Here is a bit about me and my background. I began RAD ballet classes at age 5 and continued until I was 16. At this point I knew ballet was not for me and so started a journey through many other styles until now. Finally everything has come together the music, the attitude, the costume, the history, the community, in the fusion that is Tribal Belly dance.
It was only in recent years that I discovered the wonders of Arabic dance, beginning Egyptian classes, one of my teachers, the lovely Yasmien May (who very sadly died) inspired me saying ‘now is the time to dance’ so here I am doing exactly that! On seeing Tribal style for the first time I was lured instantly to the dark side and there was no going back. I tried to find classes or workshops in the UK but there was very little going on at the time. Eventually I heard of Chris Ogden teaching a workshop in Lincoln so off I went, it was wonderful! Now I wanted more and travelled to everything I could possibly get to, more with Chris, Paulette Rees-Denis, Wendy Marlatt, Sharon Kihara, Zehara, Deirdre Macdonald, Lindsey Macqueen, Karen Innella, Domba, Kajira Djoumahna, Carolena Nericcio, Geneva Bybee, Urban Tribal and Unmata. I relied heavily on the use of instructional videos and DVDs between workshops.
I continued with Egyptian style until my then teacher Sue Ord asked me to cover her classes temporarily. Well this turned in to something more long term and I was fortunately able to lure students down the Tribal path. Classes proved so popular that I was soon teaching all round the county and turning down requests for more. I performed as a member of Gypsy Fire for 3 years around Edinburgh and the Borders. Tribe Zuza is growing now so I need to spend more time with them rehearsing and generally having fun.
From the start the costume was part of the appeal for me and as I began my working life as a wardrobe mistress with The Northumberland Theatre Company it has been good to get back into making extravagant outfits again. While in the theatre I gained a Sports Council, Dance Leader qualification as well as training in Laban techniques. This allowed me to deliver movement and relaxation sessions to the training actors. I then went freelance working as a designer-maker of garments, costumes and accessories. I gained qualifications in textiles and a degree in teaching, which led me into lecturing. I worked for fourteen years in a Further Education College delivering a range of textile based creative studies courses including City and Guilds Fashion and Embroidery.
I continue to teach freelance in these subject areas and am involved in a number of community projects as well as producing work for exhibition. But ‘now is the time to dance’ so I have managed to make dance the main focus of what I am doing just now. Through the website I hope to share my joy of Tribal dance and have the opportunity to show you my Tribal Wares or even tempt you to join me on a Tribal Journey and have a dancing adventure. Enjoy!
Last Updated: January 25, 2008