ABOUT FATIN                   

When I was 9 years old, my parents took me to Busch Gardens:  Dark Continent in Florida.  That was where I first saw belly dancers.  I can vividly remember being the only one in the audience at the foot of a small stage that was about 4 feet off the ground.  The dancers chuckling as I stood, gripping the stage with both hands, wide eyed and gaping mouthed, mesmerized by their movements.  Suddenly jolted out of my trance by my mother dragging me away.  "No, you have to see this!" I yelled, to no avail.

The dancers constantly in the back of my mind, I thought about what it would feel like to be one of them.  Goddesses proudly standing in those cascading, ethnic costumes; then strange music fills the air and you are awed by the overwhelming beauty and grace as they begin to move...

I had to do that.  I just had to share that sensation that I felt that day with others.  When I was 16, I got the chance.  The parks system where I lived offered adult education classes and belly dance was one of them.  My mom, remembering how she had to drag me kicking and screaming from the stage in Florida, asked me if I was interested in taking classes.  I swear I heard angels singing...  I asked all my friends if they wanted to come with me; they laughed and asked if I was serious.  I took that as a no.  So, with teenage awkwardness and near crippling shyness, I went, alone.

A woman named Paula Towry was the teacher, she had gone to college in Lebannon and studied dance there.  She taught cabaret style with an emphasis on finding your own style, which is, I found out, very important for solo dancers and helps them stand out in the crowd.  (You never realize how many dancers there are until you try to look for just one.)  She taught me how important it was to carry yourself tall and with dignity.  Belly Dancers are the slave girls who can walk proudly among kings.

Belly dancing became my favorite hobby, but like any hobby, it got pushed to the back burner when I was faced with adult life and responsibility.  I kept my moves sharp on dance floors listening to rock and roll bands and although the costume was jeans and a tee-shirt, I could see the beginnings of that wide eyed awe in the faces of onlookers.

In the last weeks of winter 2002, I met a group of women who would bring that all back to me.  Charlene/Perizad (Twisted Tassels) and Julie/Ashtar (Tribal Dance Arts) introduced me to "tribal" belly dance and taught me the differences in body movement.  I had always wanted to perform in my peasant skirts that were so comfortable to practice in and now I could!  In the early spring of '02, we started a dance troupe called Barely Bedouin Belly Dance Troupe.   We performed at Pagan retreats, SCA events and Renaissance Faires.  Soon the old adage of "too many cooks spoiling the soup" (or in our case too many skirts swirling on stage) came to pass and creative differences broke our troupe in two. 

pic 1    pic 2       pic 3 

Pic 1 - Fatin & Ashtar preparing for Barely Bedouin Belly Dance Troupe's Debut Performance at the Beltane weekend at the Lebannon State Forest in 2002.

Pic 2 - The performance. Ashtar dancing, looking on are (front to back of line) Fatin, Shivati Sharvari Al'Maghrebi, Perizad, Chiron, Susan.

Pic 3 - Publicity photo for Witches' Voice.  Ashtar (crouching in front), (L to R in back) Shivati Sharvari Al'Maghrebi, Fatin, Perizad, Susan, Chiron.

I followed Ashtar and helped create the Daughters of Sophia Tribal Dance Troupe.  With this troupe I learned more tricks of the trade.  For example, ways to really grab the attention of a Ren Faire audience, which dances were better appreciated in more intimate settings, how to hawk for tips, etc.  I had a lot of fun in the process and met some truly amazing women and a couple great guys.  I was a member of this ever changing, ever growing troupe for almost three years when once again creative differences caused me to leave.

So, now I am back to my roots.  Searching for my own personal style, which is turning out be be many different styles (Oh, the trials and tribulations of being a Gemini).  I am collecting knowledge of Tribal Fusion and Raqs Gothique, blending that with my own multi-cultural technique and we'll see where that gets me.  To see what's new, what's coming up and what's red hot, right now, check out  irons in the fire by clicking on the campfire at the gypsy camp.