Professional Oriental Masha Dance Artist . . .
Welcome! Masha is Monterey Bay's premier professional Belly Dance performer and instructor ~ She instructs weekly Belly Dance classes in Pacific Grove, CA and is available for booking to make your next special event unforgettable!
Announcements:
*Masha is out of the country from July 25th - September 10th.
... Meanwhile in Monterey Bay:
Guest instructor Valeria will be substituting Masha's Saturday classes at Shall We Dance! See "classes" page for details..
Various guest dancers will be a performing Friday and Saturday nights at the Persian Grill in Monterey from July 30th- Sep. 4th!
( Masha will resume local lessons/performances starting September 11th .)
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Thursday night classes at the Pacific Grove Adult School will continue FALL 2010 ( **by pre-registration only):
Belly Dancing w/the Veil Mini Session
September 16th - October 7th ( 4 weeks)
** $40 for 4 week session
Beginning Belly Dance Technique and Stylization
October 21st - Dec 16th ( 7 weeks)
** $70 for 7 week session
Photography by Michelle Magdalena
/ Middle Eastern Rhythms SATURDAYS _ Shall We Dance, PG
Photography by Tetyana Duvall
The ART of Belly Dance with Masha
*SATURDAYS
11 am -12 pmBeginning Belly Dance Technique
12:30 - 1:30 pmAdvanced Beginners ~ Dancing with Finger Cymbals/ Rhythms
Fee: $12 for drop in or $40 for four classes
*VALERIAwill be subbing Masha's Saturday classes from Aug. 7th -Sep. 4th. (No class Sat. July 31st.)
Masha resumes instructing lessons Saturday, Sep. 11th.
Shall We Dance Studio
www.shallwedancepg.com
205 17th St. ~ Pacific Grove, CA 93950
831.373.5678
.
Thursday night classes at the Pacific Grove Adult School will continue
FALL 2010 ( **by pre-registration only):
"COME AND GET IT - THIS WOMAN TRANSMITS GRACE, BEAUTY AND EMPOWERS EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU TO BE A BETTER YOU - THROUGH YOUR OWN SENSE OF SELF AND LOVE FOR YOURSELF!!! DON'T MISS OUT!! - Kristelle Monterrosa ( Pro. Flamenco Dancer )
Ongoing Performances
* Various guest dancers will be performing at the Persian Grill throughout July 30th - September 4th, 2010.
Show times:
FRIDAY and SATURDAY nights!
7 and 8 pm
Location:
Persian Grill
675 Lighthouse Ave.
Monterey CA, 93940
(831) 372-3720
Persian Grill website:
www.persiangril.com
*( Whenever possible, a guest dancer will perform if Masha is out of town.)
Photos
Masha Performing at Kalisa Moore's memorial celebration. October 2009. photo by Christine Holding.
Eye see you! :P
Rakkasah West 2009
Evolution of the American Belly Dancer Show. August 2009, Carmel Bough Theatre, Carmel CA.
PhotographNic. http://photographnic.com/ 2009?
PhotographNic. http://photographnic.com/
Videos
~ To view a video FULL SCREEN, click on the tiny square box on the bottom right corner of the video.
~ To EXIT full screen view, press the "Esc" button on your keyboard.
Biography
Masha was born in Ukraine into a creative family, both of her parents being professional artists. Her mother, Lana, placed her in ballet classes at a young age. Masha's interest later shifted to Flamenco dance, which she studied and performed on scholarship for a number of years with her Flamenco teacher Alicia Morena-di Palma. The mystery and elegance of Oriental dance eventually captured Masha's attention and she decided to devote her focus to the entrancing art of Middle Eastern Dance ( also known as Raqs Sharqi or "belly" dance.)
Masha studied belly dance continously with Janelle Rodriguez of Santa Cruz from 2006 - 2009. Through out that time, she was an active performing member of Janelle's Desert Dream Dance Company. Performing with Desert Dream helped Masha grow into an experienced professional.
Masha also periodically studied with Crystal Silmi of Santa Cruz, and performed with her dance company Raks Arabi in 2007.
Whenever possible, Masha continues to attend intensive workshops with internationally renowned instructors in order to deepen her understanding of Oriental Dance. Masha has studied with Mohammed El Hosseny, Yousry Sharif, Nourhan Sharif, Saida, Tito, Suhaila Salimpour ... and the list goes on...
As an instructor herself, Masha emphasizes modern and traditional technique/ stylization as well as an essential understanding of musicality. Her personal teaching and performance style of "belly" dance may most likely be described as Modern Egyptian style . She has always been drawn to the grace of Classical Egyptian dance, yet also enjoys fusing her experiences with various other dance forms to present a modern style of Oriental dance uniquely her own. Music and dance of all cultures and genres inspire Masha to constantly expand her knowledge of movement and challenge her own creativity.
Masha veiws dance as a source of joy, a discipline, a form of expression, and an ecstasy of life!
...
In Feb. 2010, Masha competed in the Belly Dancer of the Universe Competition in Long Beach, CA. Out of 25 international competitors, she was chosen as one of the four finalists in the Egyptian category. Masha placed 3rd runner up for Belly Dancer of the Universe 2010, Egyptian Category. More recently, Masha was a finalist in Belly Dancer of the Year 2010 .
Masha has performed for such organizations as the Arab American Club of Monterey, the Defense Language Institute of Monterey, Monterey Institute of International Studies, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Girls Inc. (a youth mentoring program of Monterey County), North Alisal Salinas High School, and the Art Council of Monterey, among others. Masha has also performed with numerous talented and highly acclaimed Middle Eastern Music artists such as the Georges Lammam Ensemble, Karim Nagi, and Brothers of the Baladi.
Masha is co-founder and a choreographer of BellySema Dance Company, providing professional, unique, and exciting entertainment for ethnic festivals, theatrical productions, parties, corporate events, and concerts.
She currently teaches the art of Oriental Dance at Shall We Dance and the PG Adult School in Pacific Grove, CA. Masha also offers private and group dance lessons and lessons in traditional Middle Eastern Drum rhythms (on the darbuka/ doumbek drum) for dancers and musicians.
Booking
Masha is experienced in entertaining for theatrical venues as well as a wide variety of family oriented celebrations such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, New Years parties and many other occasions! (Absolutely NO private personal dancing or all male parties.)
* Testimonials
* Performance PRICING
*Preview Masha's Performance Contract
Masha is also available for booking to instruct workshops internationally!
Contact masha via...
... email: mashadanceart_gmail.com
... phone:(831) 204-2117
Creative Community Links
Fine Art by Lana
www.muralsbylana.com
www.yessy.com/muralsbylana
Professional Dance Associates
Janelle Rodriguez: www.janelledance.com
Crystal Silmi: www.crystalsilmi.com
Firefly: http://sites.google.com/site/FireflyBellydance
Michelle Reynolds: www.norulesdance.com
Zorba: www.doubleveil.net
Alicia Morena-di Palma (FLAMENCO): www.aditidance.org
Kristelle Monterrosa (FLAMENCO): http://www.wix.com/kmmonterrosa/Kristelle-Monterrosa
Photography
Magdalena: www.MichelleMagdalena.com
Nic Coury: http://photographnic.com/
Tetyana Duvall: ~
Michael Baxter: ~
