Rita I began learning bellydance in 1988 as a young girl, and have learnt from a variety of teachers in Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Toronto, Canada. This variety has enriched my dance vocabulary and expression. My two strongest influences in recent years have been American Tribal Style (ATS) bellydance and Gypsy dance, including spanish and Romani styles. My passion for Gypsy began in Adelaide in 2000 where I learnt with Sahara, and began to find my own voice through teaching and choreographing for my own student troupe. In 2003, I trained and danced for a short time with Roula Said's Roulettes in Toronto, performing to live music by the "Flying Bulgars Klezmer Band". In that same period, I trained and performed with Alexis Yael, an ATS dancer who had recently migrated from the East Coast of the US. Since returning to Australia, I continued my study of ATS with Hilary, formerly with UrbanTurban, and later became one of the tribe's members. After moving to Canberra in September 2005, I teamed up with fellow ATS dancer and all-round experimentalist Fiona MacPherson to form the signature duo GypsyNoir. I now study the BlackSheep format of ATS with Fiona, while collaborating in GypsyNoir and developing my own contemporary style that has a bold Gypsy flavour. I have been teaching in Canberra since July 2006. After doing a workshop with the North American dancer Rachel Brice in the Blue Mountains in November 2006 , I have been strongly inspired to push my boundaries and aspirations in dance. In January 2007, I studied with Ultra Gypsy Dance in San Francisco. While in the US, I also took a Turkish Roman workshop with Elizabeth Strong, ATS lessons with FatChanceBellyDance and some contemporary dance training.
You can connect with me on Tribe.net Where will GypsyNoir go to from here?GypsyNoir is a creative space for the two of us and is constantly evolving. Recently we have experimented with Art Deco / Metropolis styled personas to present a dark and tragic ensemble of Gypsy Cabaret and Neo-Fusion Bellydance. We have also developed a performance set fusing Modern Gypsy, Tango and Funk dance styles - to become Fedora and Skirt-wielding gals with serious 'tude! Both of these sets feature the subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) theatrical arts that are experiencing a much deserved revival through the re-emergence of Burlesque and Vaudeville theatre. Our next project is to develop a cyber-gothic set that features fire-fusion. We enjoy learning, performing, teaching and writing about our experiences and inspiration. Please see Our Articles section for any articles, poems or other tidbits. | Fiona I am honoured to be creatively collaborating with my friend and 'partner in crime' Rita. My own dance experience runs to a total of 25+ years in various styles including tap, jazz, classical, contemporary & bellydance. I have taught tap, jazz, bellydance, ATS and fusion styles and have several years experience in Adult Learning principles to supplement my dance experience. I have been bellydancing since 1992 when I discovered the style while being involved in medieval re-enactment. I have learnt from numerous teachers in both folkloric and cabaret genres. I spent six years studying and teaching with Shimmy Bellydance (RIP) after moving to Canberra from South Victoria in 2000. I currently teach and perform American Tribal Style Bellydance BlackSheep BellyDance format with my community dance group 'Tribalista' . I formed the group in May 2005 and they are a great bunch of girls that I am so enjoying teaching, dancing & learning with. Tribal Style Bellydance has overtaken my life and led me overseas to Maui in Hawaii USA in August 2005 to become certified by Kajira Djoumahna to teach Level 1 in her BSBD format. Certified on August 17 2005, you can see my certification details on Kajira's website. I have now commenced Level 2 training with KD following my first trip to SanFrancisco in May 2006 to attend TribalFest 2006. Kajira is a beautiful and wise woman as well as being an incredible dancer and teacher. I am honoured and humbled that I now have an ongoing mentorship with Kajira and intend to complete her three levels of training for teaching in her format. Tribal dancers that I have learnt from both here and overseas include Rachel Brice (The Indigo & Bellydance Superstars), Carolena Nericcio (Fat Chance Belly Dance), Paulette-Rees Denis (Gypsy Caravan), Karen Gehrmann (formerly FCBD), Susan Brown (formerly of NZ) & our own beloved Devi Mamak (Ghawazi Caravan). I have been interested for a number of years in incorporating my love of all things gothic with the dance form. I have been encouraged that there is a place for this dark & luscious form following the past few years of study both here and overseas. I honour those who are pioneers in the Gothic dance genre including (but certainly not limited to) Tempest, Ariellah & my most recent favourite, the lovely Asharah. There are many other bellydancers and other dancers that I have learnt from or been inspired by over the years whose names are unknown or lost in the sands of time but have all contributed to where I am today. I honour you.
You can link up with me on Tribe.net OR MySpace.com.au OR 
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