About Sera
(Contact 917-922-9081, Sera@seradance.com)
Serious dance training began in highschool, when Sera began studying ballroom and Latin Dance. Imediately following her highschool graduation Sera was hired by TC Dance Club international to train as a professional Ballroom and Latin Dancer. In spending every waking hour in the studio, training, instructing, choreographing, Sera developed a strong foundation for the language of movement.
After her decision to pursue a fine arts degree, Sera discovered belly dance. In her sculptural study of the figure, Sera found Belly dance classes as an inspiration and a technical study of the female form moving through space. From this time forward, Sera relates dance and sculpture very closely. Dance is sculpture moving through space, Sculpture is dance frozen in time. View Sera's sculptures at Earthenform.com.
Sera moved to Washington DC to finish her BFA from the University of Kansas at the Corcoran School of Art in DC. She studied belly dance with Laurel Gray and Artemis while at the same time becoming an instructor for sculpture and ceramics. After an invitation to dance with the Silk Road Dance Company, Sera began studying and performing folkloric dances of central Asia, Persia, and North Africa, as well as performing in Laurel Gray's Modern Dance piece Egypta. She had the honor of dancing in some of the finest theaters on the East Coast including the Kennedy Center of DC.
Sera began intensive study and performance with Rachel Kay Brookmire. Sera was of the first members of the student Tribal performance troupe, Raqs Caravan West. Sera was invited to perform in Brookmire's award-winning professional troupe, Raqs Sahara. Raqs Sahara members became the first teachers of Brookmire's Sahara Dance School, as well as hosting and occasionally representing Miles Copeland's project, Belly Dance Superstars. Sera was also performing weekly as a soloist for two of DC's award-winning restaurants, Zaytinya, and the famous Marrakesh. Special events offered Sera a stage for solo performances to audiences which included the first lady, Laura Bush, the US Governers Association, Angelina Jolie, Fleetwood Mac, Royalty of Saudi Arabia, the Clinton family, and more.
During this time, Sera was traveling to the west coast every Summer to attend the Burning Man Festival, where she had more exposure to Tribal styles of Belly Dance. Jill Parker's Ultra Gypsy Troupe performance moved her more then any Belly dance performance. After attending workshops from Jill Parker, Rachel Brice, and Sharon Kihara, and performing as one of the original dancers in Rachel Brookmire's Student Tribal troupe, Raqs Caravan West, Sera was deeply inspired by these dancers who pushed the boundaries of Belly dance, elevating it to a modern form of expression and communication in beautiful artistry.
Sera then began using Tribal Fusion Belly Dance as a means to explore Belly Dance as an Art form. Sera's love for electronic music inspired her invention of a new form of structured dance called Techno Tribal. Sera began teaching Techno Tribal, and Tribal Fusion Belly Dance. Sera also began wielding live fire props while belly dancing, using Fire fans, flaming finger extensions, Flaming sword, and Fire-eating. Sera directed a short-lived, but successful performance troupe, Transcendance Tribal, and assisted in the building of a Tribal Belly dance community in DC which is called DC Tribal. Through Tribal Styles, Sera realized the infinite possibility of Belly Dance.
During this great time of growth, an accident happened in which Sera broke the fibula bone in her right leg. In her healing time, Sera dedicated herself to assisting on a project to take place in India. Sera's dance partner, Davis, formulated a project to work with young women who have been rescued from exploitive situations, mainly of the sex industry in India. The project was to use the lead/follow format of Tribal improv as a means of healing and empowerment to these young women who had been abused from a very early age. As soon as the cast was removed from her leg, Sera travelled to India with Davis, as a teacher for these workshops. The project was a great success, and is currently under construction for multiple cities in India.
Sera returned to the states, only to move to New York. She imediately began belly dancing with some of the best dancers in the city, such as Kaeshi, and the dancers of Bellyqueen. Sera was invited to dance in the troupe PURE, and began producing a weekly belly dance event which united Tribal and Cabaret Dancers in New York at My Moon Restaurant with the band Djinn. This is the first event in New York City ever to feature a weekly tribal performance, and is now a monthly event featuring exclusively performers of Tribal styles. Sera has taught at Chelsea Piers, Bridge for dance, Asian Cultural Center, Children of Light, Djoniba Dance and Drum center, and now teaches only independent private classes. Sera achieved level 1 certifcation from the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance in the summer of 2005.
Currently, Sera is director of Solstice, a bellydance troupe. Solstice
is an ensemble of dancers interested in using bellydance in combination with electronic music to present complex choreographies which speak of bold feminine expression. They can be seen in Sera's most recent project, the instructional DVD, East Coast Tribal, produced by World Dance New York. Sera collaborated with musicians and DJs of Freek Factory, a cutting edge group of artists, to have music produced exclusively for the DVD. Sera's vision for the DVD was to give dancers technique, dance ability, and fresh combos to use for choreography or improv performances. The title East Coast Tribal is meant to recognize the 1000's of miles that separate the East from the tribal mecca of the West, but at the same time to give permission to dancers on the East Coast to play an active role in the development of Tribal Bellydance as an artform instead of seeking a replication of what is happening in the West. The DVD was released just in time for Sera to stop teaching classes for maternity leave. She enjoyed the challenge of teaching until 8 months of pregnancy, and performs with Solstice 2 weeks before her delivery date. Sera plans to resume activity in the Spring of 2007.