middle Eastern concentration and a minor in Arab studies at the University of Delaware. Shiraz finds an untapped mystery, sweetness,sacredness, and liberating bliss in everyday life that empowers, inspires,
and truly moves her in the dance, and is blessed to share her passion for the art form at this year's festival with you all.
Nadirah Nasreen is known for her unique style and technique, and is especially known for her technical treatment of zills and the drum solo. She has been bringing her knowledge of Egyptian, Lebanese, and Turkish Oriental dance to students in the Washington DC metropolitan area for 15 years. Her musical treatment of zills has its origins in being a professional keyboard player since the age of 15. Her love for oriental music and rhythms started during her childhood in Athens, Greece where she grew up experiencing the powerful sounds of Greek and Middle Eastern music, and learning Greek folkloric dances. Nadirah is a nationally featured performer at schools, workshops, and Middle Eastern dance events. Her Finger Cymbal, Technique, Live Band, and Mulicultural Education workshops have engaged, new students and master performers alike.
She has performed with the Belly Dance Superstars during their Baltimore tour (2002). She placed third in the Performing Artist category at the 2003 Double Crown Competition (Portland, OR). She placed first in the Grand Champion category (2002) and first in the Troupe Category (2004) at the East Coast Belly Dance Classic Competition (Virginia Beach, VA). After competing, she was invited to judge at the East Coast Belly Dance Classic and has judged at the Belly Dance Nationals competition.
Sera Solstice is an international Bellydance Artist, based in New York City, known for creating the East Coast Tribal bellydance style, characterized by intense multi-layer hipwork, extensive full-body movement, deep emotive power and story-telling flow.
Founder and Director of Solstice Studio: a Bellydance Studio in New York with over 200 active participants using Bellydance as a means for building self-empowerment, expression, and creativity, Sera is director and choreographer of the dance troupe Solstice, and has created 4 full-length instructional DVDs on East Coast Tribal Bellydance, produced by World Dance New York. Sera's Choreography has been described as "complex, content-rich, sublime, technically superb, at the forefront of evolution of bellydance as an artform." Sera is frequently the featured dancer with bands: Raquy and the Cavemen, Djinn, Copal, Beatbox Guitar, and the Rhythm Shamans. Although she challenges dancers to find deeper expression in their movements, Sera is known for her hard-driving, highly technical classes. She believes one must first master their tool-set before putting it to use. Sera is a former core member of 3 internationally acclaimed dance companies: Bellyqueen, The Silk Road Dance Company, and Raqs Sahara. Sera's foundation of technique, form, and discipline was by means of her formal apprenticeship with Rachel Kay Brookmire (of DC's Sahara Dance). http://www.boldbellydance.com/
Morocco"is considered a leading performer & authority in her field in the U.S., Canada and internationally; frequently invited to teach master seminars and perform throughout Europe, Asia, South America and North Africa /The Middle East (Morocco, Egypt, Turkey). Throughout her 50-year career, Morocco has been awarded numerous grants by New York State Council on the Arts and NYC Department of Cultural Affairs for her work in dance performance and research and was nominated to be one of the 100 National Dance Treasures. She has also been highly acclaimed by the professional Mid-Eastern dance community in the US, with several national awards.
In addition to lecturing on aspects of Raqs Sharqi (oriental dance) at dance festivals in Cairo for several years, she has presented her research on North African and Egyptian dance at international conferences and congresses such as UNESCO’s ICHPER_SD, (Cairo, Egypt) and International Federation of Theater Research Congress (Amsterdam). She was also choreographer and cultural consultant for multiple award- winning Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch's major motion picture: "Whatever Lola Wants".
Naimah is an award winning belly dancer from Baltimore, MD who won the title of 2009 Bellydance Nationals Alternative Fusion Soloist Champion. Her bellydance career began with Egyptian style Cabaret but after intensive study with many instructors from all over she has found her niche in the art of Modern Tribal style bellydance.
She is certified in the Piper Method School of Dance, and is certified in the Suhaila Salimpour format of dance. Her moves have been compared to that of a “man eating plant” and a “mechanical snake”. She is now the event director of the "Art of the Belly" festival in Ocean City, MD and is the creative director of troupe Amandari.
Amandari is an award winnig tribal fusion troupe from Baltimore, MD and are known for their highly intense style.
Melissa Murphey has been an avid clarinet player for 16 years. Her fascination with Classic Bellydance music began in late 2001 after taking some bellydance lessons. Since then she has studied Middle Eastern and Mediterranean music exclusively. In April of 2006, Melissa formed the Classic Bellydance Band, Ishtar.
Melissa is the organizer for Jalsah Pittsburgh, a participatory Middle Eastern live music and dance community event. The Jalsah brings together like-minded individuals who wish to dance to, drum, and/or play Middle Eastern music together in a casual setting.
Melissa also teaches classes on Understanding Basic Middle Eastern Rhythms for the Non-Drummer and classes on Middle Eastern Music Ensemble where she covers makams (scales), taksims (solos), folk songs, basic rhythms and how it all fits together.
Her influences include: George Staphros, Mustafa Kandirali, Gus Vali, Barbaros Erkose, Ferdi Nadaz, Soren Baronian, Husnu Senlendirici, and Selim Sesler. www.ishtar-music.com
Shems is a professional belly dancer and belly dance instructor based in Baltimore, Maryland. Originally from Utah, Shems has been involved in Oriental dance since 1996. During that time she has performed in a wide variety of venues locally and nationally, collaborated with talented musicians and artists and taught weekly classes and workshops in both sides of the US, and won some prestigious dance awards. Shems’s dance style is influenced by Arabic, Turkish and American Vintage Oriental approaches to belly dance and related folkloric and ethnic dance forms. She is known for her versatile abilities, her expressive performances and her musicality. She continually expands her dance knowledge with classes and workshops with many of the best dancers from all over the world. Shems is the founding director of Barakaat and loves being a part of that creative collaboration. Shems has her BFA from Utah State University and a Post-Bac in Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute http://www.shemsdance.com/
