I am an ATS (American Tribal Style) bellydancer, Reiki Master, dressage rider, pianist, photographer and webmaster "By Raven" .

My transition to bellydance came after many years of "dancing with horses"; riding and competing in Dressage, with my beautiful Arabian mare Silver Morn. There is no stronger connection then a girl and her horse. In our case, only those who know us well understood our bond; they know that neither was complete without the other. After 31 years, my loving and stunning dance partner, my best friend, dropped her physical body and passed over to spirit; I knew I must continue the dance. Bellydance arrived in my life soothing my broken heart. Having been called Raven by those closest to me for many years, it is only fitting that Raven as a totem appeared which teaches one must first go into the dark in order to bring forth the light - a light that shone a little more from that day forward. Now I dance alone, or do I? My connection with the desert remains - our bond lives on.

My initial introduction to this beautiful dance form was Modern Egyptian style, but soon the study of ATS with the phenomenal Lava and her amazing Tribal Soiree's called to me. ATS was created by FatChanceBellyDance director, Carolena Nericcio. ATS, with its earthy style, is a recreation of "what might have been" with various tribes, mostly nomadic. It has ethnic elements, certainly, but there isn't enough history to recreate exactly what went on in the many diverse tribes throughout the areas of the Middle East, northern Africa and Mediterranian.

It has been said:
".... It's middle eastern style that gives the appearance of being ethnic, without necessarily attempting to be "authentic". Costumes are "inspired by" middle eastern ethnic costumes, without needing to be 100% accurate. "American tribal" can be part Turkish, part gypsy, part Tunisian, part Moroccan, part Egyptian, part Algerian, or whatever else inspires. A little bit of this, a little of that... no need to try to be perfectly authentic." --Sherezzah
ATS, with its primary characteristic being that of group improvisation, focuses on the group as opposed to emphasizing solo performance. It does feature solos within the group as well as call-and-answer performance with another dancer (duets), or as a whole group.

To all of my amazing teachers of dance and yoga, I would like to say thank you. You are all precious individuals who have each played a very important role in making my journey in dance a positive and fun adventure.