Our Instructors

Ayala began her belly dance journey in the summer of 2010, and hasn’t been able to stop since. While her background is in ballet and gymnastics, Ayala quickly fell in love with the art of belly dance. Her first belly dance instruction was in tribal fusion style with Anna Maria Sophia, and she has since branched out to study Egyptian cabaret, Tribal Improv, and American Tribal Style, as well as a variety of props. She attends weekly classes and rehearsals and frequently attends workshops in her endeavor to enhance her knowledge and presentation of the dance. Ayala is a member of Greensboro's first Tribal Fusion group, Torque, co-director of Twisted Dance’s cabaret student troupe, Malaika, and a member of Twisted Dance's ATS student Troupe, Helix.

Azadi, co-owner of Twisted Dance Studios, 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® because she loves the interaction between dancers and the proud, grounded look of the dance. She is a founding member of Greensboro's first Tribal Fusion group, Torque, Co-director of Twisted Dance's ATS® student troupe, Helix, and co-owner of Twisted Dance. More information is available at Azadi's website. Check out Azadi performing with Dayanisma , an NC American Tribal Style® collective, at Project Shimmy 2011.

Azadi received her teacher certification in ATS® General Skills & Teacher Training 1 & 2 in April 2011. Twisted Dance is a Sister Studio to FatChanceBellyDance®, or to restate: Azadi is authorized by the Mothership to teach ATS®!

Dandara Boyd has been teaching West African Dance at the Greensboro Cultural Center since 2001 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. Heather is a member of Greensboro's first Tribal Fusion group, Torque and co-director of Twisted Dance's new Tribal Fusion student troupe. Check out Heather performing an original sword choreo with Mimi at Project Shimmy.

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.

Marshall Lakes is a Greensboro native who has been practicing martial arts for around 15 years. He received his black belt in the Filipino martial art of Balantawk in 1996 from Grand Master Bobby Tobata, who came to the US from New Zealand by way of the Philipines. Soon after receiving his black belt, Marshall started teaching women’s self defense classes for Pyramids Fitness center. Marshall was co-owner of Greensboro Martial Arts Academey, which opened in 1998. During that time he started training and teaching Sil Lum Kung-Fu and Tai Chi under Si Fu Eric Carr. After Greensboro Martial Arts Acadamy closed, Marshall further studied at Traid Kung Fu - Arnis where he took and taught classes in Five Family Fist and Emperors Long Fist Tai Chi under Si-Fu Kash. Marshall continues to study under local black belts while passing on his knowledge of martial arts to others.

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. She is a member of Greensboros first Tribal Fusion group, Torque, and a co-director of Twisted Dance's ATS® student troupe, Helix. Check out Mimi performing an original sword choreo at Project Shimmy 2010 with Heather.

Hello Twisted Dance crew. They call me Rainstorm, Rain for short. Proud student of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. I am a Bboy with a style I like to call Big Beats, because my choreography style consists of a lot of action to heavy bass and fast pace. Standing at a magnificent 5 foot 4 inches I tower over most...umm...small children...But hey, I'm a Bboy, we're not supposed to be huge, lol. I dance for Couture Productions at A&T, the greatest organization at the school might I add. The dance sector of Couture productions includes a variety of dancers and dance styles from jazz, ballet, modern, contemporary, and the great styles of hip hop, where I make my home. I also teach hip hop to you, the Twisted Dancer crew.

Sarasvati, co-owner of Twisted 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. Sarasvati is a member of Greensboro's first Tribal Fusion group, Torque and co-director of Twisted Dancse's new Tribal Fusion student troupe !Have a look at Sarasvati performing an original choreo duet with Heather at Bellydance Raqs 2009.

Tammy LOVES to: hoop, teach hoop, make hoops, jam with hoops....yeah, she's a Hooper! She's been teaching for a few years at various locations throughout the Triad & frequently hosts hoop jams at her house. Her hoops are on sale at the studio and if you've taken classes lately you have probably used one of her hoops in class! Tammy will teach you to perform the basic hoop moves and how to put those moves together into a loverly and fun hoop dance!

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.” Xavier is a co-director of Twisted Dance's Cabaret student troupe, Malaika. Check out Xavier performing at Project Shimmy 2010.