Star Instructors
Your dance experience at Bedouin Beats should be the best. One of the ways we insure this is to hire the very best instructors. Read their biography and ask questions.
Denise Leclair
Denise started bellydancing in 1995 in the San Francisco Bay Area.
While she loves to shimmy with Egyptian cabaret, her true love has been with folkloric and tribal styles like Turkish ROM and Ghawazee. Today, Denise is shaking it up with BOOMER BELLYDANCERS to the likes of Santana and the Rolling Stones! .
When she isn't masterminding Bedouin Beats, or immersed in some fabulous Indian, or Turkish workshop she is probably organizing a dance event or going to one. Passion is passion. Her advice? " You are never too old to start dancing. Just give yourself permission and I will lovingly take you to the next level. "
Tania
Tania began bellydancing in 2001 in Prague, under the fabulous Renata Milgrom at Zambra Studios. She has been fortunate enough to take classes with many renowned local and international bellydancers, and to have been made president of the fabulous dance troupe, Raq-a-Belly dance! Her obsession with Tribal Fusion began in 2005 when she took a workshop with Rachel Brice and solidified when she started taking workshops under Dark Fusion master, Ariellah Aflalo. She started teaching bellydance full-time in 2008. Her Fusion classes are structured mostly on the movement style of the Indigo and Ariellah. Her main goal is to create a fun, warm atmosphere where her students can play while they work. She has her Alberta Fitness Leadership Certification so she can make your body not just groove, but groove safely. For more information on Tania or her classes, check out Tania's Belly
Shahenda
Shahenda has been involved in the Edmonton belly dance community for over 8 years now. She has been teaching for 7 years & performing professionally for over 5 years. Shahenda teaches part time classes throughout Edmonton & metro area.
Check out Shahenda's blog at http://shahendabellydance.blogspot.com/
Shahenda has had the pleasure of performing live on stage with the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble at the Winspear Centre as well as for a CD release party with local artist Wendy McNeil. In addition, she has appeared on Global TV, CBC, Access, NAIT TV & the Life Network (Slice).
Always on the quest for continual self-improvement and knowledge Shahenda has participated in workshops with some of the finest Oriental dancers in the world including: -Hadia -Venus -Jillina -Jalilah -Beata & Horacio Cifuentes -Dina - and more.
Saskia
Zaena’s love affair with bellydance began early on in life and she became a life long devotee in 1998, while living in the Netherlands.
Since returning to Edmonton in 2000, she has continued her ongoing explorations into the joys of Middle Eastern dance and its many cultural facets including Improvisational Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion, Turkish and Egyptian.
She has a special fondness for any form of improvisation, including dancing with not one, but two swords! She has been teaching since 2005, performing since 2002 and is the artistic director of Luna Dance Fusion. Prior to that she was a founding member of the dance collective Zaghareet! Tribal Bellydance.
She has studied with instructors like Margot Vosser (The Netherlands), UNMATA and attended workshops with Yasmina Ramzy, Helene Eriksen, Sahra Saida, Kami Liddle, Gypsy Caravan, Tribal Feat, Urban Gypsy, Sabine of Tribalation, Elizabeth Artemis Mourat, Lee Ali, Mardi Love, Zoe Jakes, Onca O'Leary, TribalTique, Gypsy Fire.
Tatiana
Tatiana has been studying and performing Middle Eastern Dance for over 16 years, first starting her studies with Isis Dance Productions. She has had the honor of performing for local recitals, corporate functions, fundraisers, restaurants, local celebrities, weddings, and parties.
Tatiana has been dancing ( forever!) since the age of 7, and studied and performed with Volya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble and Alberta Zirka Ukrainian Performers. Her training includes Ukrainian dance and ballet technique.
Tatiana's favorite genre of Middle Eastern Dance is Raks Sharqi, particularly Egyptian style, and she has attended workshops with Hadia, Dina of Cairo, Aziza, Jalilah, Jillina, Yousry Sharif, Beata & Horatio Cifuentes, and Yasmina Ramzy.
She completed Level 1 teacher training with Hadia in 2002 and taught regular classes for 3 years. She has also been teaching workshops for over 10 years. She is excited to be teaching again, and thrilled to join Bedouin Beats.
Check out Tatiana's website! and watch her perform at the Carrot Cabaret Nov, 2011
Donna Cucheran
Donna Cucheran, level certified 1 from the Suhaila Salimpour certification program is also actively working on her certification with Jamila Salimpour's teaching Certification.
Once achieved Donna will be the first Canadian to hang Jamila's dancing certification on her wall! Jamila is not only a mentor but is a close friend of Donna's now.
One of the first tribal dancers in Edmonton, Donna's life changing moment came in 2002 when she started the Suhaila program. She hasn't looked back since.
Between teaching bellydance, she was a founding member of Zaghareet! and now is the founder and Artistic Director of Nomadic Tapestry.
Bedouin Beats is delighted that Donna has joined us!
Masani St Rose
Masani St. Rose - A native Calgarian who immersed into dancing at the tender age of 3, specializing in West African and Caribbean dance. Upon the introduction to dance, Masani found passion for the West African culture and style. It was through training under Michèle Moss-Johnston at Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, she was able to build her foundation. Still working very closely with Michèle Moss-Johnston and various other artists from Guinea, West Africa, she finds every opportunity to take master classes from artists from various regions of Africa including, Congo, Uganda, Ghana, Mali, Guinea and Zimbabwe. Throughout the years, Masani has worked with various studios and professional groups across Canada. It is her mission to keep the art and culture alive from soul to sole!
Karen Davison
Karen Davison, co-artistic director of Raq-a-Belly dance! is one of our instructors for beginners to bellydance. Karen has an extensive dance ranging from modern dance to Raqs Sharki and Tribal Fusion, and really any other dance that catches her eye. Karen performed extensively at the 2009 FRINGE Festival where her choreography was featured. We really don't think there is any dance she couldn't do and have lately seen in her Flamenco!
Brandi
Brandi first began her journey in belly dance in 1999 in Saskatoon, SK. She found an ad in a University newspaper for a bellydance class with DancEgypt in Raqs Sharki and hasn't looked back. She was a member of Oriental Dance Arts in Saskatoon from 2000-2005 where she had the opportunity to learn and perform Raqs Sharki, Persian, Nepalese Temple, American Tribal Style and other dances.
In 2005 she moved to Edmonton, where she became a member of Zaghareet! Tribal Bellydance from 2005 to 2007. Although Brandi still dabbles in other forms of bellydance, American Tribal Style has become her favourite form of bellydance and has become a passion.Brandi began teaching American Tribal Style classes in 2006 and directs the troupe Three Eyes Tribal. In April of 2010, Brandi traveled to San Francisco, home of ATS, to take the General Skills for American Tribal Style Certificate Course, a 20 hour, 4 day Intensive with Carolena Nericcio and Fat Chance Belly Dance.We are very excited to announce that Brandi is now an accredited Fat Chance Belly Dance instructor and the only ATS instructor in Edmonton to have accomplished this. Congratulations Brandi!
Maya Christina
Maya Christina began her dance career nearly two decades ago as a teacher at the Cassandra School and member of Jawaahir Dance Company in Minneapolis. An award-winning international dancer and choreographer, Maya Christina has performed in nightclubs, theatres, music videos, and film. She specializes in raks sharki, American classic bellydance, folkloric Mediterranean-region dances, and dance fusion. Maya is an ongoing scholar of Egyptian folkloric dances and has studied, performed, and taught Saidi technique internationally for over 15 years. She was a zill student of master zill players Z’Helene of Austin, TX and Zarifa of Charlotte, NC, and specializes in zill tones and musicality. Maya’s classes focus on technique, musicality, expression, and stamina through a mixture of traditional dance class techniques, illustrated lectures, homework, and guided instruction.
Molly Rose & Kiki Quinn
Molly Rose and Kiki Quinn headline the River City Revue Burlesque of Edmonton. These vivacious young dancers are looking forward to promoting the art of burlesque dance!
