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About Your Teachers
 

DEVI MAMAK

Artistic Director/Founder/Ghawazi Caravan member/Principal Teacher
 

Devi Mamak is troupe member and artistic director of the award winning Ghawazi Caravan, based in the Blue Mountains in N.S.W &. is one of Australia's premier ATS dancers, teachers and choreographers having studied a variety of various Middle Eastern dance styles for over a decade as well as Flamenco, Classical Indian & Ballet.

Photo by Michael Mamak. Captured memories

She has also travelled to San Francisco several times to study with the masters of ATS & has dedicated herself to ATS since 1999. U.S.A teachers include FCBD, Gypsy Caravan, Ultra Gypsy, as well as belly dance superstars Rachel Brice & Kaeshi Chai. Devi has also attended workshops & or classes with Karen Gehrman, Jessie Gauld, Colette Hunter, Megha Gavin, Suhalia Salimpour, Kajira Doujamana, Tribal Feat, Rachel Lazurus Soto, Paulette Rees Denis. Classes/workshops with Australian/ N.Z teachers include  Jrisi Jusakos, Terezka Drinzik, Ruth Brent, Sarah Hamilton, Susan Brown,  Diane
Dupont, Mel Rogers, Gintarus, Belyssa & of course her first teacher Kaiya Seaton. Devi has also completed two teacher development courses with renowned Australian dancers, Belyssa & Terezka. Devi is the only person in Australia to be accepted into Carolena Nericcio's intensive Teacher Training Course. Devi has now received her teaching accreditation in the highly regarded Fat Chance Belly Dance [FCBD] format, with several of Ghawazi Caravan movements being accepted into the FCBD format.

Devi holds weekly classes in ATS for all levels and ages in the Blue Mountains & is regularly invited to teach workshops interstate & N.Z. She is also the Artistic Director of student troupes, Ghaziya & Ghawazi Girls. Devi has earned a reputation as a patient and thorough teacher. As a performer she is renowned for her strong stage presence, as well as her innovative and colourful choreographies.

Devi regularly sponsors major proponents of ATS from the U.S.A. & in 2006 hosted the first Australian Tribal & Trance Festival which was a huge success with participants attending from all over Australia, N.Z & the U.S. Devi is also a classically trained, conservatorium accredited piano teacher with 25 years teaching experience and is a mother of 2.

LARA BUCKNALL

Ghawazi Caravan member/Assistant Artistic Director/Teacher

Lara has been belly dancing since 1995. She originally started in oriental styles, spending 6 years attending regular classes with a number of different teachers. Apart from regular classes, she also attended workshops regularly in a variety of Middle Eastern dance styles, and performed on occasion.

In 2000 Lara was introduced to American Tribal Style (ATS) by Devi Mamak and started taking classes with her the following year. Towards the end of 2001 she joined Devi's current performance troupe, and it was around this time the troupe formally became Ghawazi Caravan. Since being a part of Ghawazi Caravan Lara has had the opportunity to perform interstate and overseas as well as assisting Devi to teach in Queensland and South Australia. Lara has also co-taught with current troupe member/teacher April, and is looking forward to adding to her teaching skills by starting weekly tribal fusion classes.

Lara enjoys spending her time choreographing tribal fusion dances with her sister and fellow troupe member Kathy. She has also choreographed pure tribal pieces as well as tribal fusion solos, and is currently working on tribal fusion combos. Apart from performing and choreographing Lara likes to brush up on her skills by attending regular dance workshops. Some of the international, interstate and local teachers she has studied with over the years include: Carolena Nericcio, Karen Gehrman, Jessie Gauld, Colette Hunter, Megha Gavin, Susan Brown, Rachel Lazurus Soto, Suhaila Salimpour, Rachel Brice, Jill Parker, Domba, Tribal Feat, Leyla Jouvana, Melusina (Mel) Rogers, Melissa Cristina, Shamira, Gintaras, Shiva, Amera, Ruth Brent, Sarah Hamilton, Jrisi Jusakos, Dianna Dupont, and most importantly her very first teachers, Aileen Keir and Kiaya Seaton.

Apart from belly dance Lara has dabbled in other dance styles, some of these include: Flamenco, Classical Indian, African, Hip Hop and Contemporary. She also regularly practices Yoga.

 

APRIL ERZETICH 

Ghawazi Caravan member/Teacher

April has been dancing since she was three when she started Jazz ballet. She danced with the same school to the age of 16 in this time studying classical, modern, hip-hop and flamenco.

When finishing High school April started learning Egyptian Baladi in Newcastle where she progressed to be a troupe performer for several years and a substitute teacher. Her teaching experience also extended to workshops for the youth at community centres, one at Camp Quality, and most recently at Katoomba High School. April has been training in the American Tribal style since 2002 and performing with Ghawazi caravan since the beginning of 2006. April has travelled twice to the U.S.A, once in 2004 with G.C. training with Carolina, Suhaila, Domba, Jill Parker, Colleena and again in 2005 training for five weeks with Jill Parker and Ultra Gypsy. April also studied Flamenco in Canada for 6months in 2005.   Her performance experience also includes some solo dancing with acts such as Babylon Bicycle, Gamalen Nova Kasatria and The Love Lorn Living Party.

 

 

 

 

 
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