Interested in what the committee does or joining yourself? Role description for the following committee responsibilties can be found here.

President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

Librarian

Membership

General Committee Member

Festival Sub-Committee

My name Is Karen

also known as Adilah and I am the current president for MEDANZ, this is my second and final term in this role. I am looking forward to a busy and productive year with our having a full committee for the second year in a row with returning members from last year’s committee and new members to the committee, members who have been on past committees and have returned again to the committee.

About me personally – I am first and foremost a mother to two girls, one is possibly a future belly dancer possibly a ballerina or cheerleader and the other a Surgeon! I teach dance classes in the evenings and perform and during the days throughout the week and I spend time working on MEDANZ related things, I also am the founding member of the Desert Gypsys Belly Dance group (& yes that is how Gypsys in the name is meant to be spelt it is a deliberate grammatical error!)

My dance name is Dori and this will be my 12th year of belly dancing. I am an oriental dancer at heart, however I have studied both folk and tribal group improvisation styles and have dabbled in the odd fusion style. For a number of years I was a Level 4 dancer and teacher with the School of Contemporary Belly Dance in Christchurch where I did the bulk of my early training and teacher training.

I have also spent 4 years in England teaching, learning and attending major festivals with dancers from all over the world for further development. Some of these include Fifi Abdou, Raquia Hassan, Randa Kamal (Egypt), Artemesia (Belgium), Leila Haddad (France), Horacio and Beata Cifuentes (Germany), Jim Boz and Fatheim (USA.) I have performed professionally in NZ, the UK, Germany and France, both in staged and restaurant settings.

Since returning to NZ in 2012 I have been based in Auckland where I have been immersing myself in the local dance community, attending classes and performing throughout Auckland when there is time to fit it all in.

I have previously been on the MEDANZ committee for 2 years as the membership person, then again last year. I think it’s important to be involved in national dance community, get to know people and keep improving what MEDANZ has to offer its membership, which is why I am back. If you have any questions, queries or heaven forbid complaint, please do feel free to contact me as your MEDANZ representative. (Note that nagging is best appreciated over coffee/wine so Auckland invites would be most welcome! :) .)

Hi I’m Beverley, some may know me better as Moonjelly. I put my hand up for committee again (Secretary role) as life on the farm, house build, and working the mobile farm petting zoo has quietened down a bit. Due to a chronic knee condition I can no longer dance which just rips my soul out but I do have time and energy to sink back into committee work again. I am one of the original members of MEDANZ and have already served on committee for four years, during which time I did a number of jobs including librarian, and President for two years, Vice President for one year.

Over the years I have seen MEDANZ develop and grow, and have already been part of making big changes in how we do things. Right now I feel it is time to revisit past, look at the present and consider the future. I want to ensure that the necessary legal obligations of our Association are always met, look at how committee can focus on core committee work while ensuring great festivals involving greater membership involvement, and workshops around NZ with terrific teachers.

Most important my big question of the year is ‘ what is the value of belonging to MEDANZ?’ and from exploring this question we may take steps towards real improvement. I’m looking forward to what the year brings.

Hi, I am Lyn Murphy aka Jehanara. For the third year in a row I have the honour of being your Chancellor of the Exchequer. Married with no children, my husband and I run a Boutique Dairy Farm in Tokoroa. Sick of being a “Bowls Widow” I looked for something of my own and discovered it in belly dancing. Even though officially I am in my 5th year of dancing it must have been in my blood from birth because it seems like it has been a part of me forever.

I am a member of both the Desert Gypsys Dance Troupe based in Cambridge and the Tokoroa troupe Keshet Sorellenza. This year I have also made tentative forays into sharing my passion and love of bellydance with others. In addition to belly dancing I am also a theatre buff, being on the committee of our local dramatic society. I am looking forward to this year, working with so many lovely ladies who hitherto have been just legends to me in the MEDANZ community but in reality simply share this passion for all things Middle Eastern Dance.

Hi I'm Bronwyn otherwise known as Fern. I have little sense of time and can't remember what year I began bellydancing. (This probably means I have danced more years then I have fingers to count on). But dance rather quickly became a driving force in my life. Oh and then I picked up a drum! We are fortunate in Dunedin to have our own Kasbah Studio which gives local dancers and drummers a space to practice and socialize. This has helped us become a bonded supportive community.

I dance with Cindy and together we perform as Tribal Echo. We perform both Fat Chance Tribal Style and Tribal Fusion. I formed and perform with the musical group The Unfortunate Repercussions and co-formed the Lost Tribe. Now I have moved on to form Tribal Echo with former Lost Tribe performer and co-founder Cindy to explore the many roots from which fusions styles are derived and to branch out into our own style of movement and fusion. This also allows me more time with The Unfortunates playing for my other dancing buddies.

As well as being passionate about bellydance, I am a full time artist and sculptor. I have two horses, two chickens and a cat and live in a wilderness frequented by native birds.

I’m Zumarrad, aka Brigid Kelly, and I am happy to be joining committee again as an ordinary member this year. I’m based in Christchurch, still study and perform with Yurie at El Yasmine Bellydance School and have been exploring this wonderful art form since 1998. I taught regular weekly classes for seven years, but after undertaking some intensive academic study around our dance form and shifting to an evening job as a subeditor with Fairfax Media, now stick to workshops, lectures and privates.

My passion is for Egyptian oriental dance and all things folkloric, musical geekery and academic analysis. This year I’m making a return pilgrimage to the final IBCC in Toronto (Cairo will have to wait!) and hosting NYC’s star Ranya Renee in broken but undaunted Christchurch. Like almost all of your 2012 representatives, I’m also a past MEDANZ president. Email is best, or if you want to phone, please do so during the day before 4pm!