Tribal Belly Dance is growing worldwide!

Imagine, a dance that connects women internationally through non verbal communication via American Tribal Style (ATS) Belly Dance.

This style of Belly Dance originated in San Francisco by Carolena Nericcio of FatChanceBellyDance only 2 decades ago. Now it's popularity has migrated from the West Coast to the East Coast and Canada. It's not what people think of when you say belly dance. It's "West meets East". ATS Belly Dance has now gained popularity in England, Australia, Norway, Finland and Russia. Who knows where it will turn up next?

When I first discovered this dance in 1999, it was hard to find. I ended up in Chicago for a job and studied it there. Then brought ATS Belly Dance to Seattle in 2001. A lot has changed since then. Now, since opening Skin Deep Dance Studio in 2007, I have had the opportunity to teach students that have relocated to Seattle with a background in ATS from their former towns. It is a joy to dance with these women!

The beauty of this dance is that the steps are universal when following the FCBD format. This improvisational group dance consists of 2 or more dancers. We teach a language of steps with simple cues and transitions. Leaders are positioned on the left and followers are positioned to the right. The positions and formations change as the dancers progress to the next phase in the dance.

So, the idea is that anyone that studies this particular dance form can improv with anyone else that studies ATS. For example, a dancer from Seattle could dance with someone from Finland using nonverbal communication (cues).

Talk about world peace. It's that simple. Once dance step at a time.

Check it out! http://skindeepdance.com

Katrina Hellbusch, LMP

ATS Belly Dance Instructor, Certified by Carolena Nericcio of FCBD & Artistic Director of Skin Deep