I'm the artistic director of Three Eyes Tribal and am proud to be Alberta's first accredited Fat Chance Belly Dance® instructor and Sister Studio.  I completed my General Skills Certification in April 2010, and my Teacher Training in November 2010, both in San Francisco with Carolena Nericcio.

But, how did I get here? Well, it was a chance encounter with an ad in a University newspaper.  I was 21, had a high interest in Ancient Egypt, and loved to dance with my hips.  It was perfect!  I spent my first few wonderful years of belly dance in Saskatoon, SK with Oriental Dance Arts (ODA) learning Raqs Sharki, some Persian, and a splash of many other wonderful Middle Eastern dances. 

American Tribal Style® (ATS) and I met each other in 2002.  My relationship with ATS® started slowly - like a friendship that turns into a love affair. I continued on with all the various styles and slowly but surely, ATS® grew on me more and more and more and it's now a full-blown passion!

I feel amazingly at home in ATS® with its improvisational structure, costuming, music, importance of group, beauty, grace, and power of sisterhood, and it shows. When you see me dance ATS® that is no fake smile on my face, it is completely real because I am one happy girl. I love dancing with the women in my troupe and some of my favourite times are our road trips together – and my trips to the mothership of course!  Ah, ATS®, how I love thee.

Everyone’s belly dance journeys start roughly the same way. You look for something new, try a class and then become enthralled with the art form. The same thing happened to me in 2002. I’ve danced the Edmonton scene ever since; taking classes, teaching classes, and performing in Zaghareet! from 2003 to 2006.

It wasn’t until 2006 when  American Tribal Style® (ATS) and I found each other that things really got cooking. I discovered the tattooed, freedom within structure loving, big jewellery, barefoot, no glitter, hard working, bright, powerful, soft as silk, hard as iron, face first into life, boisterous, share the load kind of person I am exists as dance form. In ATS® I get to be every aspect of who I am simultaneously. When you find that kind of vehicle for happiness and contentment it changes your life. My joyous and powerful stage presence isn’t rehearsed, it’s just me being able to show you everything I am, every time I move.

My dream of dancing with Three Eyes Tribal (TET) was realized in 2011; however to tell the story of how that came about, we need to go back to 2002. I had just moved back to Edmonton from studying in Vancouver. Penniless and feeling slightly lost; my wise and loving older sister decided to shake things up a bit and enrolled us both in a beginner belly dance class! Our teacher was the lovely Shahenda, and the introduction she provided to belly dance unexpectedly opened up a whole new world! You see, being Egyptian I presumed I had a general understanding of belly dance; but boy was I wrong! I had no concept of the many different forms of belly dance, and that movements could be stylized to achieve a completely unique look and feel!

I was drawn to Brandi’s beginner American Tribal Style® (ATS) class in 2008 by a desire to further explore the variations of belly dance. I remember coming to Brandi’s beginner class early so I could watch the dancers in TET wrap up their more advanced class.  Seeing the colourful wave of beautiful skirts flying while these strong feminine dancers spun in complete unison made my jaw drop! I became fascinated by ATS®! Learning the movement vocabulary, practising formations, experiencing the freedom of improvisation and the joy of dancing with a tribe turned my fascination with ATS® into a full blown love affair! I am so honoured to be a part of TET.   

I didn't want to be a belly dancer.  But when 2 dear friends signed me up for a beginner class so we could spend more time together, how could I say no?  I knew so little about belly dancing that I actually showed up for my first class in jeans - true story.  In the early days, I described belly dancing as 'a group belly laugh with friends' and it's as true today as it was back then.  Though my 2 friends have since moved on from dancing, I found a beautiful art form that surprises and challenges me every time I dance.    

It was during a student show years ago that I first witnessed American Tribal Style® (ATS), and I was completely captivated by the interpretation of the music, the way their bodies moved together in unison, the beautiful costuming, and their stage presence.  I don't think I blinked for 4 minutes.  That was when I started my true calling as a belly dancer, with ATS®.  Since then, I have taken a lot of classes and workshops, and have traveled all over the globe finding my ATS® sisters.  Dancing with Three Eyes Tribal is my greatest joy - It's a magical combination when you find something you love with the most amazing friends ever.