Alexia
Alexia (Kim Leary) is a belly dance performer, choreographer and instructor in
Central New Jersey. Kim's dance accomplishments include teaching both
credit and non-credit dance classes at universities and community colleges.
She is artistic director of Groove Merchant Drum & Dance Ensemble and
of her school Alexia's Belly Dance & Beyond/The Drum & Dance Learning
Center in the Princeton area. She has performed at a number of prestigious
venues such as Lincoln Center, The Ohio Theatre (SOHO), CAMI Hall (NYC),
DanceSpace (NYC), FIT (NYC), The Evolving Arts Theatre (NYC), The Black
Box Theatre (NJ) as well as many colleges, universities and festivals as a
soloist and with her own dance company, SaZ Dance Theatre, Jamila
Salimpour's Bal Anat and, Dalia Carella's DNA Project.
Many of her performances and projects have been supported by funds through the
New Jersey State Council on the Arts. In 2008 Kim received a dance
scholarship from Dance NJ and was voted New Jersey's Favorite Belly Dance
Teacher.
Alexia is certified Level 2 in the Suhaila Salimpour Format since 2001 and
also certified Level 1 in the Jamila Salimpour Format in 2008.
Email: alexia@alexiadance.com
Web: www.drumdancecenter.com
Ashye
Ashye is a
New York
dance artist, choreographer and designer. Ayshe blends her Greek and American
heritage to create an exotic and unusual dance style. She has trained
extensively in classical ballet, modern dance, yoga, and numerous ethnic dance
forms, particularly Middle Eastern dance, ancient pharaonic dance, and Indian
dance. She holds a B.A. from
Hunter
College
in Human Movement, Archaeology, and Middle Eastern Studies. Ayshe's performing
and teaching dance genres include: Turkish and Egyptian style bellydance,
Indian dance, ancient Egyptian pharaonic dance, and fusion/ fantasy bellydance.
Currently, Ayshe has been working on creative performance projects and workshops
with Venus Uprising and has been performing in dance and fitness dvd's for World Dance
New York
. This past winter she taught and performed in
Trieste
,
Italy
, and "Spirit of the Tribes"
. In May she was honored to perform for Cirque du Soleil's premiere
party for the show Kooza. Since the early 90's, Ayshe has been designing
"Wings of Isis", a spectacular dance prop that transforms a dancer
into a vision of a winged goddess. Ayshe is responsible for the initiation of
"
Isis
wings" as a specialty for bellydance performances. Her instructional
dvd, WINGS: THE COMPLETE TECHNIQUE, is the only one of its kind, fully
describing and teaching, step by step, the movement vocabulary Ayshe has created
for dancing with wings. Ayshe designs wings for dancers worldwide,
including BELLY DANCE SUPERSTARS. Ayshe continues to experiment with
wings, using them with many styles of music and movement.
Email:
ayshedancer@gmail.com
Web:
www.wingsofayshe
Carmine T. Guida
New York City-based mulitinstrumentalist Carmine T. Guida is a familiar face at Middle Eastern dance and music events throughout the country.
A dancers' musician, Carmine is appreciated as an enthusiastic, adaptable, and creative
accompanist on both doumbek and oud; he plays weekly for belly dancers with several
New York City ensembles.
Email:
carmine@carmine.com
Web:
www.Carmine.com
Phone: 212-725-9635
Heather Stants
Heather is a lifelong artist and dancer with a degree in photography and fine
arts. Her career in tribal fusion dance began over thirteen years ago when she
became the assistant director of Read My Hips (
www.readmyhips.com)
in Chicago, Illinois. In 1999 Heather moved to San Diego, California and
launched the southern California tribal movement through her classes and the
formation of Urban Tribal Dance Company. Heather's diverse movement and
arts background plus her yoga practice feeds her creativity and her
groundbreaking approach to choreography. Urban Tribal Dance Company is known for
it's contemporary approach to belly dance, a pared down costume emphasizing body
movements over ornamentation, athleticism and the use of the dance form as a
means of personal expression and interpretation. Their creativity has twice
earned them the title of "Troupe of the Year" in Zaghareet! Magazine's
Golden Belly Awards. In addition to teaching several weekly classes in San Diego
since 1999, Heather Stants and Urban Tribal Dance Company tour extensively
sharing their love of modern tribal fusion dance with dancers in the U.S. and
abroad. Urban Tribal Dance Company can be seen in dvd releases produced by The
Bellydance Superstars and Hollywood Music. Read more about Heather and Urban
Tribal on their site:
www.urbantribaldance.com
Email: info@urbantribaldance.com
Web: www.UrbanTribalDance.com
JeniViva
Although
she has studied and performed various genres of dance, JeniViva felt most “at
home” with the genre of Bellydance. She states “there is nothing more
natural, more organically based than the sensuous and earthy movements in
Bellydance. Its as if the movements were always a part of me, of every
woman…our birthright, and all we ever had to do was remember.” JeniViva has
the distinct pleasure of being one of the pioneers of a new genre of dance:
Gothic Bellydance. This genre blends the old with the new, adding a dark twist
of Gothic elements to classic genres of Bellydance. The fruits of JeniViva’s
efforts can be seen in numerous Gothic subculture magazines and websites. She
also has been featured on the first ever Gothic Bellydance Dvd by World Dance
New York and recently performed in and appeared on the cover of the Gothic
Bellydance 2: Revelations Dvd. Gothic Bellydance is a voyage into uncharted
territory, a journey within the realm of an alternative aesthetic. Gothic
Bellydance is an highly expressive emotional dance form and it is a movement
that is sweeping the entire globe.
Email: mysticalhips@gmail.com
Web: www.mysticalhips.com
Mimi
A life-long dancer, athlete and musician, Mimi
has performed extensively throughout the
United States
and
Europe
. Upon her introduction to belly dancing, Mimi
quickly established herself as an emerging artist, serving as a principal dancer
for Serena and Maqamikaze dance companies. She was also a founding member of
Alchemy Dance Theater, and co-founded Vadalna tribal dance company. After over a
decade of performing and studying various Middle-Eastern influenced dance
formats, Mimi found her home in American Tribal Style (ATS) Belly Dance.
In 2006, she founded Manhattan Tribal,
New York City
’s first ATS dance company. Studying with
Carolena Nerricio, creator of ATS and Director of Fat Chance Belly Dance (FCBD)
in
San Francisco
, Mimi received multiple certifications in the FCBD
format, and was granted Sister Studio status in 2008. Sister Studio is the
distinction that FCBD awards to select teachers around the world that have
demonstrated they are striving to provide the same quality instruction one would
receive at the San Francisco home studio. In addition to regularly teaching
multiple ATS classes in NYC, and the workshops she conducts nationally and
overseas, Mimi is an AFAA group fitness instructor and Fitness Coach, inspiring
and educating people on their personal fitness and nutrition. While preserving
ATS belly dance in its true form, Mimi and Manhattan Tribal add their own brand
of NYC flavor, infusing their performances with high energy and exciting
combinations that have become their signature style.
Email:
manhattantribal@gmail.com
Web:
www.MimiFontana.com
Suhaila Salimpour
Suhaila Salimpour is the world's most sought-after performer, teacher, and choreographer of belly dance. A second-generation belly dancer, Suhaila has developed a format combining her heritage with classical dance training. After being the first Belly Dancer featured by Arab American Television, Suhaila toured the Middle East and Europe. She returned to the US to open her school - offering the first Certification program available in Belly Dance. Suhaila Productions creates instructional and performance DVDs for all dance levels, CDs for percussion artists and printed dance manuals. Suhaila has orchestrated Middle Eastern dance musicals and is director of both the Suhaila Dance Company and Bal Anat.
Email:
suhaila@therealsuhaila.com
Web:
www.TheRealSuhaila.com
Phone: 510-527-2400
Tempest
Now based in Rohde Island,
Tempest pulls from her visual arts background (BFA from RISD), literary
tendencies, and global inspirations to create dance that crosses the boundaries
of time and culture. Tempest began her journey into dance in 2000, and has
traveled the country to study traditional, folkloric, and fusion forms of
bellydance. She is the premiere instructor of Gothic Bellydance in
North America
, and her extensive work in
the genre has helped to define and develop the movement across the world. Her
compelling performances exemplify her distinctively theatrical and expressionate
style, and are rooted in oriental dance technique with a transcendent approach.
Her costume designs have revolutionized the look of modern bellydance, and
continue to inspire new and old generations of dancers alike.
Email: tempest@meddevi.com
Web: www.darklydramatic.com