Welcome to my Website!
Since Susan completed teacher training with Carolena Nericcio in October 2009, she has been granted Sister Studio Status with Fat Chance Belly Dance in San Francisco !!! Go to bottom of page for LINKS
NEW CLASS FOR NEWCASTLE in the CBD - 6 week blocks.
LEVEL 1 commencing MONDAY 1 February 2010 6.00 pm. See below for more details.
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I have been teaching American Tribal Style (ATS) Belly Dance since 2005, and continue to conduct classes and workshops in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie area of New South Wales, Australia.
Have you heard of Fat Chance Belly Dance? Check out their website www.fcbd.com and you will begin to get an idea of what ATS is all about. I have now been certified as a teacher of ATS by Carolena Nericcio, director of Fat Chance Belly Dance in San Francisco USA.
There are several excellent ATS performing troupes and dance schools around Australia, in all the capital cities and in provincal locations as well. Due to the actual size of the Australian land mass, it stands to reason that our ATS tribes are far apart. Regularly we get together at festivals, concerts and haflas to share this fabulous dance. It truly is a dance to share.
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Tuition
Classes run during NSW school terms at Teralba Community Hall, Anzac Parade, Teralba 2284 http://www.whereis.com/index.htm#session=Mzg=
Friday 6 pm: Level 1 Dance Fundamentals 6 weeks
(Level 1 must be completed prior to advancing to Level 2)
Friday 7 pm: Level 2 Tribal Combinations 12 weeks
Friday 8 pm: Level 3 - by invitation
Fees: Pre-paid (or paid in 1st class) in 6 week blocks $78.00
(Newcastle classes $90.00) for consecutive classes.
Private classes: $30.00 per hour
Missed classes: Can be made up by taking private lesson at half price (ie.
$15.00 per hour)
NEWCASTLE CLASSES commencing Monday 1 February 6.00 pm - $90.00 for 6 week block.
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Newcastle's first tribal student soiree was hosted by Belly Dance Alliance and Black Diamond in November 2009. We had a fabulous line-up of performers (listed in no particular order) Tribal Spirit, April Erzetich, Taj Mirage, Global Gypsie, Tribal Soul, Arabiana, Llynda Nairn, Indra Belly Dance, Desert Flame, Sawat, Aziff, Aurora, The Body Serpentine, Lakharii, Black Diamond, Fifi Noir.
Then the next day we hosted two very successful workshops by Jacqueline Peperkamp and Fifi Noir.
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What does ATS look like? Well you can answer that with several descriptions using words like folkloric, gypsy, gothic ... and these will be terms that come up a lot in trying to describe what ATS is. It is a fusion of oriental dance with stylistic influences from other dance traditions such as Flamenco and northern Indian dances.
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The one thing that makes ATS stand out is that while some public performances are choroeographed, ATS is mostly improvised. That means that in a group, there is a leader and followers, and they take turns to lead. Imagine dancing and not having a set choroeography! Sounds like bliss to me. Some people press me for a choroeography, but I think if you have a good grounding in ATS within your troupe, you can have fantastic fun dancing, without worrying about remembering a choroeography!
The costuming for ATS is usually a little more modest than other styles of belly dance. This is one of the reasons it has become popular for not only younger women, but those who do not wish to uncover more than their torso and backs. The costuming is very elegant and the Fat Chance Belly Dance costuming was designed gradually by both Carolena Nericcio and some of her fellow troupe members.
To get that seamless change from one leader to another and from one dance step to another takes trust with your fellow dancers, familiarity with the steps and courage to have a go and know that you are supported by your troupe members. This is why ATS dancers tend to dance and socialise together. We look for every opportunity to talk about music, costuming, practice dancing together. These are some of the reason why ATS works. It takes a team effort - but then, if you know the vocabulary of steps, then you can improve with dancers from another troupe. LIKE MAGIC !!
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2009 has been a ground breaking year for Belly Dance Alliance and Black Diamond. We have performed at various gigs, spreading the ATS lurve - we have worked hard to improve our skills of this wonderful dance style. Our troupe has participated in lots of workshops, and we hosted Devi Mamak (Ghawazi Caravan) earlier this year for a full on 2 day workshop. Thank you to all the Black Diamonds that made it happen.______________________________________________________________
LINKS: www.tribal-hub.com www.ghawazicaravan.com www.fcbd.com www.tribaljewels.com.au
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