Like many children I began dance at the age of three and discovered very quickly how much I loved dance and I knew from a very young age that it would always be part of my life. As a child I studied ballet, jazz, tap, highland and Ukrainian dance. My favourite dance form then was always jazz, however Highland and Ukrainian dance opened something in me that would grow exponentially; That was the self discovery that my true passion lies with Ethnic Dance.  Throughout my years of dance I was encouraged to try my hand at choreography. The more experience and insight I gained with choreography the greater my talent grew for being able to breakdown and interpret music. I had found yet another passion through dance, a form of creative expression even richer than the dance itself and that was creating the dance! Having been intrigued by Belly Dance for a long time I took a class on a whim and I loved it immediately. Fate was smiling on me because I was encouraged by my instructor to work toward professional dancing. After a lot of hard work and preparation I began performing Belly Dance professionally. Shortly after, I began instructing Belly Dance and took the plunge into a full time career instructing and performing Oriental Dance. From 1999 through 2006 I taught between 10 and 14 classes per week in a variety of locations including Grant MacEwan and various Dance Studios in Edmonton, Spruce Grove, St. Alberta, Sherwood Park and Leduc. As a dance instructor I produced six large dance productions including one which followed the history of Oriental Dance. During that time period I also performed in many of the Greek and Arabic restaurants in Edmonton and area including: Yiannis, Grub Med, Syrtaki, Koutouki, Koutouki Ouzeri, Nikos in Sherwood Park and It's All Greek to Me in Red Deer. When I first began teaching and performing Belly Dance in Edmonton the Belly Dance Community was very small, consisting of only a handful of instructors and maybe a couple hundred students. As Belly Dance began to grow in our city it became a new and exciting topic for the media. I was featured on television and in newspapers on many occasions (see Dance Resume for details). A highlight for me in my career as a Belly Dancer was to be one of the Belly Dancers filmed for a show called Family Restaurant, a documentary style show created for Food Network Canada that features a different family run restaurant each season. The Psalios Family run a few Greek restaurants in Edmonton under the name of Koutouki. This was an especially exciting event for me as I am a huge fan of the Food Network and a foodie. Not only was I seen dancing throughout the six part series of the first season, but my belly was featured in the promo clip for the show! Another highlight was having the opportunity to dance with Vinok Worldance, a fabulous Edmonton based dance troupe that works very hard to entertain and educate with folk dances from around the world. My experience dancing with them helped to broaden my repertoire. Years later I was invited back to teach an Egyptian choreography to the troupe for Christmas Around the World 2010. Throughout my dance career I have had the great opportunity to study with many different dance instructors and attend many dance workshops from Jazz to Belly Dance to African to Flamenco. As my passion is world dance I have also done extensive reading and research over the years about dance and music from around the world. I have endeavoured when possible to also study a variety of instruments and languages. In 2006 I took a leave of absense form performing and shifted down to teaching classes part-time as my husband and I were planning to extend our family. Since that time I have had two more children, a boy and a girl for a total of three beautiful children! I have been dancing for over 30 years and have studied more than a dozen dance forms. My personal dance style has been most heavily influenced by my training in Ballet, Jazz and Belly Dance. When I teach and perform I rely on all of my dance training to be everything that I can be. The more I think I know about dance, the more I realize I don't know; However, my passion for dance keeps me hungry and always wanting more, so I embrace all that comes my way. Dance is a journey, not a destination. And dance is passion! Tascheleia When I imagine myself... I imagine myself as a dancer! ~Tascheleia~ |