Sofia Tribal Fest 2020 | Join the first Tribal Fusion Belly Dance fest in Sofia

Sofia Tribal Fest; Organized by Tribal Fusion Sofia; 16-18 October 2020 in Sofia, Bulgaria; Workshops with Kami Liddle, Amanda Pittoreska, Kenzi Orchidaceae and Eva Sampedro (register here)

After the successful first edition in 2019, we are now coming back to bring you some of the world’s renowned Tribal Fusion Belly Dance instructors!

For the STF 2020 edition, we are more than happy to bring you fabulous Kami Liddle (US), Amanda Pittoreska (CH), Eva Sampedro (ES), and Kenzi Orchidaceae (PT).

This powerful and diverse lineup of teachers will teach you about sharp and sudden moves, locks, Krysalis combinations, the ABCs of the Datura Style™, how to control your energy flow, how to develop your inner musical ear, how to “play music” with your own body, and much more!

Here is a brief introduction of the Sofia Tribal Fest 2020 instructors:

Kami Liddle - Bellydance Superstars Alumnus

Dancing and studying dance since she was 4 (ballet, tap, jazz, modern, hip hop), a musician, and a Bachelor (B.A.) in Art of the University of Nevada. Kami is also an alumnus of the Fat Chance Belly Dance, Bellydance Superstars (BDSS), and a former director of the BDSS’ “Tribal Superstars”.

After years of touring the Globe, in 2010 Kami started her collaboration with Zoe Jakes and Beats Antique. 2013 is another pivotal year for Kami, as she established and focused on her own Gold Star Dance Company.
(see Kami’s full bio in the STF20 registration form)

Amanda Pittoreska - a Swiss Tribal Fusion Bellydance pioneer

Over the past 13 years, Amanda has been studying and mixing Fusion Bellydance with Yoga, Pilates, and Fitness. Her passion for dance led her across the pond to the States, where she learned from the most esteemed names – most notably – Rachel Brice (but also Kami Liddle, and many others).

Additionally, Amanda has a vast experience as both performer and instructor. In addition to many European appearances, she took the stage at Tribal Fest in California, the Massive Spectacular in Las Vegas, and the Theatrical Bellydance Conference NY.

Amanda is a certified 8 Elements Datura Style™ Teacher, POLESTAR® Pilates Trainer Mat, Dipl. Spiraldynamik® Specialist, and runs her own fusion dance studio Pittoreska in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

(see Amanda’s full bio in the STF20 registration form)

Kenzi Orchidaceae - a Biologist with a passion for dance

Kenzi was a part of Orchidaceae (in one way or the other) since she was 11. Thankfully to Piny, she spent the majority of her life studying dance with renowned international artists. Popping, New Style, Contemporary and Breakdance floorwork have influenced Kenzi in various ways.

Still, Tribal Fusion is her base.

Kenzi has performed and taught solo and with Orchidaceae in Portugal and all over Europe, as well as in India, in various events and summer festivals. Additionally, she holds a Master’s degree in Biology (thesis: parrot vocalizations and behavior).

(see Kenzi’s full bio in the STF20 registration form)

Eva Sampedro - (Indian) Fusion Dance pioneer and the woman of strength

Eva is a woman of many interests and pursues them all with equal dedication. With over 17 years of teaching experience in Bellydance, Tribal Fusion, and Indian Tribal Fusion, she leads her studio in Zaragoza since 2005.

In addition to her international performances (across Europe, Asia, and Latin America), Eva also holds certificates as a Yoga teacher.

Did I mention she loves running marathons?

(see Eva’s full bio in the STF20 registration form)

WORKSHOP SPOTS ARE LIMITED - SECURE YOUR SPOT TODAY!

Click HERE to register

Looking forward to seeing you soon in sunny Sofia 🙂

Tribally yours,

Sandra

SOFIA TRIBAL FEST 2019

When I started out almost two years ago, I could have never imagined that I will have the honor to host two great Tribal Fusion Belly Dance teachers!

However, after many sleepless nights and struggle, I am very happy to announce our very first SOFIA TRIBAL FEST! Very excited to have Melli Sarina and Silvia Orchidaceae teaching in Sofia in the coming October.

Many dancers have great ambition and desire to improve their technique and style. And it is very important to learn from great mentors and teachers with lots of experience.

However, great teachers aren’t easy to find – especially in this part of the world, where the Tribal Fusion community is still very young.

This is exactly why we are organizing Sofia Tribal Fest. We want to bring Melli and Silvia, two outstanding Tribal Fusion teachers, closer to YOU.

(If you are a fellow dancer, a local tribal fusion teacher, or even just about to get into the charming world of Tribal Fusion Belly Dance – you will not want to miss this)

But first, let’s start with a few essentials about the event itself:-

What is Sofia Tribal Fest?

Sofia Tribal Fest (2019) is the first Tribal Fusion Belly Dance festival in Bulgaria. With this event, our goal is to bring amazing Tribal Fusion dance teachers to the local community. Sharing knowledge is very important, especially for growing movements (like Tribal Fusion in Sofia).

During the Fest, Melli and Silvia will hold their workshops for all interested in Tribal Fusion belly dance. Additionally, we plan to host the Tribal Stage Night, where independent artists from Bulgaria and abroad can showcase their skills.

You can register your performance for the Tribal Stage Night here.

Finally, for all guests that come outside of Sofia, we will have a short tour of some key local sights.

Why Sofia needs its own Tribal Fest

As far as I know, Dominika Suchecka held one Tribal Fusion dance workshop during the oriental belly dance NUR Fest in 2018. My students and I have attended her workshop and were very happy to be a part.

(thank you Dominika – we have learned so much!)

And that is more the reason why we think Sofia tribal community deserves more such esteemed guests and more tribal themed events. If this community is to grow, Tribal Fusion can’t just be a small part of larger umbrella events. Tribal isn’t an afterthought – it is a superior form of belly dance and it should be treated as such.

Sofia Tribal Fest Teachers

Focusing on quality rather than quantity, we invited teachers with a solid foundation and lots of international experience. Melli and Silvia are just absolutely fabulous.

Silvia Orchidaceae

An amazing dancer and a great teacher. Her breathtaking technique will awake your rhythm and get you to move to the beat of the urban groove.

Silvia discovered the world of Oriental Dance by chance in 2007, when she was looking for something to break her work routine as an architect. Since then, it has been an increasingly intense and profound journey marked by several stages.

Silvia began her dance training in Lisbon. In addition to national training, she participated in several international workshops. Ultimately, Tribal Fusion Bellydance turned out to be her greatest passion. In this area, Silvia had the privilege to learn from Rachel Brice, Ashley Lopez, and Samantha Emanuel among others.

Her first oriental dance group was named Mahtab, and with the opening of Studio Mahtab (2010-2013), Silvia began teaching Oriental Dance and Tribal Fusion. She is also one of the sponsors of TribaLX, the only international Tribal Fusion Festival in Portugal, going on its 9th edition, always with participants from all over the world. She joined the group Orchidaceae Urban Tribal in 2013 led by Piny Orchidaceae.

Silvia has won the first place at the Tribal Fusion Competition of the Sommer Festival in Berlin. Shortly after, in 2014, she started giving regular Tribal Fusion classes at the Tanzakademie Cifuentes. She loves fusion dance styles, mostly with urban flair, and enjoys working with other dancers.

Most recently, Silvia worked with Yuri Ferretti (Germany, Italy); Lia Pavlidis (Germany); Haza (France), Iza Lo (Poland), Melli Sarina Baumeister (Germany) and Alice Bloom (Germany).

Currently, she is teaching regular classes at the “1st floor” studio in Berlin. For more details about Silvia, see www.orchidaceaeurbantribal.com

Melli Sarina

Melli comes from Augsburg, Germany, with a vast and diverse dancing and tutoring experience. She started in oriental dance. However, once she discovered tribal fusion belly dance she just fell in love with this style.

Melli’s specialty is the Liquid fusion dance technique, which many consider her signature. She frequently travels and holds workshops all over Europe.

Over the past 20 years, Melli Sarina performed different styles of oriental dance.

Once she decided to focus on tribal fusion belly dance, she attended the Tribal Massive professional track in Las Vegas twice already and successfully passed the Level 2 Dancecraft: Key of Spades education with Zoe Jakes in 2017.

Melli constantly improves her dance technique, precision skills, and regularly attends workshops and intensive dance and training sessions. She also runs and manages her dance studio in her hometown.

Sofia Tribal Fest Workshops

For the past couple of months, Melli, Silvia, and I have been preparing the programme for the first edition of Sofia Tribal Fest. As a result, you will find balanced workshops that focus on different aspects of your body, mind, and dance technique. As a whole, these workshops will help dancers of any style enrich their technique and skillset.

Whether you dance oriental belly dance, fusion dance, tribal fusion dance, or some other dance style – you will have lots to learn from both Melli and Silvia 🙂

WORKSHOPS 2019

“Between the Lines”

Silvia Orchidaceae

You will learn:

How to combine innovative hands and arm patterns with belly dance hip technique;

How to transition among poses by switching between strong and clean images, melting organically one to another.

“Explore the beauty of your body. We will work on body poses and lines while focusing on little details that make the big difference.”

’’Liquid Fusion Dance Technique’’

Melli Sarina

You will learn:

How to make liquid dance movements and transitions.

“In this intermediate level workshop, we will focus on special initiation points. You will test your flexibility, reach your limits, and go beyond. Finally, we will combine those (seemingly effortless) movements into a liquid dance sequence.”

“Loose Control”

Silvia Orchidaceae

You will learn:

How to combine groove from urban dances with belly dance isolations;

How to boost your dance style with newly discovered freedom and creativity.

“Here we will combine groove from urban dances with belly dance elements. Get ready to challenge your body and mind to layer not only different movements but also different qualities and energies at the same time.”

’’Tricky Combinations’’

Melli Sarina

You will learn:

How to create wonderful combos from Tribal Fusion and Fusion Belly Dance elements;

How to unleash your imagination, and create fluid transitions between different elements.

“In this intermediate level workshop, we will combine various body movements and different dance styles. As a result, we will create wonderful tribal fusion inspired combinations.”