Yara~"Little butterfly" in Arabic; "My oldest son helped me come up with this name, and I think it fits me well because I love the air/wind. Even when I was a little girl, I would stand in the front yard and try to conduct the wind through the trees."
BECAME A GYPSY IN: Janurary 2007. Desert Gypsy 2009, baby!
DANCE BACKGROUND: In various levels, I've studied ballet, tap, clogging, Middle Eastern, Scottish, Latin, NIA and even color guard (yeah, that was pretty brief because I discovered I don't have flag skills). I've always had a hard time staying still when good music is playing. OK, well to be honest, I have a hard time staying still at anytime. Beyond dance, I love other kinds of movement, as well. I study the martial arts, can swing a bat pretty well, and am one mean disco roller skater.
YEARS DANCING: I've been dancing formally since I was 3 and informally before that. I began studying Middle Eastern dance at the beginning of 2006.
INTRODUCED TO MIDDLE EASTERN DANCE BY: The first time I ever saw Middle Eastern dance up close was at the Armenian Cafe in Carlsbad, California. The dancer was beautiful, vivacious, and not rail-thin, which was refreshing to someone who isn't rail-thin and had spent a lot of time around dancers who were. So thank you, whoever you are. And thank you community ed for giving me the chance to study it myself with the amazing Halima, Odessa, Araylia, and Kalista.
FAVORITE STYLE OF BELLY DANCE: I like it all. I love the fusion of elements from lots of different styles. It keeps things interesting and fun.
STRENGTH: I'm good at showing how much I love life and dance on the stage. I really love to freestyle and dance with zills and a veil. I think I'm good at connecting with people in the audience, too.
WEAKNESS: I don't love wearing skirts, and there are a lot of them in this kind of dance (although I must admit that my new costume skirt is really growing on me--I like the way it twirls). I also am not always the best at staying in line. I'm still trying to get proficient on some of the Middle Eastern dance props, too. Right now, I'm rather dangerous with a cane and I can't quite get my tambourine to buzz every time, but I'm working on them.
EMBARRASSING MOMENT: Well, that would definitely be getting my foot caught in the drawstring thing on my skirt in the middle of a performance and, after several seconds of trying to get it out gracefully, just having to stop dancing and use my hands to disentangle my foot. Yeah, those skirts get me again.
FAVORITE PERFORMANCE: Wow, that's hard to choose. I love to perform, and all the venues are great in different ways. I think I especially enjoy dancing at Cedars of Lebanon and Mini-fest. But my most favorite "performances" of all are just dancing with my kids in the living room or by myself for my own enjoyment.
PASSION FOR DANCING: Dancing is when I feel most free and vibrant and like I am expressing who I am the very best. It is a way of reaching people and sharing joy with them that doesn't even require words. And it's incredibly fun!
OCCUPATION WHEN NOT DANCING: I am the wife of the most awesome guy I know and the mom of 2 amazing boys. I am hoping to become a NIA instructor soon. I sometimes get paid as a musician.
HOBBIES & INTERESTS: Besides dance (obviously), chillin' with the fam, NIA, yoga (I'm a certified instructor), music (playing and listening--I am especially fond of world music), languages (my BA is in linguistics), martial arts, travel, eating food from different countries, reading, watching good movies/TV shows, green living, learning new things, having LOTS of fun, doing good in the world, BEING HAPPY!!!