My first teacher was Veda Sereem. I studied regularly with her for 4½ years taking class twice a week until she moved out of the area. I am forever indebted to Veda for the strong foundation in Middle Eastern dance that she taught me. I learned to play finger cymbals from Veda and she sparked my interest in folkloric/ethnic dance styles.

I also learned some really great movements in workshops with Amaya (also learned a wonderful drum solo from her), Aziz, Michele Forner (her explanation of the ¾ shimmy “clicked” for me), Margo Abdo O'Dell, Suhaila Salimpour, and Sahra Saeeda.