Morgana, Oriental Dancer

About Morgana

My journey in Oriental Dance

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Bellydance Bliss, Rhode Island, March 2014.
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Photo by Pam Garnett/Altared Visions

Middle East, Cambridge, Mass., 2008
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Click photo to watch tvideo! Photo and video by Lawrence Carradini

I have a lifelong love and fascination for the cultures of the Middle East. I have always had a background in the arts, but it was when I moved to Lowell, Mass., that I found my kismet --  my destiny! Here, I met and studied wih Helen Perry, also known as Zbeide, a Middle Eastern dance pioneer.
 

With David Amram Trio, Lowell, Mass., 2006
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Photo by Lawrence Carradini

I have also studied with Katia of Boston, and appeared in her video, "Visions of the East," a Middle Eastern fashion show; I first traveled with Katia to Egypt in 2006 as part of her Treasures of Egypt tour.
 
In 2007, I was thrilled to  be chosen for the Rotary's Group Study Exchange, and spent a month in Egypt. I even gave my speech at Rotary Club meetings in Arabic -- yes, you can speak Arabic even if you have a New England accent.
 
 

Indian Cultural Center, Shrewsbury, Mass., 2007
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Click photo to watch video! Photo by Lawrence Carradini/Video by Julyana

I've been privileged to perform with master musicians David Amram, Tony Chamoun, Fred Elias, Aboudi Badawi, Harry Bedrosian and many others.
 
Inshallah, I will never to stop learning and growing in this dance and the lifelong journey it has become for me.

NBDA event, North Attleboro, Mass., November 2008
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Photo by Joe Stanley

   

NBDA Event, Boston, Mass., 2006
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Photo by Lawrence Carradini

Performance experience: 13 years of experience performing in restaurants, night clubs, private functions (including weddings, birthdays, and other special events;) ethnic and community festivals and literary events.
 
Dance studies: I have studied with Zbeide (Helen Perry); Mahira (Margaret Slocombe;) Gypsy Phillips, and Katia of Boston.
 
I have also taken courses and workshops with Phaedra of Boston, Za-Beth of Boston, Sardis of Boston, Suzanna Del Vecchio, Mesmera, Dahlena, Jehan Kamal, Elena Lentini, Nourhan Sharif, Mesmera, Su'ad, Mahmoud Reda (at his Cairo studio;) Raqia Hassan (in U.S. and at her Cairo studio.)
 
Flamenco -- Omayra Amaya
Turkish and Roma (Gypsy) -- Dalia Carella, Eva Cernik, Sardis of Boston, Rhea of Athens
Persian -- Medea Mahdahvi
 
Arabic language: Two years of study with Saleh Dahany, professor of Arabic, Middlesex Community College, Lowell, Mass.
 
Islamic studies: Understanding Islam, Mass. Foundation for the Humanities; Understanding the Modern Middle East, Mass. Foundation for the Humanities; as a journalist I have done extensive coverage of the area's Middle Eastern and Islamic community.
 
Travel experience: I have traveled twice to Egypt, including a two-week visit with Katia of Boston in 2006 and a four-week visit in 2007 with the Rotary International's Group Study Exchange.
 
Dance Journalism: I have been a staff writer for Jareeda magazine since 1997 and associate editor of Middle Eastern Dance in New England since 2003.
 
Modeling experience: Katia of Boston's 2003 video and fashion show, 'Visions of the East,' with Middle East and North African garments;  Oriental dance model at Montserrat College, Beverly, Mass; University of Massachusetts at Lowell Continuing Education, and Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, Mass.
 
Dance organization memberships: Zbeide's Harem; Bellydance Worcester; Northeast Bellydance Association; staff member, Katia of Boston Dance Retreat, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
 
Events producer: Dance of the Beloved (with Lawrence Carradini,) Brides of Frankenstein, Ghouls' Night Out, Bela Lugosi's Birthday Bash, Zbeide's Harem Showcase at the Lowell Folk Festival and Lowell Family First Night.
 
 
 
 
 

Site contents copyright 2014 Morgana Mirage. morganamirage@gmail.com