About Sacha

I was originally inspired to join bellydance classes 10 years ago when I first saw Shakira's music video for "Whenever, Wherever". I fell in love with the hypnotic hipwork and mesmerising belly movements and thought "I want to be able to do that!" So, my friend and I found a local bellydance teacher and nervously went to our first class.

From the moment we stepped through the door, we were hooked!

My teacher at that time was the amazing Turkish bellydancer, Nese, who taught me so much and helped me get over my shyness. Her emphasis on improvisation and listening to the music has stayed with me and I love to just put on some music and see where the music takes me and let my soul tell a story.

With ever increasing enthusiasm, I devoured books, articles, and anything else I could get my hands on to discover more about this most ancient and beautiful of art forms. I found that there is a whole world of bellydance out there, and I went and attended as many workshops as I could fit in. I also studied for my teacher training qualification with ASMED and became a member of Mosaic and WADA.

My curiosity caused me to seek out other classes too, and I found the wonderful and welcoming warmth of Charareh from the 1001 Nights Dance Society. Her classes gave me a foundation in Persian style and I performed regularly with the society, including at the Bath Dance Festival in 2009.

I have attended many festivals and workshops around the country. Here are just some of the amazing teachers I have studied with: including with Nesrin Topkapi, Mira Betz, Artemis Mourat, Morocco, Sadie, Aziza, Khaled Mahmoud, Ozgen, the Bellydance Superstars, Ava Fleming, Vashti, Sharon Kihara, Ariellah, Samantha Emanuel, and many more besides.

I have performed in various restaurants, parties, haflas and festivals in and around Bristol, and have danced at weddings and taught workshops for hen parties. I have also performed with the live music band, The Brothers of the Baladi, and have danced several times at Planet Egypt in London.

I have been teaching for about 3 years, and I would describe my classes as warm and friendly with a solid foundation in technique but a great emphasis on fun and falling in love with the music. My students are really friendly and I formed a dance troupe a couple of years ago, the Damara Dancers, and we regularly perform together, taking inspiration from the many workshops we attend together.

I have developed a bit of a reputation as a Turkish Roma (gypsy) dancer, as I am absolutely in love with this style. It seems to speak to me on a level like no other style, but in truth, I'm in love with all styles of bellydance that it's hard to pick out any one as my favourite. They all have so much to offer.

I love to study the origins and meanings of the dance, but I also believe that dance is an organic art form that changes and develops with time. I love to see individuality and passion in a dancer so that no one is exactly the same and I find the fusing of styles really exciting.