Our Instructors

Azadi discovered belly dance in September 2005 and has been obsessed with it ever since. A true student at heart, she takes several classes a week and frequently workshops. She has studied fusion and cabaret styles , American Tribal Style (ATS) and tribal improvisation, performance skills, and African dance. Her favorite style is ATS/Tribal Improv because she loves the interaction between dancers and the proud, grounded look of tribal dancers. She is a founding member of Greensboro's Tribal Fusion group Torque and co-owner of Twisted Dance. More information is available at Azadi's website. Check out Azadi and Mimi performing Tribal Improv at Tribal Sampler in Salisbury.

Dandara Boyd has been teaching West African Dance at the Greensboro Cultural Center for 8 years along with her husband, Allen, as lead musician. She loves African dance and enjoys teaching it very much. She danced with the E. Gwynn Dancers of North Carolina A&T State University. Check out Dandara's GCC class dancing at Project Shimmy 2009.

Heather has been dancing on and off since the age of 4. She discovered bellydance in 2005, but she found a passion for it while taking a workshop with Zoe Jakes. She hasn't stopped dancing since. She studied with Carmen Cavanaugh, Lori Whitman, and Diane Carter. She is a sub at Twisted Dance, mainly because her work schedule prevents her from teaching a regular class.

Karma is member of Greensboro's tribal fusion group, Torque. She is a soulful dancer who loves to express emotion in her dance. Her eclectic style changes with each venue. She has performed at many local events in the Triad with live music, at Castle McCullouch, and at the Carolina Theatre. She specializes in cabaret and tribal fusion and loves to work with props such as zils, veils and swords. Check out Karma and Xavier dancing a cabaret piece at 40 Days and 1001 Nights show in 2009.

Kristin fell in love with yoga her senior year of college, when her roommate was taking a yoga class at school. Her roommate taught her some of the poses and they began practicing yoga in their kitchen. It didn't take long for Kristin to get more involved in yoga, and she began taking regular classes at a local studio where her favorite teacher inspired her to become a teacher herself.
Kristin got certified shortly thereafter, at the age of 23, through the local yoga institution Triad Yoga. Since then, she has taught many places and a wide variety of classes, including flow classes, family classes, partner classes, senior classes, and beginner classes. Kristin loves yoga for the way it makes her feel and the way she can use it to help friends and family with their various aches, pains, and other physical (as well as mental) issues. She is always impressed, but not surprised, at its effectiveness for these things.
Kristin's favorite yoga style is flow yoga, which she loves for its gracefulness and dance-like feel. Flow yoga involves moving fluidly from pose to pose with the breath. She likes to incorporate flow yoga into her classes of all levels.

In order to make exercise more interesting, Mimi began belly dancing in 2003. She is an active member of Torque Bellydance and specializes in balance dances with head props, specifically the sword and the shamadan. She has studied a variety of belly dance styles and incorporates elements of oriental (“cabaret”), fusion, and tribal improv into her classes. As a performer, she finds inspiration in dancers able to blend diverse techniques, movements, and emotions in order to create a personal form of dance. Mimi teaches Beginner and Intermediate/Advanced classes at Twisted Dance Studios. Check out Mimi performing an original sword choreo at Shimmy South 10

Sarasvati, co-owner of Twsited Dance, stumbled across belly dance classes at the YMCA, and was thenceforth unable to stop. She has danced in Karma's student dance troupe Bell-un-jum for several years and continues to do so.

Her style of choice is Tribal Fusion, although she can be persuaded at times to partake in Cabaret, ATS, or Tribal dancing. Her favorite Style-of-the-Moment is Goth/Experimental, because who doesn't love black tulle with metal chains? Sarasvati dances with swords, veils, and zills, and hopes to soon begin learning technique for Isis Wings. She is inspired by the likes of Tempest, The Indigo, Nekyia, and of course the original Sarasvati. Have a look at Sarasvati performing an original choreo duet with Heather at Bellydance Raqs 2009.

Sashame has been dancing since she was four years old, when she took her first dance class in Florida. At 17, she began studying classical ballet at the Winchester Ballet Company, founded by her mother and Jamie Planck in Winchester, Kentucky. As a ballet student, she danced for 10 years on both flat and pointe and became a core member of the studio’s dance troupe.

Trading her ballet shoes for hip scarves, she began belly dancing in the fall of 2006. She is influenced by Tribal Fusion belly dancers Zoe Jakes and Rachel Brice, although she is currently delving into Egyptian Cabaret style. Check out Sashame performing with Torque at Summer Solstice 2009.

Tiffany Cook has been dancing for years and has been involved in numerous productions. She loves Hip Hop the best of all dance style because of it's strength and forcefulness.

Xavier Shadowdancer (aka Jason Moyer) is a North Carolina native whose mix of belly dance and hip-hop styles creates a charm that captivates all who see him dance. Originally a student of African Dance, Xavier discovered belly dance in November 2005 and has studied under the instruction of Carmen Cavanaugh and Faun Finley. He taught basic belly dance at Adam & Eve Lingerie in 2008. One of Greensboro’s few male belly dancers and proud alumni of Torque, he often performs at events such as Summer Solstice and Tate Street Fall and Spring festivals and was recently featured in the News & Record for "Get Down Town Greensboro.” Check out Xavier performing dancing at Navani's Sahara Nights 2007.