All the dancing I’ve done in my life has given me the bodily awareness and dedication needed to learn the moves in belly dance. I was used to performing, working hard on my craft, and paying attention to unusual musical intricacies, which made belly dance a welcome challenge. Also, as I was wrapping up my Irish dancing career, my physiotherapist suggested I try a form of dance that didn’t require jumping or pounding into the floor, but that required more torso movement. Belly dance became a welcome entity to me physically, emotionally, and professionally.

What attracted me to the Zambra Mora form was this discovery of something that combined one of my newer passions and one of my older ones. Zambra Mora has the sharpness and ferocity that you find in flamenco, and allows you to juxtapose the taconeo (feet stamping), palmas (hand claps), and flamenco port de bras while maintaining the softness and vulnerability you encounter in belly dance.

I love teaching. I grew up watching my mother teach and I remember not being able to wait until I could begin. I’ve been able to keep a fairly light-hearted teaching environment and still get results. I adjust my attitude towards each individual based on what their goals are, and what I know they’re capable of. I started teaching when I was 18, and sometimes I couldn’t understand why some people didn’t want to be professionals or the best in the world! It took me time to be able to have the ability to put myself in someone else’s shoes (or hip scarf) and adjust my methods accordingly.