About Me (and my slight obsession)
| Milestones | |
| March 2011 | FCBD® Teacher Training 1 and 2 Certifications with Carolena Nericcio, granted Sister Studio status |
| October 2008 | FCBD General Skills Certification with Carolena Nericcio and Megha Gavin |
| June 2006 | Discovered American Tribal Style® |
| Sometime in 2005 | Discovered Tribal Fusion |
| January 2004 | First class - in Egyptian bellydance |
I discovered bellydance in January 2004. I have my fiancé Ian to thank for that; I wouldn't have had the guts to go to the class had he not encouraged me. He said it would do me good to have an active hobby and that I would make new friends. My mum and I had attended a one-off 'taster' session with the lovely Janai about a year before this and I had enjoyed it very much but hadn't pursued it further until I heard about Helen Hymans' local weekly Egyptian dance classes, which I started to attend regularly. After studying with Helen for a year I moved house and began to attend classes around the corner run by Tessa Kirkpatrick. I also attended some Egyptian dance classes with Janai. All three ladies are lovely and I thank them for getting me hooked on bellydance!
I discovered Tribal like so many others; by watching the Bellydance Superstars' Tribal Fusion ladies. The Bellydance Superstars were performing to a half-empty theatre in Kings Lynn; a surprisingly low-key venue for such a famous dance troupe. Sharon Kihara and Mardi Love were performing amongst others and I was mesmerised. I immediately felt had to try to learn to dance like them, they were inspirational. I hadn't ever seen this style of bellydance performed live before and it was very powerful.
I started studying Tribal Fusion but there were no classes nearby; I travelled to as many workshops elsewhere in the country as I could afford including Raqs Britannia where I took workshops with well-respected teachers such as Rachel Brice and Sharon Kihara.
In 2006 some friends and I formed a Tribal group (Eceni) in order to share our interest in Tribal bellydance. We performed choreographies and dabbled with various different formats for group tribal improvisation. Suddenly much of what I had been learning in Fusion make sense and I fell in love with the dynamic social nature of the dance. I decided I wanted to take my General Skills certification course with Carolena and focus on ATS®.
In March 2011 I obtained my Teacher Training I & 2 certificates from Carolena and was granted Sister Studio status.
I am dedicated to promoting American Tribal Style® Belly Dance in the way it was intended by its creator and curator, Carolena Nericcio - despite being on the other side of the world!
I will continue to:
- present pure ATS® as an art form
- develop my own technique and abilities as a teacher and performer
- create supportive performance opportunities for students to gain experience
- support all students equally
- arrange free-dance sessions for students to put things into practice and meet other dancers
- keep up to date with developments on the other side of the Atlantic and at home
- promote opportunities to learn from visiting teachers
- get accurate and up-to-date information on any technique queries via the Sister Studio network
Thank You
Carolena, for everything.
Helen, Tessa and Jane for the fantastic classes I attended with them and for inspiring me to learn bellydance in the first place.
Deana of Tribal Unity, Christine and Maxine from Akula Tribal, Lisa from Usha Oseye and Jesse and Philippa of Moirai for their friendship and advice.
My parents and mates for putting up with my constant obsession and for being there for me to bounce ideas off at ungodly hours.
Ian, for encouraging me to start in the first place, and eventually joining in.
Elaine, Claire and Slava for encouraging and supporting me while I started up my own classes.
Last but definitely not least all my lovely students for their interest and enthusiasm in ATS and my classes.