Congratulations Jane - 2018 MEDANZ Student Scholarship Recipient!

Jane first love is Egyptian and Folkloric Belly Dance but she is keen to explore other styles of belly dance and fusion. Her enthusiasm for this art form is intense and her passion evident. We look forward to supporting her on her dance journey.

MEDANZ offers the student scholarship every year as one of the ways we support our members and grow our community.

jane_at_dor_reducd.jpg

JANE STEANE: WHAKATANE

My name is Jane Steane.  I am a yoga teacher and school teacher, originally from the UK, but now living in Whakatane in the beautiful Bay of Plenty with my husband and two children, aged 12 and 14.

I have been belly dancing for around 8 years and I absolutely love it!  I started teaching belly dance after only a year, when our own teacher left us to live in Australia.   It was like the blind leading the blind, but at least we got to dance together and have a lot of fun along the way.

In that time I have taken as many opportunities as possible to develop my dancing by attending workshops, and taking many trips to Tauranga to be under the guidance of Tanya Bamford King.  I also lead a troupe of local dancers in Whakatane and we enjoy performing in community events.

I don’t like to be pigeon-holed into one style of dance or another, but I love Egyptian and folkloric belly dance.  I’m also a dance magpie and enjoy playing with other styles of dance and fusing them with belly dance.  I have recently learned some Gypsy Caravan with Christine Haviland, which was a refreshing challenge and so much fun.

In the coming year, I am enthusiastic to learn more about dance styles from different areas, the history and culture, particularly Egyptian and folkloric, and deepen my knowledge of Egyptian, Turkish and Arabic rhythms and to pass this on through my own teaching.  I love the story behind the dance and feel it is important to keep these stories alive.