ShimmyUSA (BellyDanceGR)

Faye VanRavenswaay has been practicing yoga for over ten years. She trains in circus arts as a member of Bangarang Circus, a locally based circus company training at Aerials Gym.  Faye specializes in aerial silks, hammock, and lyra while dabbling in acro yoga and static trapeze. She also teaches kids aerial silks classes at a gymnastics facility in Kalamazoo and Battle Creek.

“Let go of what is left or right, and lead with your heart.” That is Lisa’s approach to Middle Eastern/North African dance. Her love story with the dance began in 2000 at Footworks Dance Company in Grand Rapids, with American Cabaret/Fusion style. Unfulfilled by the rules of Western styling, her focus slowly shifted to Egyptian-style Raqs Sharqi. In 2011 she began to take workshops exclusively with Egyptian-style artists including the legendary Mahmoud Reda, along with Raqia Hassan, Dina Talaat, Tito Seif, Ranya Renee, Mohamed Salah, Sorraiah Zaied, Karim Nagi and Luna of Cairo. She credits the instruction and influence of Master Teacher Yasmina Ramzy, and ultimately attending Yasmina’s Planet Egypt Tour in 2017, for generously giving her the tools to make the Belly Dance connection between mind, body and soul. Since then, Lisa has immersed herself in Egyptian customs and culture, living with the locals in New Cairo, Egypt; taking in the language, the music, the rhythm and improvisational way of life. She is recently back in the States to share what she learned while living in the Motherland, and how it impacts today’s Belly Dance.

Ever since I was a young child I dreamed about being a dancer, and in 2014 I joined Shimmy USA (formerly BellyDance Grand Rapids) and finally started to make that dream come true. In 2016 I joined the Delkash Dance Co., under the direction of Sarah Mayne, which took my dance education and artistry to the next level. Since then, I have studied with renowned dancers, choreographers, and musicians from around the world, including Yasmina Ramzy, Dina Talaat, Mohamed Salah, Beata and Horacio Cifuentes, Dr. Mo Geddawi, Cassandra Shore, Tamalyn Dallal and Dr. George Sawa. Through the Delkash Dance Co., I've performed at various weddings, festivals, restaurants and private parties throughout Michigan. I've joined Delkash at the BellyDance Blossom Festival in Toronto, ON., performing an original choreography by Yasmina Ramzy. I look forward to the Planet Egypt tour in the fall of 2019, organized and sponsored by Yasmina Ramzy, to further deepen my understanding and appreciation of Arab Art.

She began studying the latter with Patty Stickles of Serenity Rose Tribal, and will acquire her General Skills: Classic and Modern style in 2017. Concurrent with this training, Mina continues to work on the Raqs Sharki side of dance, studying with Sarah Mayne of BellyGance Grand Rapids, Nai'mah of Grand Rapids, and cultivates her understanding of Middle Eastern music and rhythms with Aida of San Francisco, one of the original members of Bal Anat.

BellyDance, and American Tribal Style BellyDance, have both been sources of and outlets for great joy and expression for Mina, as well as sparks of intellectual interest, with a Bachelor's of Art History and an Associates in Fashion Design under her hip belt. Her certifications include ATS(R) General Skills: Classic, and ATS (R) General Skills: Modern.