Current Group Class Offering: Cat Studio

in Swansea, MA

Belly Dance Foundations class: Next session select Thursday evenings in September & October 2024 from 6:00-7:00 pm. This class is best for beginners or dancers who would like to focus on foundational movements.

Studio is located at 544 Milford Rd Swansea, MA 02777. Call the studio with any questions: (508) 642-8591. Pre-registration is required for this class by clicking the button below & creating a MindBody account.

Class focuses on technique, musicality, improvisation, choreography, and more in an upbeat, fun environment. All gender identities, bodies, and cultural & religious backgrounds are celebrated and welcomed to join this class. Any clothing that is comfortable to move in is welcomed.

Elizabeth’s Teaching & Training Experience

Elizabeth has been teaching the art of Raq Sharqi (belly dance) for nine years.  She began co-teaching and choreographing for the UMass Amherst Belly Dance Club in 2015. She has taught group classes in Dartmouth, Fall River, Swansea, and Westport, MA as well as throughout New England for special events. She has also coached dancers via one-on-one instruction working on topics like technique, improvisation, musicality, and choreography as well as provided coaching for dancers who would like to work up to professional performing.

Elizabeth is currently coached by internationally acclaimed belly dancer Amanda Rose based in Barcelona https://www.amandarosedance.com She has also been coached by Chudney of Florida and original belly dance superstar founding member, Amar Garcia of MA. She is incredibly grateful to them for their help in her development as a dancer and continues to take classes with them whenever possible.

Elizabeth is very dedicated to continuing dance study. She is certified in parts 1 & 2 of Sahra Saeeda’s Journey Through Egypt (JtE) for which she completed forty hours of Egyptian folkloric dance and cultural study in Seattle, Washington. Elizabeth is dedicated to training with instructors of MENAHT (Middle Eastern, North-African, Hellenic, & Turkish) origin. She has trained with: Dina Talaat (Egypt), Tito Seif (Egypt), Tommy King (Egypt), Zara (UK), Karim Nagi (Egypt), Lebanese Simon (Lebanon),  Didem (Turkey), Samir Hussain (Egypt), Khadijah (KSA), Azad Kaan (Turkey), Issam Houshan (Syria), Pierre Khoury (Syria) and Alia Thabit (USA). She has also studied with a number of instructors from Italy, Brazil, Poland, Mexico, Argentina, Japan, and the U.S.

Cultural knowledge is very important to Elizabeth. As such, her classes do not merely focus on movement, but also on cultural knowledge about the regions from which Raqs Sharqi comes from. She continues to attend a number of lectures annually by MENAHT and non-MENAHT origin dancers alike to ensure that she stays up-to-date on important cultural context. She also holds a certificate in Egyptian Art & Archaeology from Harvard University.