Dancers: Elise Bowell & Alison Currans
Choreography by: Monique Dorian

Monique Dorian has been dancing and performing for over 17 years, and teaching since 2001. She studied dance - training in modern, jazz, hip hop, Latin/Ballroom, salsa, ballet, and lyrical techniques - at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where she attended master classes by Paul Taylor, Parsons Dance, Mark Morris, The Martha Graham Company, and more.

Monique teaches all levels of dance technique to a variety of ages. She currently teaches company classes at Gervais Dance Studio in Concord, Mass. as well as beginner to advanced classes at the Dancetime and at The Studio DCFA in Brookline, Mass. Monique was also a guest dance teacher for the 2011 Boston Ballet SummerWorkshops. She is certified in Hatha yoga and incorporates elements of Vinyasa yoga in her yoga and Yoga/Pilates blend classes.

Sarah “Jezebel” Wood is a bellydance fusion artist and certified yoga instructor living in the Greater Boston Area where she teaches weekly classes and performs regularly. Sarah loves to nurture and cultivate the deep creative beauty and strength that we each hold as dancers and envisions dance as fluid meditation where our bodies are the catalyst to experience higher levels of consciousness. Knocking down boundaries Sarah’s style ranges from slow and sinuous to quick, dark and aggressive. Her inspirations vary from the natural world to the occult to visionary art.

For the last 4 years Sarah worked in New York for Visionary Artist Alex Grey creator of CoSM as well as teaching bellydance consistently in the Hudson Valley and NYC. While in New York she studied with Sera Solstice founder of Bold Bellydance as part of Solstice Dance Ensemble, performing at Spirit of the Tribes, Spring Caravan, Rakkasah and Tribal Fest, as well, she also participated in three of Sera Solstice’s instructional DVD’s; Lunar Bellydance, Solar Bellydance and East Coast Tribal Foundations at the same time teaching a weekly class entitled Dark Tribal at Solstice Studios located in Lower Manhattan. Sarah also kept up regular classes at CoSM teaching beginners and intermediate levels Tribal Fusion Bellydance. In the Summer 2010 she joined forces with Elizabeth Muise and Shane Chikeles to form Boom Boom Shake a nouveau middle eastern ensemble that brought together classic tribal bellydance and luscious exotic rhythms .

Her affair with dance started after falling in love with liquid fusion dance styles in the underground club scene of Boston. She eventually ventured into other avenues of performance and dance working with the Boston Baby Dolls Burlesque Troupe as part of their original line up. Soon her tastes expanded and started training with Shakti Rowan in ITS style bellydance and Tribal Bellydance which soon swept her into the arms of Naraya as Vadalna moved to Boston. She has also studied traditional Indian dance: Bharatanatyam, and spent many a summer adventure in the shamanistic fire circle community. Sarah has studied and performed Bellydance with Sera Solstice, Solstice Ensemble, Shakti Rowan, Vadalna, and Naraya and taken workshops from Zoe Jakes, Mardi Love, Rachel Brice, Sharon Kihara, Zafira, Asharah, Unmata and Jill Parker. Sarah enjoys the connection between dancer and musician and has performed live with acts such as HuDost, Copal,Boom Boom Shake and Incus. www.sarahjezebelwood.com

 


Laa, taking the stage as Miss Laa SayFaire for the very first time, is delighted to once again return to Temple...with something completely different. Tonight she is trading in her bedlah for a lacy bra, and advises you to watch for falling glitter, and perhaps hold onto your hats.