Layla-Co-Artistic Director
Layla - An alumnus of Serena Studios and Serena Dance Theater, Layla began her journey into this beautiful dance form in 1978 when she first met Serena Wilson at her famed studio, Serena Studios, in New York City. A life-long passion ensued from that meeting!
Layla has been performing New York Cabaret-Style Belly Dance for over thirty-five years and has appeared in such prestigious venues as Lincoln Center, Riverside Church, Queens Central Library Concert Series, United Nations, and 92nd Street Y Harkness Center. Layla has performed in Egypt, Europe, Canada, and the Caribbean, as well as throughout the Tri-State Area and West Coast. A multi-level instructor, Layla teaches group classes as well as private instruction with Finger Cymbal, Performance Preparation and Cabaret Karsilama her workshop specialties. She has over thirty years of teaching experience throughout the NYC area. Layla is currently the director of student troupe, Veiled Visions Dance Ensemble, as well as a member of professional dance company, Kismet Dance Ensemble. www.bellydancingbylayla.com. |
Zenaide-Co-Artistic Director
Zenaide - has been a performer, teacher and choreographer of Oriental Dance for more than 30 years. Her repertoire includes American Cabaret, Classical Egyptian, Turkish, Arabic and Spanish-Arabic dance styles.
Zenaide began as a child performer on Latin American television variety shows, went on to study classical ballet in NYC and at the age of seventeen, discovered Oriental dance with the legendary dancer, Serena. It was the beginning of lifelong collaboration of study and working with the Master artist of our art. Zenaide has been a featured dancer in New York City’s top nightclubs. She has performed in Lincoln Center, The United Nations, Carnegie Hall, The Riverside Dance Festival and The 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center as well as many other prestigious show venues. She has travelled the world dancing on cruise ships, and in international clubs. She has been a theatrical performer as a member of Serena Dance Theater, as well as a founding member of Kismet Dance Ensemble, a multicultural dance Group. Zenaide is a graduate of Vassar College and holds Masters Degrees in Anthropology and Education. She is a dance educator for the NYC Department of Education and has taught Middle Eastern dance workshops in the Drama Division of The Juilliard School. Zenaide has been an instructor at Serena Studios since the early 1980’s and continues to teach workshops and to perform and choreograph in off Broadway theatrical presentations. |
Brenna
Brenna Crowley is an eclectic belly dance artist, choreographer and instructor in NYC, performing and teaching locally and across the country in many theatrical dance productions, belly dance festivals and other events each year since 2007. She has performed as a featured soloist as well as a member of Sera Solstice’s Solstice Ensemble, Solstice Project, and Solar Tribe, Altagracia’s Caribbean Rose Dance Company, Ayshe’s Cult of Isis Ensemble and many others. She is the director of her troupe Zilla Dance Ensemble, which was formed in 2009. Since its inception, they have performed in numerous theatrical shows, belly dance festivals and other dance events each year. The dancers that make up this ensemble come from all walks of life and various belly dance disciplines; together they celebrate the exuberance of movement and music.
She is also part of the dance event production team BrennSelle. With Giselle BellydanceNYC, they have produced and curated themed dance shows on the smaller scale with their Baile Noir soirees and on the larger scale with the annual Witching Hour Boo-tique theatrical dance concert. The events have been highly praised and showcase some of the most talented and imaginative performers mainly in the Tri-State Area. Brenna draws from American Cabaret Belly dance and Tribal Fusion styles as well as movement influences from hip hop, street jazz, house, martial arts, modern dance, and flamenco. She is known for her fun and imaginative choreographies, intensity, commanding stage presence as well emotive performances. Since 2008, Brenna has been teaching at Serena Studios and has also taught at Solstice Studio and for Rise Dance Company. She has also traveled taught workshops at other dance festivals and events including Art of the Belly, Lumen Obscura and Raven’s Night. As an instructor, she is known for her concise breakdowns and metaphors, which are always paired with a fun atmosphere and a sweaty good time. She has had the fortune to study under some of the best instructors in the belly dance arena – starting in 2004 at Serena Studios with the legendary Serena Wilson, Kelley McKinnon, Zenaide, Layla Mary, Altagracia, Dorit, Rayhana and Najma. In the Tribal world she has primarily trained under Sera Solstice since 2007 and has taken numerous and extensive workshops and intensives with Mira Betz, Zoe Jakes, Mardi Love, Rachel Brice, Amy Sigil, Kami Liddle, Heather Stants and Sarah Johansson Locke. In addition to her current studies under Sera Solstice and Mira Betz, Brenna continues her movement training with regular classes and workshops in flamenco, aerial circus arts, street jazz and house dance. She is also an amateur SFX makeup artist, mostly self-taught and furthering her knowledge with Continuing Education classes at School of Visual Arts. |
Altagracia
Altagracia has been an Oriental and Spanish Arabic Fusion dance teacher, choreographer and performer for 30 + years. Dancing and performing from the age of 5 Alta studied Ballet, Modern, Flamenco and Hispanic Folkloric dances. She began her Oriental Dance studies with Serena Wilson in 1981. She went on to become a teacher at Serena Studios and a member of the Serena Dance Theater. As an Oriental Dancer she has performed at various New York Middle Eastern night clubs like Fazil’s, Café Feenjon, The Oasis, Lafayette Grill. She has also performed at Lincoln Center, United Nations, NYU Kimmel Center, Brooklyn Museum, Harkness Dance Center and BAMcafè. She co-choreographed for an Off Broadway presentation. Altagracia is a founding member of Kismet Dance Ensemble and Artistic Director of Caribbean Rose.
Tachea
Tachea trained in Martial Arts as a child, and continued her movement studies as a young adult with Ballet, Modern and African Dance. She rounded out her arts training with Music, Voice and Theater Studies, which lead to the development of her incredible musicality and storytelling in performance. A lifelong lover of learning, Tachea is currently studying The Delsarte System of Expression with Joe Williams.
She began bellydancing over a decade ago, and continues to perfect her craft through various workshops with master instructors. She has had the privilege of studying with the late Serena Wilson, Kelley McKinnon, Dorit, Blanca, Ayana Amin, Jaida, Aszmara, Tamalyn Dallal, Yale Becker, Altagracia and Zenaide, among others. Tachea has traveled throughout Egypt, Morocco and Zanzibar, and performed in New York City venues like Parkside Lounge, Jebon, Lafayette Grill, Café Figaro, K-Lounge, Tagine, Bazaar Bistro, The Grisly Pear, McGee’s, Mexicali Live (Teaneck NJ), and showcases/events like Queens Fashion Week, Rakkasah East and Spring Caravan (Somerset NJ). For more information please visit tachea.com |
Past Performances
Dorit & Hanna Nour performing at Goldenfest 2016
The Serena Technique of belly dance on Fox News Channel!
|
DORIT
August 6th, 7pm, 2016 - Riverside Park Concert! Calling all blankets, picnic baskets, and candles! The Riverside Clay Tennis Association is once again hosting its series of sunset concerts on the tennis lawn overlooking the Hudson River at 97th Street. Scott Wilson & Efendi and Dorit and the Serena Dancers. Serena in Rochester-1990's |
Serena Studios on Telemundo TV
|
|
