I began my belly dance journey with Shemiran. She's an excellent teacher for beginners, thanks to her structured approach to teaching. Her ability to break down and explain the movements, teaching them in manageable groups, provides a solid foundation. She's also very focussed on encouraging students to improvise and express themselves through dance.
Shemiran has now put her knowledge together in a course for belly dance teachers, which I heartily recommend (see the clip below). She also has a free student guide available on her website.
Shemiran is very committed to women's empowerment and her site, www.shemiranibrahim.com, has some inspiring material on that subject.
This clip doesn't do her justice - I'll try to get a better one!
Belly dancers in the Blue Mountains will be excited to hear that Shemiran is moving into the area!

Shemiran is an inspirational teacher, incorporating elements of tradition and exploring the power of the feminine within bellydance…
She really helped me connect back to my body, and unlock a joyous sensuality that had been too-long suppressed beneath tight-laced Western ideals…
I’d recommend her to anyone who wants to get in touch with their inner sense of womanhood
I was a student under Shemiran & I can highly recommend her as a teacher. I have had many teachers over the time I have studied Bellydance & I have found she is one of very few who focus on technique, which I find is vital to the craft of the dance.