home health aide. I love gardening, learning about herbs, and I enjoy dance!
Music and dance have always been a part of my life. My Mom passed this passion on
to me. I remember doing the polka in the hallway of our house with my Mom and
Nana. My Dad loved to dance, too, and when I danced with him, my feet often left
the ground.
I first did bellydance in 2nd grade, when five other girls and I had that part in the
Nutcracker. We got our ideas from movies. In 1999, I took a five-week class from
Marjan at BOCES and enjoyed it, but didn't know it would lead to anything. In
2001, a co-wroker sent me to the Glowfest in Munnsville, NY, where I saw Adi
Shakti for the first time. WOW! I saw a power radiate from the dancers, and I was
hooked. I took lessons from Elay and was soon performing with the group.
Bellydance has helped me grow as a person in so many ways. It has helped to give me
confidence and patience with myself. My troupe means so much to me. Having a
group of women to share time with is a new experience, as I have four brothers and
two sons.
I hope you enjoy our perfromances as much as we enjoy sharing the dance with you!
was at a club to see a local band performing. Elay, my future dance
instructor, was performing with another bellydancer, and I picked up one of
her business cards. When New Year's rolled around, I made a resolution to
give her a call, and thus began my bellydancing adventure! I've been
dancing for three years.
I'm 32 years old and have been married for six years. My husband and I
have a five-year old daughter and a German Shepherd who acts like a little
kid! I work full-time plus at a hardware/electronics store and taking care
of my family. In my spare time, I like to ride my '90 Kawasaki Ninja 500,
which I detailed myself. I like to hunt with my shotgun and bow, and I'm
an accomplished shooter.
Among my creative outlets are drawing tattoo designs and designing dance
costuming. I have a couple piercings along with a couple of tattoos of my
own design. I see bellydancing as a way to express my inner feelings, and I
hope to continue dancing throughout my future.
around the age of 6 or 7, there was something in the melodic sound of the flute, oud and
earthy drumbeats that called to my inner being. Though at times subdued, through the years
that followed, it waited patiently, dormant, deep inside until awakened in the mid-1970's by
an ad in the local newspaper for bellydance lessons. I was entranced the very first lesson by
my instructor, who performed the graceful and enchanting, "Dance of the Seven Veils."
This love affair with Middle Eastern dance led to the formation of a dance troupe, and we
performed at various events and clubs in Central NY including the State Fair, Sterling
Renaissance Festival, et al. We danced with a live band for diners at the Phonecian
Restaurant and at weddings and parties for the local Mid-Eastern community. We even
participated in the then-fashionable practice of "bellygrams," where we performed at private
homes, as well as in public.
I took the dance name, Rajat, which was infinitely more mysterious and exotic than my own
and taught my own classes, group and private. Life moved on, and by the late 80's, the strains
of Eddie "the Sheik" Kolchak and George Abdo became dim memories. I became more
entrenched in work, long hours in the garden...I became a grandmother!
15 years passed, and a co-worker mentioned a "Dancing Your Goddess" class she was taking.
A quiet voice said, "go." I watched a dress rehearsal by the instructor's troupe with my
granddaughter perched on my lap. Though not the cabaret style in which I was trained, the
music and movements of American Tribal/Fusion brought the Sheharazade in me welling
up--Rajat was being reborn--I dusted off my zils, dragged my harem pants out of storage, and,
I think this time I'll dance till I drop!
