Meet
The Instructors/Performers
About
Tempest:
Tempest is an artist, designer, dancer, and writer currently
based in the Bay Area of California. Although she enjoys
studying what tradition has to offer, Tempest loves exploring
the dance through unusual music and creative costuming,
pulling on her visual arts background to "paint a
picture" with the dance; engaging the audience through
dramatic embodied storytelling, passionate expression,
and sensuous, mesmerizing movement. She finds inspiration
for her dances in many eras, places, and faces, from ancient
cultures and spiritual myths worldwide, to the work of
silent film star and original vamp Theda Bara, and turn-of-the-century
dance goddess Ruth St. Denis. She is most well-known for
her Gothic Belly Dance performances and instruction, and
is featured on the first ever GBD performance DVD produced
by WorldDanceNewYork entitled "The Darker Side of
Fusion" and is set to release "Bellydance for
Beautiful Freaks", an instructional DVD, this fall.
Websites:
-Med'Devi Ink (art, design, the original corset belt...)
www.meddevi.com
-Tempest's Nouveau Noir Dance: www.darklydramatic.com
-The Gothic Bellydance Resource: www.gothicbellydance.com
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About
Sashi
(on tour from Indiana to Washington, DC)
Sashi is a talented performer, instructor and choreographer
based in Orange County, California. Sashi has been a
student of dance for sixteen years. She began studying
African Haitian and West African dance while a student
at San Francisco State University. She went on to further
her experience of African dance by studying Congolese
and West African drumming. In the years following, Sashi
found Middle Eastern dance to be the style she was most
drawn to as it spoke to her Semitic roots and aesthetic
interests. She has studied many forms of Middle Eastern
dance including American Tribal Style Bellydance, Tribal
Fusion Bellydance, Gothic Bellydance, Egyptian and Lebanese
Cabaret Bellydance, Israeli and Turkish Debke, Saidi,
and Nubian Folkloric dances. She is most recognized
for her alluring and dynamic performances of Gothic
Tribal Fusion Bellydance and Improvisational Tribal
Fusion Bellydance. Her provocative and ritualistic performances
convey her talent for expressing herself through her
dance. Inspired by the "Spirit of the Dance",
Sashi views bellydance as the honoring of the divine
feminine by creating spiritual and physical unions through
movement. This is evident as her ability to cultivate
the energy that this dance evokes is translated to each
audience member with a look, a gesture, a presence that
is unmistakably unique to Sashi and the dance. You can
see her perform solo or in collaboration with internationally
acclaimed performance troupes in many venues, settings
and shows. Information on her upcoming performances,
workshops, tour dates and collaborations can be found
at http://www.ascendtribaldance.com
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About
Ariellah
(on tour from Boston to California)Ariellah
Aflalo studied classical ballet with the Royal Academy
of Dance of London for twelve years, beginning at age
three. After a four-year break from dance that included
two years in the Peace Corps on Africa's Ivory Coast,
she returned to the United States eager to learn the dance
of her Moroccan ancestry.
Trying her hand at belly dance had been a lifelong goal,
and was a natural extension of Ariellah's dance career
and life experience. Her pursuit of belly dance began
with Janine Ryle, who studied with San Francisco belly
dance institution Hahbi'Ru. Ariellah eventually became
a part of Janine's troupe, Danse Maghreb. With roots grounded
firmly in the culture and tradition of North Africa, belly
dance came naturally to Ariellah. Janine encouraged her
desire to learn from as many sources as possible, and
suggested that she take classes with Rachel Brice, who
is currently touring internationally with The Bellydance
Superstars. Ariellah began studying with Rachel in early
2002 and became a founding member of Rachel's Indigo Belly
Dance Company in 2003. Ariellah is currently busy teaching,
performing and practicing. Most recently, she won first
place in the Star Fusion category of Sirens In Sanity's
belly dance competition, Enchanted Camelot, held in Benecia,
CA in 2004. Also, Ariellah recently founded her own belly
dance company, Noor Belly Dance, with belly dance partner
Suzan Revah.
Ariellah's
style reflects her personal interpretation of tribal
fusion belly dance, which blends the darker side of
Middle Eastern, American Tribal Style and cabaret belly
dance with Indian and Flamenco influences, while embracing
a modern San Francisco flavor. Her style emanates from
the passion, joy and contentment that belly dance has
brought to her life, allowing her to fully express herself
in a unique and beautiful way. More info: http://www.ariellah.com
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