Dance Bio

[shanmonster]

I hate writing these things, but it seems necessary. What do you think of this? I'm sure it needs work.

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Shantell Powell is a fusion dancer with a great love of performance. Along with being a theatre graduate from the University of New Brunswick, she has trained extensively in movement arts, studying with the following dance artists:

- Catherine Linfield (American cabaret)
- Terry Harper (Lebanese raqs sharqi)
- Denise Enan (Egyptian raqs sharqi and folkloric)
- Yasmina Ramzy (Egyptian raqs sharqi, Saidi)
- Jalilah (Egyptian raqs sharqi, Ghawazee)
- Hadia (Egyptian raqs sharqi, Ghawazee, teacher training)
- Carrie Hiebert (American Tribal Style)
- Artemis Mourat (Rromany dance, Turkish raqs sharqi)
- Tayyar Akdeniz (Rromany dance, Turkish folkloric)
- Belinda Ferguson (Raqs sharqi, Saidi)
- Morocco (Raqs sharqi, Guedra trance ritual)
- Marilyn Paris (Zaar, raqs sharqi)
- Tarik Sultan (Raqs sharqi)
- Yamoussa Camara (West African)
- Iman (Flamenco)
- Dr. Zsuzsa Szabo-Nyarady (Martha Graham modern, Pilates)
- Sephira (American cabaret, circular veil)
- John Butters (Fire dance)
- Oceanfire (American Tribal Style, tribal fusion)

Her movement studies took her in areas separate from dance. She studied Ashtanga yoga with Ruth Merrett, and is an amateur body builder. She's studied for her group fitness theory certification at the YMCA, later going on to teach dance-inspired fitness classes. She has also taken movement awareness classes at the University of New Brunswick. She did extensive training in various martial arts including Okinawan Goju-Ryu karate-do (under tutelage of Kyoshi Ken Tallack), Wu-style t'ai chi chu'an (Sifu Martin Kennedy), and Hung Gar kung fu (Sifu Danny Norrad and Sifu Ricky Cote under tutelage of Sifu Jay Tse) at Wei Chin Kung Fu.

Shantell's fusion dance style draws heavily upon her raqs sharqi and martial arts background.

Comments

[elanya.livejournal.com]

what is it for?

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

Multiple purposes, really. Firstly, as a bio for writing (although that would definitely need to be shortened, in this case). Secondaly, as a bio for teaching dance workshops.

[elanya.livejournal.com]

then dave is definitely wright. What I would do is write a bio, and then at the end, depending on what you are doing workshop wise, add the 'she has studied with', and inly include the relevant dancers. I mean, if you are teaching straight raks, then having studied west african or hiphop is less relevant, or may seem so to potential workshop attendees/students. It is still good to say you have studied many styles and with many different teacher, generally, but also talk about why that is actually a good thing. What has studying all these different forms of movement really taught you, what will it help you pass on, how does it help you be a better teacher, what do you have to teach, what is your dance/movement philosophy, etc etc etc!

My mind is going in many directions atm, but I hope that will give you some things to think about.

[shanmonster.livejournal.com]

I can't see myself teaching a straight-forward raqs workshop. I'd definitely be teaching fusion material.

But yes, I do need to tout myself up. Ugh.