Ellisha: Tribal & Cabaret Bellydance; Fire Performance; Henna Body Art; et cetera What is your dance background? My dance journey began 16 years ago with bellydance with Yasmina. I was instantly hooked, obsessed if you will, with the dance and learning as much as possible from as many as possible. I have since studied Flamenco, Salsa, African, Hip Hop, Bhangra, and Bollywood which all lend to my interpretation of the dance. I have had the honor of studying dance with Yasmine, Morgianna, Drazica, and Jazille to name a few of my local instructors. What is your favorite music to dance to? I love music and will dance to everything! If I had to choose a fav genre it would be Electronica, specifically modern remixing of ancient sounds. Who are your inspirations in dance? Rachel Brice, Zoe, Urban Tribal, Suhaila Salimpour, Unmata, and Zafira to name a few! Joanna: Tribal & Cabaret Bellydance; Fire Performance; Henna Body Art; et cetera Nicole: Tribal & Cabaret Bellydance; Fire Performance; et cetera Kirsten: Tribal & Cabaret Bellydance; Fire Performance; et cetera What is your dance background? Ballet, tap and Jazz through my early teens. I was introduced to belly dance by my best friend just after I graduated from college and I studied with Jill Parker of Ultra Gypsy and Frederique David formerly of Romani and now of Belly Groove. I have taken classes from Suhaila Salimpour and Rachel Brice. I was also a founding member of the cooperative troupe Lotus Tribal Belly Dance in the San Francisco Bay Area for 5 years and was influenced by the other members Kerri Naslund, Mary Good, Stephanie Maurer and Meliza Wells. What is your favorite music to dance to? No particular favorites. I tend to steer away from the more traditional cabaret type of music and prefer music with a more modern sound. Although I always love the sound of a good drum solo. Who are your inspirations in dance? Suhaila Salimpour, Rachel Brice, Jill Parker, Frederique David and Heather Stants for sure! Babs: Tribal & Cabaret Bellydance; Fire Performance; et cetera What is your dance background? I have been studying performance art & dance since I was 11, having grown up in a performance family. While I was around classic greek bellydance since I was a small child, I only began studying 5 years ago, right about the same time I began playing with fire arts. I love to learn new movements and am hoping to tackle salsa, breakdancing & additional fire acts very soon. What is your favorite music to dance to? I enjoy fast music with lots of layers. Bellydance is all about isolation, making one part of your body move while the rest stays out of the enunciation. I like to work to that end to incredibly fast drumbeats. I also can't get enough surf music, which is usually just sped up classic bellydance melodies. Who are your inspirations in dance? As far as bellydancers go, I can't get enough of the old school cabaret performers with all of their super-sass! I love to watch Helena Vlahos and Ava Fleming, they both have that power to mesmerize and crack me up at the same time when they do a show. I am also super-honored to get to dance with the talented ladies of Deja Dance, who's shows I have been delighted by for years.