Owner of Transitions Yoga and Dance Studio and Director of Troupe Arabesque. Wendy is a full time dance and movement instructor with 15 years of professional teaching experience. Education includes an honors B.S. degree in Sports Medicine with a variety of certifications and continuing education credits including Suhaila Salimpour Level I, American Tribal Style Gerneral Studies Certification with Carolena Nerricio of Fat Chance Belly Dance,Yoga Alliance RYT, Pilates Alternative Fitness Body IQ, and more.

Her travels to Egypt and India deepen her understanding of culture and highten a level of respect to these worlds where time moves much slower and where tradition is something to value. Her teaching and performance style is a modern blend of nuance, body awareness, and where old world meets new world. She teaches 20 hours a week and produces thier annual all student theatrical dance show every June.

Wendy performs American Tribal Style, American Cabaret, Jazzaret, Belly Dance Hip Hop, and Folklore. Her dance mantra; Fuse It! Dont confuse it...know your Raqs roots.

Belladonna is an innovative and experienced dancer who teaches and performs regularly in NOVA and D.C.. She has extensive training in Egyptian and other Arabic styles, as well American Tribal Style and tribal fusion. She has also studied many other ethnic dance forms and is 1/2 of the tribal duo Romka'. Check out her web site for information about her up coming classes and performances at www.belladonnadance.net

Sammati premiers as DC’s own pure American Tribal Style (ATS) belly dance troupe.

Marci, performer and instructor, comes to Sammati from world renowned Devyani Dance Company. Marci currently holds the Fat Chance Belly Dance (FCBD) General Skills certification and will be completing her Teacher Training with Carolena Nericcio in April of 2007, becoming the only FCBD certified instructor in the Mid-Atlantic states.

Certified Level I in the Suhaila Salimpour format, Kaihea, Founder and President of Washington, DC’s professional tribal belly dance association, DCTribal, comes to Sammati from tribal fusion and rave club dancing roots.

Jen, also ATS General Skills certified, comes to Sammati from DC’s own Benat Baharat with over 10 years of experience building the ATS format into a performance art.

All three members have studied intensely with American Tribal Style belly dance creator Carolena Nericcio, director and founder of FatChanceBellyDance, and her partner Megha Gavin, director of Devyani Dance Company. United in their passion for maintaining the pure beauty and art of ATS and in line with ATS’ original purpose of building connection through group improv and beautiful, powerful tribal belly dance movement. Sammati lives true to its name, in a growing community with the dancers following the pathway to ATS enlightenment. For more information, please visit www.sammati.net

Marta is a respected soloist and troupe belly dancer in the DC area. Her expertise includes American and Tribal (ATS and fusion) style belly dance.

Marta performs at private parties, belly dance shows, arts festivals, and area restaurants. Marta is well-regarded for her choreographies, her technique and musicality. She currently teaches in DC and is available for private instruction.

Contact Marta via email at marta@moveyourbelly.com or visit her website at www.moveyourbelly.com for more information.

The Shakra dancers of the Tribal Grove are performers of a wide range of tribal fusion dance styles.

You can find them frolicking amongst artists and fairies at many outdoor festivals and gatherings as well as dancing in the urban alternative club scene up and down the East Coast.

Alexis is a dancer in the Washington, D.C. area known for her smooth undulations and enthralling stomach movements. Alexis performs at both public and private events, locally and nationally. As a dancer and instructor, Alexis is guided first and foremost by the joy of the dance, and its role in making the world a better place.

For more information, visit her web site at www.tribalfusionbellydance.com.

Mab is a wonderful spirit who enjoys painting and playing many different styles of music, including Turkish, Greek, Middle Eastern, Central European, Balken and Early Music. Mab spends at least half of the year on the road traveling to faires, festivals and events. She plays with several different groups and musicians, like Baraka Mundi and Mince Pye (an early music ensemble) as well as other individual musicians. Currently, Mab is working on a project to produce a Jal A Drum CD.

For more information, visit jaladrum.org.

Mandara is a world fusion belly dance ensemble based out of southwest Virginia. They perform group dances inspired by dance traditions from along the Silk Road (India, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain). Mandara's dancing celebrates the human spirit and expresses physical strength and beauty as well as each dancer's unique interaction within the community as a whole. The dances they perform are meant to celebrate life in all stages through music and movement.

They are available for a variety of performances as well as instruction. For more information, please contact them via email at mandaradance@yahoo.com or visit Mandara's web site at www.mandaradance.com.

Washington DC’s premier tribal fusion duo Romka mingles the ancient and modern to create a new and captivating performance experience. Romka dances along the edge of tribal and fusion belly dance through skilled fusion of global dance forms and cultural elements. For more information visit www.romkadance.com

Samira performs numerous styles of Raqs Sharqi with various specialties: Egyptian, Turkish, Romany, American cabaret, cane, veil, zills, neo-tribal and soon sword. She also choreographs and performs Modern Oriental Fusion and studies Tribal Fusion Middle Eastern Dance.

Troupe 'Hip'notic seeks to entertain and culturally enrich Southern Maryland through our performance of Middle Eastern dance. At the same time, they hope to remove the unfortunate and negative image often associated with this ancient art form by educating the public about belly dance and continuing to perform in a manner befitting this great dance.

We wish to continually challenge ourselves and develop as dancers while reinforcing the bonds between the members of our troupe. Most importantly we seek to enjoy ourselves through the experiences of our dance and our friendships.

For more information about Troupe 'Hip'notic, visit their web site at www.troupehipnotic.com.

Asharah aims to blend her training in the Suhaila Salimpour technique with the poise and strength of American Tribal Style belly dance. She is best known for her dramatic fusion of tribal and cabaret styles, but also has extensive experience in Turkish, Egyptian, and American bellydance. Asharah is featured on the groundbreaking DVD Gothic Bellydance: The Darker Side of Fusion, produced by World Dance New York.

She is currently a faculty member of DC's premier dance studio, Joy of Motion Dance Center, where she teaches tribal fusion bellydance. As a student of Middle Eastern history, she believes that every belly dancer must know the history and culture of this dance, whether she is performing it in its traditional forms or fusing it with others.

For more information, please visit www.asharah.com.

Sera is an instructor, performer and choreographer of tribal fusion bellydance based in New York city.

She performs for parties, weddings, restaurants and special events, including regular performances Thursday evenings at Zatinya (accompanied by master drummer Erkan) and Friday evenings at Marrakesh in Washington, D.C.

Sera strives to create dynamic performances unbound by genre and tradition. She uses bellydance as a medium to make interpretive performance art. Sword and fire props are her specialty.