ishtarbellydancer.com - About Ishtar

Ishtar has been dancing from as far back as she can remember. She has danced ballet, tamure, hula, meke, disco from childhood and a fusion of dance forms including salsa, hip hop and of course belly dance. She has done Hatha yoga since 12 years old, and been a regular goer of aerobics and any new gym program, her favourite has always been "body jam" at Les Mills for the past 10 years, an upbeat blend of fusion dance and hip hop for a hard but fun workout. Ishtar's family owned and lived on an island resort and she has fortunately had the opportunity to gain experience from a young age on how to be an entertainer and performer. Shows and organising games for the tourist on her parents island resort have been invaluable and given Ishtar a special quality in bringing fun and joy to those she dances for. Belly dance has been her dance of choice and she has done a number of workshops with top dancers and teachers from New Zealand as well as overseas. Ishtar also feels that some people are blessed with being "Natural Dancers" and don't often need much tuition to take up a dance form. Ishtar has been fortunate to be able to 'watch and do' and has learnt to dance the Egyptian style from watching the Egyptian dancers. She has also spent many hours dancing and developing her own unique style based on good technic.
International Belly Dance Workshops "Elenie" - Arabesque Dance from Brisbane 2002 "Hossam & Serena Ramzy" from the UK 2004 "Amera Eid" Ameras Palace Sydney 2006 "WAMED festival workshops" & danced in WAMED shows June 2006 "Claire Naffah" workshops 2006, (she has trained with ledgendary Nadia Gamal) "Keti Sharif " Astrobelly launch workshop" 2006 "Orit Maftsir" 9 Mar to 11 Mar 2007, (Ishtar brought Orit to New Zealand for the first time and held workshops and was the show promotor for the Lotus of the Nile Show held at the Bruce Mason Theatre.) Cassandra Technic Workshop Nov 2007
Ishtar's Dance Philosophy - be an improvised dancer first and than be able to dance to a choreography second. A good dancer should be able to dance to music you have never heard before and allow the music and the body to become one. The music will stir the body and emotions to intuit movements that compliment the rhythyms, and individual instruments of the song. Each dancer is special and should be encouraged to develop their own style and to celebrate and enjoy individuality. This is something Bellydance is wonderful for. My favourite comment about Belly Dance/Oriental Dance is from Aida Nour as mentioned in the Gilded Serpent: Aida says she likes improvisation, and says that if a dancer has a very good technique and a good ear for the music she should 'just dance'. Aida believes that oriental dance is about a women's femininity. Because each woman has her own feeling, each one will have her own unique expression. "It comes from here" she said, as she tapped her chest. My personal opinion is 'Dance with passion from your heart and let your body sing to the music". Ishtar is always happy to dance for the community and charity shows. Send her an email if you wish for her to dance for your show to help fund raise for charity or for any worthy community event.
Special Acknowledgement There have been two very influential teachers in my life, Monique Feron and Helen Ferris, both Chalk and cheese ! Being a natural dancer and totally improvised all my life, Monique helped to balance that for me. Other than being the loveliest, kindest lady who has been a professional dancer/choreographer all her life, she taught me about choreography. Helen Ferris on the other hand brought me back to mother earth, to ground those movements and to bring me back to my improvised dancing. Both teachers, are well-known and continue to teach. Monique has her 'Abbraccia School of Dance' and Helen's is 'Helen Ferris School of Dance'. My gratitude to both for the knowledge they have shared and contributed to the dance as a whole. I thank God for the gifts given to me to be a creative dancer and the intuition in dance which I believe I channel. Thank you to my special Egyptian friends for their support and insight into their culture and dance. Most of all, I thank my wonderful Husband and best friend who loves and supports me in my dance, and my wonderful children who often attend shows. Thank you to those who love and support this wonderful Art form of bellydance.

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