ObSiDiA has been a life-long dancer and performer trained in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Contact Improv, American Cabaret and Tribal Fusion Belly Dance. She began studying belly dance in 2003 and after a year of American Cabaret, discovered her home in Tribal Fusion under the guidance of Cynthia Todd of Tribal Feat. Since then, she has studied extensively with some of the top belly dancers in the world including Jill Parker, Zoe Jakes, Rachel Brice, Sharon Kihara, Mardi Love and in-depth studies with her mentor, Ariellah Aflalo.

Currently, ObSiDiA is finishing a year of dance study at Texas Woman’s University and is pursuing a B.F.A. in Art with minors in Dance and Kinesiology at the University of Texas at Arlington in the fall of 2011. She also studies Suhaila Salimpour format, working towards her Level I certification while pursuing her Vinyasa yoga certification.

ObSiDiA has been honored to share the stage with many amazing performers at festivals such as Tribal Fest 2006-2007, 3rd Coast Tribal 2006-2010, Ariellah’s Shadowdance 2010 and various shows across Texas and the Midwest. She has been an instructor at Tribal Alchemy 2007 and Z’s Birthday Bash 2009. In January 2011, she taught “Embracing the Shadows” in Odessa, Texas.

Continually pushing her boundaries and deepening her relationship with dance, ObSiDiA enjoys exploring Horton, Dunham, Graham and Laban-Bartenieff movement techniques. She believes in empowering dancers through the integral knowledge of anatomy, yoga/Pilates, technique, stage craft and consistent drill practice to build stronger, more sustained dancers.

"I see dance being used as communication between body and soul, to express what it too deep to find for words." ~Ruth St. Denis

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul." ~Martha Graham

"Remember, the entrance door to the sanctuary is inside you." ~Rumi

http://tribes.tribe.net/obsidia