BellyRing performances feature a combination of improvisation and choreography, incorporating movement and music from Improv Tribal Style, American Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion. The members of BellyRing are advanced level students at Chicago's Arabesque Dance Studio. BellyRing is under the direction of Eliza Perry.
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Christine is a Chicago-native and has been a proud member of BellyRing since its formation in early 2009. She has studied ITS (improv tribal style) belly dance since May 2007 at Arabesque, most recently under the direction of Eliza Dudek of Jezebelly. She also studies Egyptian Cabaret under the direction of Arabesque owner, Sonya Blacker. Christine enjoys being an active member of Chicago’s belly dance community by attending and performing at local events and haflas, and loves expanding her dance background by taking workshops with both local and nationally-known artists. Christine’s life-long passion for dance includes 11 years studying Ballet, Tap and Jazz, and she has also dabbled in Burlesque and Hip/Hop – she is willing to try just about any form of dance at least once!
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Julia has been belly dancing for almost seven years. She was initially drawn to oriental dance’s graceful movement, creative beauty, and celebration of femininity. After several years of study under Sonya Blacker, owner of Arabesque Dance Studio, Julia branched out into tribal dance. She immediately fell in love with ITS, and has been studying under Eliza, a founding member of the ITS troupe Jezebelly, for almost four years. Julia loves the rich, earthy movements and deep communication that come with dancing in a tribal improvisational troupe. She is thrilled to be a member of BellyRing. |
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Mara owes her introduction to dance to the Chicago Park District, where she took ballet, tap and jazz starting at the age of 5. A “dance hobbyist” since then, she has dabbled in a variety of styles including modern, ballroom and swing. A belly dance class several years ago peaked her interest in the form, but she didn’t start belly dancing regularly until discovering Arabesque Dance Studio in Fall 2007, beginning with cabaret classes under Sonya. She took her first tribal class in Fall 2008, where she was immediately attracted to the interactive nature of ITS and the camaraderie of her fellow students, who would eventually join forces to become BellyRing! |
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Pauline is a certified aerobics, zumba (Latin dance), Middle Eastern dance, yoga and mat-Pilates instructor. When Pauline was 5 her mother enrolled her in ballet and jazz, and Pauline has been dancing and exploring other movement modalities ever since. In 1999 she became a certified aerobics instructor and was certified in yoga the following year. Pauline added Middle Eastern dance to her repertoire in 2002, beginning her study with Dawn Gundez of Imperial Jade Belly Dance. She was quickly asked to join Dawn’s company and began to dance professionally, appearing at many festivals, parties and restaurants, and in a video with Imperial Jade. Pauline continues to study the art of movement by taking workshops and certifications whenever she can and enjoys passing on her knowledge through the many classes she teaches.
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TC has been belly dancing for 5 years, and has a lifelong background in dance and performance of all forms. She particularly loves the group dynamic of ensemble performance of any kind, especially the nonverbal communication that goes on in improv forms. After stints in ensemble theater, short form improv comedy and group a capella music it was only natural that she came to Improvised Tribal Style bellydance.
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