Veronika
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| Background |
| You know when you start doing something for fun, and you wake up one morning and realize that you don’t know what you would do without it in your life? That’s belly dance for me. I started out taking classes for fun, grooving to the music and loving the unique, flattering movements. One morning I woke up and thought, “I want to dance for the rest of my life”, and that’s when I decided I wanted to teach, perform, and share the amazing feeling this dance gives me with everyone willing to watch. I began a journey of study into American Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion belly dance, and realized that this is where I belong. After a few years of study in ATS, and who-knows how many workshops and classes in tribal fusion, I now teach and perform all over Southern California, doing what has made me purely happy since day one. |
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Belly Dance Classes |
| I have been teaching FatChanceBellyDance ATS for some time, but only began official classes after completing the General Studies workshop with Carolena Nericcio, FatChanceBellyDance Founder and Creator. I teach by the book, with great attention to detail and a fierce love for the old school and new school FCBD ATS. I do this to maintain the purity of the language, in pursuit of becoming Sister Studio certified. The group improvisational format, comfortable and body-friendly movements, and diversity of music of this dance make it a fun, easy, and fulfilling experience for all who experience it.Along with teaching ATS, I also teach tribal fusion belly dance. You throw the word “fusion” into the title, and you’re free to do whatever you want. And that’s pretty much what I do. In class, we explore all sorts of dance and cultural influences. Dance influences include hip hop, jazz, flamenco, ATS, cabaret, folk, and even the silent film era. Music selections range from traditional Middle Eastern beats to synth-pop to European folk music. When you start belly dancing, you find that you can pretty much to dance to the heartbeat of anything, so we dance to whatever makes us feel good. =) |
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Performances |
| Teaching is great, but performing is the real source of joy for me in this dance. I perform both ATS and tribal fusion, and their distinct differences are why I love them both. Performing ATS with sister tribal dancers evokes a connection that solo dancing cannot offer. The cohesive understanding of the intent and beauty of ATS shines through when a group of ladies oozes their love of the dance on stage together. There is no feeling like it. BUT… dancing solo tickles an entirely different fancy. The ability to meticulously pick apart music and rebuild it into a performance piece and interpret it as only you can is a priceless. Teaching is great, but performing is the real source of joy for me in this dance. I perform both ATS and tribal fusion, and their distinct differences are why I love them both. Performing ATS with sister tribal dancers evokes a connection that solo dancing cannot offer. The cohesive understanding of the intent and beauty of ATS shines through when a group of ladies oozes their love of the dance on stage together. There is no feeling like it. BUT… dancing solo tickles an entirely different fancy. The ability to meticulously pick apart music and rebuild it into a performance piece and interpret it as only you can is a priceless privilege. Tribal fusion allows such a flexibility of music, costume, and movement that one can potentially never perform the same show twice, but it also allows one to choreograph a piece and show it to multiple crowds on multiple stages. I don’t have one favorite over the other… I simply love to perform, with other dance sisters or by myself.
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Contact and Class Information |
| 2011 classes are scheduled for Wednesday evenings at Beach Cities Stars Dance Studio, 18956 Brookhurst St in Fountain Valley, CA. Tribal Fusion drills and choreography is 7-8pm, ATS level 1 is 8-9pm, and ATS level 2 is 9-10pm.
You can visit my website at www.veronikadancer.com for a full description of classes, tuition, and dress code. |
