Teachers - (a few more to come)
Anne Hildyard - www. xenosmusic.com
Anne Hildyard is an outstanding instrumentalist and vocalist. She has mastered
the traditional style and techniques of the Northern Greek regions of Macedonia
and Thrace on the Balkan bagpipe, the gaida, and also the Kurdish and Turkish
shawm, the zurna. She lived and travelled in the countries of this region over
an extended period, learning directly from village musicians. She has also
embraced the modern gypsy style of saxophone from Macedonia, recording two
CDs with Xenos in Zürich and two CDs in Melbourne. She began her musical career as a singer, and has retained her enthusiasm for the voice, establishing acapella groups and giving workshops in Balkan singing styles. She is in constant demand from regional clubs and dance groups in Melbourne.
Rob Bester - www.xenosmusic.com
Rob Bester plays fretless electric bass, underpinning Xenos’ sound with his ever tasteful funky bass lines. He plays other rhythm instruments such as davul, a large two-sided drum, and various bagpipes. He has studied in Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, recording and learning bagpipe music from village musicians.
Fuat Sazimanoski - www.xenosmusic.com
Fuat Sazimanoski, poet of percussion, plays tappan, Indijanki bongos and
darabuka and how! He is from a family of Roma (Gypsy) musicians coming to Australia
from an Albanian speaking region of Macedonia at the age of 5. He is one of
the great drummers of the Gypsy traditions and is Australia's most respected
Balkan drummer.
Gary Dawson
Gary Dawson has been teaching folk dance for over 30 years, specialising in Balkan and Hungarian dance styles, and occasionally throwing in a Mexican, Austrian, English or Danish dance for fun as well. Gary has taught and choreographed for Macedonian, Serbian, Greek, Turkish and Hungarian community groups, international folk dance groups, amateur and professional dance ensembles and dance camps and festivals in Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Hungary and Serbia. Gary’s dance workshops and dances are energetic, educational, fun and a social event. You’ll come away from his workshops smiling and sweaty as his teaching style captures the atmosphere of a village ‘sred selo’ (Serbian, colloquially translated as dance in the middle of the village). With a rich source of knowledge and experience, Gary passes on information and anecdotes about the people, places and traditions he’s visited and learned from and about.
Trisnasari – www.underbellydance.com
Trisnasari
is the Creative Director and founder of Underbelly. Her unique style is contemporary
yet classic, making her a popular choice at arts festivals and events including
the Famous Speigeltent, Earthcore and the Fringe Festival. With a Certificate
IV in Dance Teaching and Management, classical dance training and extensive
experience in Belly dance, Trisnasari is a highly sought after performer, choreographer
and teacher.
Tunji Beier – www.tunji.org
Tunji Beier is an outstanding percussionist, specializing in improvisations and compositions which draw on the various musical traditions that have influenced him, in particular Macedonian and South Indian percussion. Beginning his musical career at 10 years of age, Tunji has traveled and studied extensively, his dedication to and passion for rhythm evident in his inspired performances. Tunji has collaborated with many respected musicians including, Linsey Pollack, Hossam Ramzy, Ross Daley, Greg Sheehan, Mohamed El Toukhi, Matthias Loibner and Zakir Hussien to name a few, performing at concerts and festivals around the globe.
Yuval Ashkar – www.ashkarmusicanddance.com
Born
into an accomplished musical family in Israel, Yuval’s
passion for the Oud began at age 17. Yuval began his tuition with famous Israeli
Oud player Yair Dalaland and furthered his studies by learning Arabic styling
from Arabian Oud master Gussan Harb. An inspiration for audiences, bellydancers
and other musicians, Yuval has evolved his unique style of Oud playing through
the synthesis of Egyptian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Armenian, Turkish, Kurdish, Afghani
and Andalusian musical influences and techniques.
Multi-instrumental Yuval also plays the Bandir (Turkish Sufi drum), Tombak (Persian
wooden drum), Darabuka, Zurna, Cumbus (Turkish banjo), Indian whistle and assorted
flutes. His vocal accompaniments are in Arabic, Ladino (Jewish-Spanish dialect),
Hebrew and Kurdish.
Ayelet Ashkar – www.ashkarmusicanddance.com
Ayelet began her dance training in the city of her birth, Haifa, Israel, at the Centre for Expression through Middle Eastern Dance. She also studied Drama, Art and Movement at Haifa University and acted in the Haifa Theatre.
In Israel, Ayelet was involved in many dance and theatrical productions and her extensive performance experience led her to become one of the top dancers in the country.
Now living in the Byron Shire, Northern N.S.W., Ayelet with her husband Yuval, continues to create and perform in many community events and festivals. She also teaches classes in Byron Bay and workshops at festivals including Woodford Folk Festival.
Mother of two, Ayelet brings an earthy, sensual and deeply expressive quality to her dancing, conveying to the audience a depth and authenticity of emotion that is powerfully feminine.
Andy Busuttil - www.bluemountainsound.com.au
Andy
Busuttil is one of Australia's finest and most experienced musicians in the
Balkan and Middle Eastern Music scene. Specialising in the Darabuka (Arabic
Tabla), Andy is also a renowned vocalist and plays various wind instruments.
Andy's sensitivity and skill as a drummer has given him invitation to play
with many talented musicians and bands including Xenos, Siwan Perwer, Veli
Toprak, Christos Baltzidis, Mara!, The Habibis, Heval and Linsey Pollak to
name a few. He has also created several successful bands, which have earned
a reputation on Australia's world music scene: Drum Arabic, Compania Azziz,
Hide and Sheik, Kurdish Earth, and Shekel and Hide. His most recent band 'Skorba'
which performs music about the Neolithic Temples of Malta has been receiving
critical acclaim and enthusiastic acceptance within the Maltese and other communities
( www.myspace.com/skorba ). He has also had the great pleasure of playing concerts
with Eric Bogle, Jason and Chloe Roweth, Ted Egan and Margaret Walters. Andy
has played and taught workshops at major festivals around Australia. He also
enjoys playing for belly dancers and is a talented and intuitive drummer.
Bill Anderson
Bill was born in Scotland but came to Australia in 1971.He has been playing music for about 25 years, originally playing Irish style flute, but then branching out into Balkan, Turkish and Arabic music. He has performed atFolk Festivals around the country including,The National Folk Festival in Canberra, Port Fairy Folk Festival in Victoria and Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland.
About 8-9 years ago he had the opportunity to hear a Mevlevi (Whirling Dervish) group play in Melbourne. He was so taken with the music that since then he has been learning to play classical Turkish music.
While living in Melbourne he played ney (Turkish end blown flute) in a Classical Turkish orchestra for 2-3 years.
Since moving to Brisbane a few years ago, Bill has been running weekly sessions teaching Turkish, Arabic and Balkan tunes. He is also playing Oud, Ney and Zurna in several bands.
Tamara Williams - www.hipnoticbellydance.com
Tamara is a graceful and passionate dancer with over 16 years experience in Middle Eastern dance. Throughout her dance career, Tamara has worked with musicians, performing at festivals, concerts and functions around Australia. In 2001, Tamara had the honour of teaching workshops with renowned musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek, alongside Terezka Drnzik.
Tamara has gained a reputation for her understanding and interpretation of music and her skills as a performer and teacher. Invited as a guest artist and teacher on many occasions, Tamara’s experience includes teaching workshops at major and community festivals, such as Woodford Folk Festival where she has been a popular teacher and performer since 1995.
Tamara works as a professional belly dancer and Pilates instructor in Brisbane.
Founder and creator of BAMEDAM association and the “Bahar Bayram” camp, Tamara is motivated by her love of dance and music and her heartfelt desire to share and create with others and to facilitate the opportunity for creative and spiritual growth through art and beauty.
Maya Malins
Maya’s obsession with Middle Eastern Dance began 16 years ago in Perth where she began her first lessons and was introduced to Belyssa’s “Flames of Araby” dance troupe. She completed her dance ‘apprenticeship’ as a founding member of the ‘Jewels of the Desert’ dance troupe in Kalgoorlie - a commitment that lasted 6 years, seeing her grow as a performer, event organiser and teacher.
At the end of 1999 Maya moved to the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, where she founded ‘Sacred Ibis Bellydancing’, her growing and popular dance school. Through her teaching, Maya imparts the joyful and empowering feminine essence of this beautiful dance form.
Maya's latest venture has been to become an accredited Journey practitioner, working with healing on cellular level, she has a deep desire to combine these tools with the healing aspect of dance, assisting dancers to discover an even deeper liberation and to dance in the freedom and grace within us all.
To dance is to celebrate life and Maya loves to share this simple pure energy with her students and audiences.
Bob “2 Toots” Robinson
Bob
comes with 37 years performance experience with the Didgeridoo and 8 years
with Middle Eastern percussion (Darabouka and Riq). In recent years he has
played Didgeridoo for the Woodford Folk Festival Fire Event, including the
Dawn Cermony and performances with other groups at the Festival. He has also
played at a number of Festivals including Queensland Multicultural Festival.
His career includes playing with Rolf Harris at Expo 1970 and on stage with
Australian orchestras. His involvement with Middle Eastern music groups has
given him an excellent grounding for fusing Didgeridoo with Middle Eastern
rhythms and instruments.
Margaret Cunningham
Margaret Cunningham's love of dance is infectious! Tapping into an inner source of firey playfulness when she dances, Margaret has the ability to draw you into a world where only the dance exists.
It is the dances of the Romani cultures of the world which have become her special focus and her Romani dance troupes, Gypsy Soul and Shuvani have become sought after attractions at numerous festivals and events around Queensland. At "Soul Dance", her school on Brisbane's north side, Margaret teaches Middle Eastern Dance and a unique blend of Romani dances from the Indian, Turkish, Eastern European and Spanish traditions.
At Bahar Bayram this year allow Margaret to lift the veil of mystery surrounding the history, culture and dance of the Romani people as she explains the origins of the Romani nation and gets you grooving in their passionate style of dance!
MELUSINA (Underbelly, Melbourne) - www.underbelly.com
Melusina has had many years of professional performance and teaching experience in belly dance. She has undergone intensive training from a host of teachers and has traveled extensively to places like America and Egypt to further her training. She specializes in Classical Egyptian, American Tribal, and Fusion Styles and often teaches and performs these styles around Australia. Melusina has developed a strong, dramatic style that combines technical precision with passion and her performances are renowned for their innovation and artistry.
Oriel Paterson - www.hennaharem.com
Oriel
has been performing henna since 1999, after a journey to Morocco. As a professional
henna artist, she specialises in traditional application and design, using
a natural hand-mixed paste, and works free-hand. With vivid childhood years
in the Middle East, and qualifications in Art History & Anthropology, a natural intrigue with the rich her-story of henna, and its contemporary symbolic use, infuses Oriel’s life.
Through “Henna Harem”, she offers the ritual of henna at ceremonies, parties,
openings, conferences and festivals.
Shirley Johnson-Abdelmalik - www.learnarabic.com
Shirley
is a teacher of Arabic. She teaches at the Institute of
Modern Languages at the University of QLD (IML)- She also tutors
individuals that are interested in learning the language and the culture of
Egypt and the Middle East. Shirley is offering a short Work Shop at the Retreat for
people who are interested to have a taste of this fascinating and ancient language
and culture. In the workshop Shirley will introduce people to some
of the many greetings, introductions and also how to order a taxi. The workshop
also will be open for people to ask questions. In addition Shirley will also
talk about the language and the different sounds of the Alphabet. Shirley was
born in Alexandria in Egypt and have migrated with her family to Australia
in 1967. For more information on her please visit her website: www.learnarabic.com.au.