About Anon

        I was first introduced to bellydance at the tender young age of 5 or 6.  My grandmother used to have a cheeky 60’s or 70’s bellydance record that my cousin and I would beg her to play.  As soon as she started to make her way to the stereo cabinet, my cousin and I would run to her sewing room and stuff our waistbands with various scraps of fabric.  Then, when the music played, we would shake and shimmy until we were dizzy and tired.   Sadly, I didn’t return to bellydance until 2002 when some friends and I attended a local arts and crafts festival where bellydancing was listed in the entertainment schedule.  Watching them was indescribable; words could not, and still can not, describe how I felt.  At that moment, I knew that I had to learn bellydance!  Unfortunately, the contact person and future instructor, Veda Sereem, wasn’t teaching in southern Maryland yet and I had to wait another five months before classes were finally offered.  I began taking classes regularly, practicing regularly and later began buying music and costuming.  Within a years time, I was dancing publicly at student-level events.  As time progressed, I sought instruction with other instructors (Latifa and Yucy) and attended any workshops I had the time and money for.  Concurrently, many of Veda’s students and I would meet for 2-3 hours weekly to practice class movements and choreographies.  Inevitably, we soon evolved into a fledgling dance group simply seeking out dance opportunities at fun local events and venues.  Shortly thereafter we evolved further still to create a more formal and structured dance troupe called Troupe ‘Hip’notic.  Troupe ‘Hip’notic is a democratic bellydance troupe without a formal director.  Each woman brings different talents and skills to the table, and each woman uses those talents and skills to help run the troupe.
        Then…I moved.  Gasp!  I was offered a job in Oregon that resulted in my leaving Troupe ‘Hip’notic and my much missed dance sistas!  Prior to leaving, however, I sought out information regarding the bellydance scene in Newport.  I soon learned from some within the Oregon bellydance community that there wasn’t any bellydance to be found in Newport.  Oh no!  Rumor had it that there used to be a couple of instructors in the past, but that there weren’t any currently.  I felt completely disheartened.  But then, within my first week at my new job, someone asked me if I was going to teach bellydance classes?  This is not a decision one should take lightly!  Therefore, after some serious internal dialog and debate, I made my decision to begin teaching and to bring bellydance back to the Newport community.  Currently, I teach Beginner Level 1 and Beginner Level 2 classes at the Newport Parks and Recreation Center and love every minute of it!   
        What will the future hold?  More classes, more workshops, parades for the students, local and regional public performances for myself and who knows what else!  So stay tuned!