Dancers/Teachers in » Enmore «
One of Sydney's doyennes of belly dance, Leonie Sukan not only runs a successful belly dance school but organises one of the premier events on the Australian belly dancing calendar, the Sydney Middle Eastern Dance Festival. For Sydney dancers, it's quite simply an unmissable event - and bellydancers come from all over Australia to take part in workshops, dance in the Sunday showcase, attend the concert and ball, and shop at the Souk.
Leonie is a fun and knowledgeable teacher and one of the few in Sydney who teaches the Turkish style. For more information on classes, visit her website.
Below is a clip from the 2008 festival concert:
What can I say about Georgette? I've taken her classes (currently at Amera's Palace in Newtown and Hips Don't Lie Belly Dance Academy at Parramatta). Her lively, bubbly personality is a great motivator - plus she really knows her stuff. She's also a lovely entertaining dancer, with precise technique and an irreverent sense of fun - book her through Born to Bellydance.
This performance at the 2008 Sydney Middle Eastern Dance Festival is typical. I wish you could have seen the whole thing - I saw it live and she shimmied...and shimmied...and shimmied some more. Then she mimed feeling a bit faint (still shimmying) and a roadie rushed out with a bottle of water. She took it and threw it back - still shimmying - then, revived, shimmied even more! Comedy and awesome skill at the same time - amazing!
The next clip is of a surprise performance sprung on Georgette at the Hips Don't Lie Hafla, so it's totally improvised:
Lisi Hannan is a Brazilian-born belly dancer, now based in Sydney. These videos are a great example of her fluid style. If you'd like to learn her moves, she's currently teaching at Amera's Palace in Enmore and at the North Sydney Community Centre.
Lisi's new website at www.lisihannan.com.au is now live!
Another male belly dancer based in Sydney. Visit Jamil's website for bookings and information. His Saturday classes at Amera's Palace are generating a lot of buzz too - by all accounts they are a great workout both technically and aerobically!
Also watch out for Jamil's belly dance troupe, Attar, featuring Danielle Lopes, Lisi Hannan, Magda Georgieva and Sophie Alize. Here they are at the Sydney Middle Eastern Dance Festival: