Female

I have been a belly dancer at heart since I first saw it at a Ren Faire about 21 years ago. I took classes for a couple of years in the early 90's but life got in the way, so I stopped. WISH I HADN'T! I started up again in August 2005, with my daughter, as a form of exercise and a way to meet new friends. My daughter & I have been troupe members of Dancers of De Nile since October 2005. Visit Dancers of De Nile here tribes.tribe.net/dancersofdenile

I, as well as my daughter Emishka (her dance name), currently take Cabaret style classes with Badrea, Director of Dancers of De Nile, Fundamentals of Bellydance with Kahlea of NATIUM World Dance and will soon be starting Kahlea’s Tribal Style classes. I have also taken classes with Gladys, and Melissa Billings, and workshops from Yasmina of Hipnotic Hips and from the infamous Sharon Kihara of Bellydance Super Stars and The Indigo. My daughter & I have performed at the AZ State & Maricopa County Fairs, Over Coffee, Maqbool’s Boutique, and Layalena restaurant. We have tons of fun at our shows & enjoy meeting everyone who comes out to support & dance with us.

My favorite thing about bellydancing is that any type of body shape can bellydance – from thin to Goddess. I believe it is important to instill in young girls that you do not have to be thin to dance & look beautiful.

Another big favorite is the costumes. Costumes have taken over my walk-in closet & my regular street clothes were forced to take shelter elsewhere. I've lost count at over 100 skirts, some of which have not been worn yet. My current favorite types of costumes are geared towards the Gypsy Style as I feel they better suit my personality. My favorite color for costuming is black because any color can be added to it.

I enjoy all types of bellydance music, but my current favorites are Turku – Nomads of the Silk Road; Gypsy Caravan & Friends – Migration; and the Kabila Project, a compilation by various artists.

Ya just gotta love Ro & Rea, www.bargains4bellydance.com, for making wonderfully affordable costumes and for keeping the local bellydance community alive on the west side!

My heartfelt thanks goes out to Joe McKiernan, a.k.a. JoSanta, who is at many of the local bellydance events (not just our's) & takes wonderful photos of everyone!

Aside from bellydancing with Dancers of De Nile, I am also a crew member of the Ship Ecstacy in the AZ Corsairs led by the dubious Captain Blackstrap. Visit the AZ Corsairs at azcorsair.ning.com.

You can also reach me on MySpace, but I am not there very much at all. www.myspace.com/anyankabellydancer

By the way... is anyone else an Ebay addict like I am???