Ayse

Being of Turkish-American decent, one might say that belly dance is in my blood.

I grew up in California, and in high school,  was a member of the color guard.  This is where I first began to dance whilst spinning & tossing  props.  Little did I know it would transform into a career balancing swords, manipulating veils & spinning fire.

Although I had grown up with belly dance all my life, it wasn’t until I’d moved to Arizona–in 1996–that I came to discover American Tribal Style.  My first teacher (& director ) was Andrea McShane-Radoccio.

After I moved  back to Southern California in 2000, I found that there were no tribal groups in the vicinity of Thousand Oaks (where I live).  Not wanting to focus exclusively on a solo career (I’d fallen in love with the female comradery, with the possibility of complex choreography & aesthetic beauty of many women dancing together.  I longed to be a part of another troupe.), I decided to teach.

I formed Sundara Varna in 2001.   In 2006, the troupe transformed into She’enedra.  In the meantime,  I wanted my students to have the opportunity to perform at festivals and small local shows.   So, I co-founded &  directed the Sisterhood Dance Collective.  With the Sisterhood, I began to really test my skills as a choreographer (sometimes having to move as many as twenty+ dancers across the stage).  Recently, I’ve transformed the Sisterhood into my new project… Wild Routes Tribal Bellydance.   I  also joined BellydanceFusion Los Angeles (B.F.L.A.), a new dance collective created in order to showcase the amazing bellydance talent that exists in the Los Angeles area.  Look for post and news of these new and amazing projects.

Always studying dance in multiple forms, my influences are eclectic and broad in scope.   They include ballet, jazz, hip hop, African, Dunham modern, classical Indian, and various folk and belly dances. I have many muses and teachers for which I am thankful : Carolena Nericcio, Jill Parker, Ansuya, Heather Stants, Sabrina Fox, Teri Walden, Sahyber Rawles, & Robert Salas are just a named few.

My life-path doesn’t end with dance.  I’m also a massage therapist.  Studying anatomy for massage has given me further understanding of body mechanics which I’ve greatly utilized in dance.  In addition to all of this, I study Permaculture and have gotten my PDC and am continuing my studies.   I want to continually increase my part in helping to spread sustainable design for community development throughout the world.

Sincerely,

Ayse Cerami