Classes held at Moon Haven Studio, 5 Legion Street, Ringgold, GA 30736 unless otherwise specified. Jillanna has taught group and private classes in Cleveland, Ooltewah, Chattanooga, Fort Oglethorpe, Ringgold, Dalton, Atlanta, Birmingham, and other southeastern cities as well as in Massachusetts, where she first began to teach in 2002. 

To register, contact Jillanna Babb.

Upcoming Shows:

Greek Night at Portofino's in East Ridge Saturday, January 28 (reservations start at 6pm) Live music by Grecian Echoes and belly dancing by Jillanna and Jamie.

7th Annual Gems of the Oasis Showcase Friday, March 23 (7:30pm) Barking Legs Theater, Chattanooga. Live music by Jon Silpayamanant of Il troubadoure and performances by all Merrybellies troupes in our annual double feature. First show (7:30pm): belly dance from folkloric to classic Egyptian to tribal fusion... Intermission/Transformation (9pm). Second Show (10pm): Phantom Champagne Fantastic Fusion. Contact Jillanna for advance tickets. 

Instructor: Jillanna enjoys belly dance as a teacher, choreographer, troupe director, event organizer, performer, and art historian. Her studies have focused on Lebanese Belly Dance; Egyptian Raqs Sharqi and Raqs Baladi; and Turkish Oriental. Styles she has studied (and continues to study) include Saudi Arabian, Tunisian, Moroccan, Persian... and more! As a professional artist, she creates visual and verbal art as well, and specializes in henna body art (mendhi). She earned her masters degree in art history at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, specializing in Modern Art. She also researched and studied African and Islamic Art. The graduate school awarded her a fellowship to further her work in African art. She earned her BA in Fine Arts at Amherst College, graduating summa cum laude. Her painting thesis ("Visceral Reality and Machine Dreams") received highest honors.

Jillanna's performance, visual, and verbal arts career spans nearly two decades, with numerous exhibitions, teaching opportunities, and events providing outlets for her vision and creativity. Jillanna's classes include cultural and historical context as well as technique and original choreography. She helps students to recognize and move to rhythms and to understand the music of the Middle East, teaching and performing with finger cymbals and tambourine. She began study of music and rhythm at an early age, specializing in piano and flute. Later she added drumming and guitar, and worked for five years as a disc jockey at WREK 91.1 FM Atlanta, where she gained an extensive knowledge of all musical genres. An avid fan of a wide range musical genres, Jillanna strives to understand the rhythms, styles, and influences of the artists whose music moves her to dance.

Jillanna has studied belly dancing with excellent teachers, including Rose Champagne (her very first instructor), Emuna, Liora, Attar Mellea, Shifah, Mahsati Janan, Eva Cernik, Morocco, Alexia (Knoxville), Elizabeth Artemis Mourat, Leyla Jouvana, Jillina, Natalie Brown, Gina (Atlanta), & the legend himself, Mahmoud Reda. She continues her studies in Middle Eastern & North African dance, music, culture, language, and art. Jillanna currently teaches belly dance at locations in Northwest Georgia, Southeast TN, and the Chattanooga area. She began teaching belly dance in 2001, and now teaches several classes every week (beginner through advanced level). She is passionate about her classes, creating choreography, organizing events, and directing her troupes. She is devoted to the women & girls in her classes and to the art of belly dance.

Teachers:

Rose Champagne: basics/foundation; styles: Arabic, Egyptian (Baladi; Shaabi; Pharoanic); ATS/Tribal Fusion; props: candles, veils, finger cymbals); performance and stage presence; belly dance professionalism.

Attar Mellea: ATS/Tribal Fusion; Veil; performance and stage presence.

Emuna: finger cymbals.

Jillina: Egyptian raks sharki technique and choreography.

Alexia: Egyptian raks sharki technique and choreography.

Mahsati Janan: Egyptian technique; combinations & layering; style comparisons)

Liora: tribal fusion technique; arms and hands.

Natalie Brown: ATS/tribal fusion technique.

Gina: Egyptian raks sharki technique & choreography.

Leyla Jouvana & Roland: Styles: Egyptian (raks sharki; Saidi; Pharoanic; Baladi); Saudi/Khaleegy; Afro-Mambo-Samba-Fusion; Hungarian; Bollywood); Rhythms and Shimmies (extensive intensives, covering more than 15 rhythms, their history/meaning, and how to move to them); arms and hands; 7 veils/double veil; tambourine; private lessons in technique and choreography.

Artemis Mourat: Turkish Oriental technique intensive, including improvisation; travel steps; spins and turns; layering combinations; belly undulations/rolls.

Eva Cernik: Turkish Oriental technique intensive; layering/combinations; travels/spins and turns; abdominal isolations; silk veil technique.

Morocco: Technique intensive and choreography in Tunisian, Romani and Ghawazee styles, with extensive cultural/historical background.

Mahmoud Reda: Classic Egyptian technique and choreography, plus a wonderfully informative question and answer session and beautiful description/lecture about his experiences and background.

"Of course I also study and research independently, and have a large collection of resources in my library, and network of professionals with whom to consult. The actual live workshops are so much better for study, however, and I value them beyond compare. Meeting Mahmoud Reda was a highlight of my life! And I absolutely adore Leyla Jouvana and Roland; as you can see, I've studied with them quite a bit. There is no replacement for these experiences! I've been belly dancing for more than a decade, and will never stop growing and learning! Belly dance is a rich art form, and continues to develop as an art. Art that stagnates dies.. so I embrace fusion and new ideas, and bring my own original ideas to dance and performance art. I also honor and promote the classic and folk styles of belly dance, and credit the cultures and countries from which these styles originated. I am extremely grateful for this beautiful art form that enriches my life, and do love to share my passion for belly dancing. I love belly dance... I am truly passionate and obsessed. Its not my only performance activity; I also act participate in various projects (Monsters Anonymous; Shock Theater; etc) and create performances inspired by DADA and Surrealist art, theater, and vaudeville." ~Jillanna

Moon Haven Studio Gift certificates in any amount are available. These may be used toward any class or workshop at Moon Haven.

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