​WAMED is delighted to introduce to you – Shahrzad!
 
Shahrzad is a professional dance instructor and performer specializing in Raqs Sharqi and traditional and social dance styles from around North Africa and the Middle East. To supplement her 20+ years of dance training Shahrzad also holds several fitness certifications including becoming a PMA certified Pilates instructor in 2013.
 
She started her dance training at the age of 11 and began her professional dance career in her late teens working as a teacher and performer on the East Coast of the US. She began to get international recognition and bookings after several of her performance videos went viral online and she was hired to film a series of instructional DVDs by an international company. In 2015 Shahrzad moved to Egypt to live and work full time and has since enjoyed a successful career as a performer appearing in top performance venues as well as film and media. 
 
During covid she started her business’ 'Shahrzad Studios’ which includes an online dance school, private dance and music programs in Cairo, and tours of Egypt. She currently splits her time between traveling to teaching dance workshops around the world, running her business from her home in Cairo, and performing and teaching at special events around Egypt.


We are so excited to be able to host Shahrzad at WAMED 2025l!

Alison is a Bellydancer based in Sydney.  She has been studying and performing Raqs Sharqi for 2 decades. She started her bellydance journey in California which continues to influence her style. She has had experience dancing in many different venues including restaurants, cafes, competitions and festivals.
Alison has also been working in the field of mental health for 2 decades as Psychotherapist.
She is planning to continue to do more teaching combining both her backgrounds as a Bellydancer and as a therapist.

Alma Sarhan’s photography needs no introduction as she is one of the top dance photographers in the country. Her work was a regular feature in Bellydance Oasis Magazine and she has photographed the WAMED concerts for many years. Alma has also been a bellydance performer and teacher for 30 years and was a finalist in the Fremantle International Portrait Prize in 2017 with one of her dance photographs. Her work featured in The Art of Bellydance exhibition as part of WAMED Festival 2019.
She is a Fremantle-based artist and advertising art director. She specialises in photographing dancers (in particular belly dancers), musicians and cats.
Alma is a graduate of the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland

Belyssa, one of the pioneers of Australian bellydance, journeyed from New York to Perth, creating the Belyssa  Academy of Danse Orientale and the Flames of Araby Belly Dance Troupe. She continues to inspire  generations of new and developing dancers with her extensive cultural knowledge, innovative teaching techniques and creative artistry. Belyssa captivates her audiences and brings a dramatic flair to the stage, as well as her fun workshops which will challenge and extend you as a dancer.

Charmaine Louise is a Dancer, ritual artist, shamanic craftswoman & mother. Her love of bellydance began in 2005 when she attended classes with Eva at Sheik to Sheik. She loved the connection it created, with herself and with other women. The feeling of community and sisterhood is what really made her heart sing and kept her showing up to the dance. Her dance journey has been one of self healing and she loves to share the magic that happens when women dance and connect on a deep level.

Charmaine Louise performed in a professional capacity for a number of years under the guidance of Belyssa. She has also studied and performed other modalities including Flamenco & African dance. While living in NSW she studied and performed with Jrisi Jusakos and dove deep into womens rites of passage, undertaking training with Jane Hardwicke Collings and becoming a Shamanic Womancraft practitioner.
Charmaine is now combining that cyclical wisdom with dance, in order to empower women, unlock the permission and self-worth to be expressive and magical and turn dancing into divine Sekhem.

Charmaine gives great thanks for her Mentors and Muses from the dance world & beyond (including but not limited to) Francesca Lilith Miceli, Eva Cass, Belyssa Radzivanas, Jrisi Jusakos, Sophia Blanton Farida Rabih, Paloma Gomez, Francesca Grima, Marina Tamayo, Jayne Hardwicke Collings & Arahni Lion.

Johara is an established performer and teacher based in Sydney. She has a wealth of knowledge having studied with many Australian and international teachers. Johara has developed into a passionate dancer and has a unique style that draws from her diverse knowledge of Folkloric genres to Classical and Modern Egyptian Raqs Sharqi. She integrates fluid footwork, graceful turns and spins with dynamic Egyptian hip and belly movements.

Since 2014 Johara has delved into the history of the Awalim as well as their style of dance. She has had the privilege of studying privately with two of the pre-eminent international experts in this field - Nisaa of St Louis and Shining Peacekeeper - as well as conducting her own research into the dance style and techniques.

Over the years, Johara has been a regular favourite at many Australian dance festivals, as well as travelling to teach and perform internationally. Currently teaching online dance technique (as well as yoga) classes with Inspire Bellydance, students enjoy her detailed knowledge, technical skill and precision, as well as her deep understanding of body mechanics.

Her resume and her dancing are impressive and varied, reflecting her passion and love for both the dance as well as sharing her knowledge with students and audiences alike.

Karen has loved creating headwraps to add to her dance presentation and has throughly enjoyed the research to learn about the huge diverse reasons for headwrapping . She doesn’t confine wrapping just to dance. Great for a bad hair day!!
Karen love’s history and research, she now wants to, among other things, research the history of tassels!!

Hailed as Adelaide’s Queen of Slink, Kalikah Jade is a mesmerizing belly dance veteran of 18 years who has captivated audiences Australia wide with her signature high-octane acts. A fearless trailblazer who has defied convention with her artistic vision and unwavering passion for heavy alternative beats, with each electrifying performance Kalikah earns her reputation as a sought-after artist who sets every stage ablaze with a mere flick of her hips. Kalikah's experience in theatrical style performances has helped her develop her skills in both makeup and costuming, and she is known for her polished, OTT on stage looks.

Laila is a Raqs Sharqi performer and teacher based in Naarm/Melbourne. Her love for Raqs Sharqi was born through her first teacher, her mother Luiza learning by dancing alongside her during performances. She’s also influenced by her Syrian roots from her father’s side of the family.
Over the years Laila has honed her dancing practice drawing upon dance from the golden era to the present studying and performing both locally and internationally.

Lakita is a hypnotic performance artist and movement teacher based in Boorloo (Perth), Australia. Known for her unique fusion of the timeless artform of Bellydance, Lakita leads studio and online classes with a focus on bringing you right to the core of your body, teaching you to move with a serpentine and fluid quality, full of sensuality and confidence. Her classes take you on a journey through lush yoga sequences and Bellydance technique practices that weave in and out of each other, slowly, like a meditative dance full of breathe and strength, all while dripping in audio heaven.

Liz has been dancing for over 20 years, and sewing/crafting for more than double that. She is addicted to bling, and her craft stash is slowly encroaching over the whole house.

Margaret holds degrees in Education (BTch) and in Community and Leadership (GradDip)  and has been teaching and learning Romani and Egyptian dances for 25 years. She is based in Brisbane, Australia where she established her popular dance school, Soul Dance School of Romani and Middle Eastern Dance, in 2002. Over this time Margaret has established the reputation of a teacher who comes informed and prepared and has exceptional teaching skills.  Her areas of specialty are Egyptian bellydance, Turkish Rom, Golden Era bellydance, and her original fusion format, Mozaik Global Fusion which brings her two loves of Romani and Bellydance into one passionate celebration.
Margaret has researched endlessly, educated intensively and travelled to source countries to learn directly from the artists of the cultures as well as supporting and sponsoring visiting source artists and master teachers in Australia. She has studied Spanish, Macedonian, North Indian, Egyptian, Turkish and Russian Romani dance traditions and directed three successful Romani dance troupes featuring both male and female dancers.
Her career highlights (so far) have been her time spent in the Roma neighbourhoods in Turkey and Macedonia, her renowned Soul Of Egypt cultural tours (est 2007), the founding of the Chrysalis Dancers Retreat and her original dance creation, Mozaik Global Fusion.

Natalie is a highly respected movement educator and certified Language of Dance® Master Practitioner. She is a member of the International Council of Kinetography Laban, and co-director of WAMED Festival.

 
Natalie has studied with distinguished performing artists including Dr Lynne Bradley of Zen Zen Zo (Australia), Body-Mind Centering® developer Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (USA), choreographer Alexandra Beller (USA), Antonio Fava at the Scuola Internazionale di Commedia dell’Arte (Italy), puppeteer Richard Bradshaw (Australia), puppeteer and director Philip Mitchell (Australia), director and biomechanics expert Ralf Rauker (Germany), Philippe Thibaudeau of Cirque du Soleil (Canada), and stage combat master Andy Fraser (Australia).  

Raven is the director of (WAMED Sponsor) The Shamanic Healing Way. She has worked as a Shamanic Healer for 30 years. With a background in Psychology, Education and Counselling, she channels jer Guardians and other Light Beings to help you release emotional wounds, trauma or other negative experiences. This enables you to have less fear, less self-doubt or other limited self perceptions or thought patterns and move forward in your life with more confidence, self-worth, ease and a greater understanding of yourself and how you can create your life the way you’d like it to be.

Regan is the director of Belly Dance Arabesque Dance and Yoga Studio and the Divine Elements Dance Company in Adelaide. She is a certified Personal Trainer and Yoga Therapist and has studied with many top dancers over her long career as a dancer. Her depth of skill is diverse with influences from traditional styles of Belly Dance and Turkish Romani to Tribal Improvisation and World Fusion styles. Her love of dance has taken her to teach, train and perform all over the world with her blend of traditional and creative style. What lights her up is the way dance can bring a community together in movement and joy, in support and healing. Regan is a dedicated teacher and passionate artist, always striving to learn more and share more and to cultivate a dance space where everyone feels welcome.

Rose, is regarded as one of Australia's most sought after performers and instructors, whose technique and innovative choreography have garnered international regard. A disciplined professional, she has extensive experience in performing and entertaining audiences from restaurants to gala openings and large theatrical settings both in Australia and overseas. Rose is the pinnacle of passion, technique and powerful creative expression, She combines grace and elegance with an intensity that grabs you and doesn’t let you go till the end of the dance!

Rose will be weaving her magic, supported by the incredible musicans from the Afraah Ensemble, a talented and skiful group of amazing music makers who will supply the thread for the tapestry of dance you will create in this workshop.
 
Michael Edelby Oud and Lebanese drum
Julia Watson Violin
Zakaria Malahfji Tabla and Riq
Alma Sarhan Riq and Lebanese drum
Rose Ottaviano Dancer

Samantha has been bellydancing for more than 20 years and has been teaching through her school, Border Bellydance in Albury-Wodonga, for more than 10 years. She’s rather interested (ok, obsessed) with the modern Egyptian styles of dance, especially Sha’abi and Raqs Sharqi, and has dedicated most of her last decade to understanding the innate connection Egyptians have with their music and how Aussie dancers can learn to express themselves the same way.

Tais Derbasova is a multi-award winning international performer, choreographer and instructor of the Middle Eastern dance. Her previous training in gymnastics and classical ballet back in her home country Russia help her today to incorporate the fluid motion and natural rhythm into her performances and choreographies. Over the years Tais has travelled internationally teaching and performing Middle Eastern dance in Australia, Egypt, Russia, Europe and Asia. She has been an official New Zealand Representative, expert teacher and judge at one of the largest Global Dance conferences 'Dance for Unity' held in Shanghai, China. She is the Director of Arabellas Bellydance School based in Auckland, New Zealand. Tais regularly performs and teaches at festivals and other major events throughout New Zealand and internationally.

Tara Yasmin has been dancing raqs sharqi since 2007, and travels regularly to continue her study in the art of Middle Eastern dance. Tara has a particular interest in dancing on mwashahat; an evocative and complex style of classical Arabic music, which highly influences her dance approach. She has travelled widely to learn how to translate poetry into motion with internationally acclaimed teachers including Nesma (Spain) and Faisal Zedan (Syria;USA).

Xaeda is a highly sort after instructor and performer .
Known for her diverse crossover of dance styles, dynamic teaching and creative abilities she approaches every event with a unique blend of technique and expression.