ATS by Amy

History

I was born and raised in Lubbock, TX. While in law school there at the Texas Tech School of Law, I decided to take an exercise class to relieve stress. I saw a belly dancing class advertised so I signed up.

It was taught by two ladies from the middle east (Bahrain and Jordan) who were pursuing their Masters in Agriculture at TTU. They taught us the dance as well as some of the cultural considerations that go along with the dance. We had regular parties at their house, where the women would congregate in the kitchen or den and dance together while the men sat outside and smoked. It was my first introduction into middle eastern culture and how women and men interact in social settings.

After graduating from law school, I moved to Tucson, Arizona to attend library school. While in Tucson, I continued my training in the belly dancing cabaret style, although I also began taking folkloric lessons as well.

Additionally, I was dating a bagpiper named James and so I somehow found myself taking Scottish country dance lessons too! I ended up participating with them at the Phoenix Renaissance Faire, which is where I first saw Domba. I became interested in the fusion style Domba embodies and I decided to start looking at other types of belly dance other than cabaret or folkloric.

I attended in workshop in Phoenix about tribal dancing and found myself drawn to it.

After I graduated with my Master's of Library Science, I moved to San Diego for my first professional job. I continued to explore both cabaret and tribal styles during my first year in San Diego. In the spring of 2000, I became involved with a small local tribal dance troupe named Shuvani. It was funny because out of the six of us, three of us worked in libraries (two of us as librarians and one as computer support).

For the next few years, I sought to find and refine my own tribal style. I attended workshops, classes, and retreats with wonderful ATS teachers such as Paulette Rees-Denis, Kajira, Rachel Brice, and Rachael Lazrus-Soto, various members of Domba and Urban Gypsy.

After a few years, I started teaching basic and advanced tribal classes in San Diego, CA. I taught at a local community center for over four years and loved it! I taught classes where grandmothers, mothers, and granddaughters from the same family attended. I taught classes to women of all body shapes and styles.

One reason I like tribal so much is that the moves are very suited to women with curvy figures. Those without hips can find they have to work much harder to make a move visible than those of us who are blessed with big hips.

In 2005, I got a law librarian job in New Orleans, LA about two weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit. So instead of showing up to work in New Orleans, I moved briefly to Houston, TX. While there, I was lucky enough to find the classes of Urban Gypsy! Sahira and Zymirrah were excellent teachers and I learned many new moves and combos from them. I regularly attend their huge dance conference called 3rd Coast.

In January 2006, I relocated to my original destination, New Orleans. When I got here, I was lucky to run into Krys of Crescent Lotus Studio. She invited me to teach at her studio and I have been teaching tribal dance there for two years now. I am slowly becoming acquianted with other tribal teachers and groups in the area and have found everyone to be very welcoming.

So that's me. That's my dance history and lineage. When I teach classes, I always try to credit the moves I teach (i.e. "This is Kajira's arc turn combo.") I am still learning myself and continue to try and attend workshops and classes to update my skills. I invite you to join me on this dance journey...