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Shoebox Instructors

 
 
Ariellah

Ariellah Aflalo

Ariellah teaches and performs tribal fusion and gothic belly dance all over the world. She has an extensive 12 year dance background that includes strict classical ballet training with the Royal Academy of Dance from London. She has studied and performed belly dance for the past six years, both with Janine Ryle of Danse Mahgreb and as a founding member of The Indigo with Rachel Brice. Her style infuse; Middle Eastern dance with a modern, very dark flavour, that is uniquely her own. She is featured on many DVDs, including the first of its kind “Gothic BellyDance” DVD and her first instructional DVD, “Contemporary BellyDance and Yoga Conditioning” and she also won first place in Siren’s Insanity belly dance competition in 2004. She is considered a leader in the innovative new genre of Gothic Belly Dance and is known for her strong technique and precision of movements.

 
 
Cera

Cera Byer


Cera Byer has been studying dance, music, and theater since the age of 4. Her dance experience includes Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Afro-Haitian, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, Kathak of India, Dunham Technique, Salsa, Samba, Tribal Bellydance, classical and contemporary Persian dance, Flamenco, and most recently, Capoiera. In addition to being the founder and Artistic Director of Damage Control Dance Theater, Cera has performed professionally with Shahrzad Dance Company (Classical and Contemporary Persian dance), PULSE Modern Dance Ensemble (Modern), Ultra Gypsy Dance Theater Company (Innovative Tribal Fusion Bellydance), Rara Tou Limen (San Francisco's only Carnaval contingent representing Haiti), as well as presenting her solo choreography in festivals, concert stages, lecture demonstrations, and private events across the United States.

Cera holds a BA in Dance (Performance and Choreography), with an emphasis in World Music and Dance from San Francisco State University, and certifications in Group Fitness Instruction (YMCA) and Pilates Mat (Sanchez St. Studios). Cera owns and operates Shoebox Studio in San Francisco, where she teaches daily classes in Pilates, Yoga, and Dance.
 
Nanna

Nanna Candelaria


Nanna has studied, danced, and taught Belly Dance for over 25 years. In addition to her first and primary teacher, Mary Ann Khanlan, her understanding of the dance is credited to dancers with a range of both Western & Egyptian styles and influences, including: Nadia Hamdi, Shareen El Safy, Eva Cernik, Suzanna Del Vecchio, Cassandra, and Suhaila Salimpour. Though Belly Dance is her principal genre, her involvement also includes: Uzbek, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Afro-Cuban, and West African Dance.

She cultivated her dance skills while entertaining in theatres, Middle Eastern & Mediterranean restaurants, nightclubs, and a range of public and private events. Bringing into being her own distinctive style, Nanna has performed both nationally and internationally, such as the San Francisco Ethnic Dance and the International Cultural Festival in Beijing. She has presented lectures and demonstrations, and appeared in State College symposiums for UC Berkeley, UC San Francisco, and Mills College. She and master drummer Mary Ellen Donald currently demonstrate Middle Eastern music and dance to public and private schools through Young Audiences of Northern California. She has introduced Belly Dance to countless students, several who have gone on to become known professionals. In summation, Nanna heartily advocates the experience of learning, creating, and dancing!
 

Christina Lowery

  • Baby Ballet
  • Kids' Hip Hop
Christina Lowery is Bay Area bred artist. She grew up training as a ballerina and has branched out into modern, hip hop and creative dance methods. In addition to dancing and designing for Temple nightclub she is a member of El Gato Del Diablo Theatre www.elgatotheatre.org, a dancer and resident costume designer for Artface Physical Theatre and a member of Team Lexington Performance Collective. Her art is absurd and beautiful with an emphasis on personal responsibility and sustainability.
 
Christie

Christie Marshall


Christie teaches Vinyasa Yoga and challenges students to open their physical body and deepen their mental awareness, moving toward balance. Vinyasa yoga synchronizes ujjayi breath with a fluid sequence of poses building internal heat to cleanse the body and ultimately the mind. She started dancing when she was 3 years old and never stopped moving, her own yoga journey began in 1991 experimenting with various styles including Ashtanga, Iyengar, Yin Yoga, and Power Vinyasa. She became a certified yoga instructor through Down Dog Yoga Studio, a Baron Baptiste affiliate studio in Washington, DC and has continued her studies at workshops with such inspiring teachers as Baron Baptiste, Sarah Powers, Shiva Rea, Aadil Palkhivala, and Ana Forrest. Christie has been a lifelong educator in diverse fields - she is excited to share her passion for yoga, guiding yoga practitioners to a deeper understanding of asana, breath, mindfulness and conscious movement. To read more about Christie visit her website at: www.GoldenGateYoga.com.
 
 
Gibson

Gibson Pearl


Gibson Pearl's unique fusion bellydance roots from her extensive background in tribal fusion, as well as the influence of both traditional folkloric and contemporary modern dance. A natural athlete, Gibson began her dance studies in 2000 with Ultra Gypsy director Jill Parker and joined the esteemed company in 2001. There she served as a principal dancer and choreographer for the company and a frequent substitute teacher for Jill's classes until moving on in 2006. Other styles studied by Gibson include Turkish Rom with Elizabeth Strong, Tunisian folkloric with Malia DeFelice, and cabaret with Ansuya. Highlights of her performance career include the Burning Man festival, the Crucible's Fire Opera, and Therm's Fire Garden. Most recently Gibson was a proud member of Damage Control Dance Theater, where she also served as Assistant Director. She is currently performing as a soloist as well as collaborating with other artists.
 
Saul

Saul Sandoval


After years of practice with a Korean style of martial art, I began to experience my body and mind working together in a manner that made me feel as though I was moving without thinking... It's and amazing sensation and one that comes with rigorous amounts of training. I began to excel in my movements and later wanted to reinvent my self awareness by exposing my body and mind to a completely different type of movement. A movement that challenged my body in a way I had not felt before. I found IT!

Some time later I caught a glimpse of a fight on a film that a buddy of mine had lent out to me and investigated the martial art style to what is now my most challenging and physical activity to date..CAPOEIRA! I love this art form cause its a dance, its a fighting system, its a workout and its hard as hell! No matter how fit I THINK I may be, this activity somehow continually reminds me of how long my fitness journey actually is. I feel like a beginner every time I practice this style. So after taking numerous classes and countless hours on the training floor I have been very fortunate to pass on all that I have learned to anyone who has ever been curious about studying capoeira. It can be very intimidating for the beginner and so I have designed a class to really make first timers feel comfortable and safe.

 
Liz

Elizabeth Strong


Elizabeth Strong
grew up in a tradition of dance and music. As a young girl she was inspired by the music and dancing of the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Her amazingly emotional and personal style has captivated audiences in the Bay Area and abroad. Elizabeth believes that the heart is the source of dance and that dance is an expression of our relationship with life and culture. A life-long dancer, Elizabeth formally began studying and performing Middle Eastern dance in 1996 at the age of 18. Her love for Middle Eastern dance compelled her to seek the source in North Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey. While living in Istanbul in 2000, she met Roman (“gypsy”) men and women with whom she studied the Turkish Roman dance form, most notably Reyhan Tuszuz and Reyhan’s daughter, Meltem. She has recently returned from her third visit abroad wherein she continued her study of Roman dance, and “Oriental” or bellydance.

Elizabeth joined Le Cancan Bijou dance Troupe in 2003 and became part of the Mad Sal's Music Hall Revue at the Charles Dickens Christmas Fair in 2004. Performing in both groups has given her the opportunity to stretch herself creatively, and has been a source of much joy and satisfaction.

Elizabeth currently makes her living performing and teaching dance throughout the United States. Her current passion includes working with professionals from multiple disciplines to create and perform pieces that are heart-felt, stylized and unique.
 
Sara

Nick Van & Serena Wong


For over 14 years, Nick was a martial arts and movement instructor. Partner dancing and salsa were a natural progression. For the past 9 years, Nick has been teaching salsa in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nick combines decades of Cuban tradition with martial arts concepts of connection, balance, and flow. Presently, he teaches club-style Salsa, Rueda de Casino, cha cha cha, son, and several martial arts. Nick has trained and taught all over the U.S., including extended periods in Miami, New York, and Texas. He has also taught in Hawaii, and all over California. He has taught at numerous Salsa Congresses, festivals and cruises and is the co-star of "The Quick And Dirty Guide To Salsa vol. 4".

Nick and Serena are Co-Directors of Salsa Vale Todo and organizers of Salsa Rueda Festival San Francisco 2008. Serena brings to it her training in ballet, tap, jazz, Afro-Haitian, Afro-Brazilian, and Brazilian Samba. She has trained in New York, Brazil, Miami, and San Francisco. Currently she performs with the samba company, Energia do Samba. Serena has shared the stage and opened for Olodum, Elba Ramalho, and Jorge Ben Jor.
 
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