Email: guinevere@baubo.co.uk Website: www.baubo.co.uk Ph: Mob 0792 533 2892

Guinevere's Biography

Author of the beautifully illustrated Belly Dancer’s Treasure Pack, Guinevere is a Belly Dance teacher and performer from Wales, UK. She leads Baubo Belly Dance School and aUK Social Enterprise (CIC) - Baubo Moon Room which promotes participation in Belly Dance for health, wellbeing and community.Guinevere embraces the holistic, empowering elements of Belly Dance and leads colourful and creative workshops to explore the many themes in The Belly Dancer’s Treasure Pack. Her work inspires Belly Dance into exciting new media forms – including poetry and visual art.  With a rich array of cards from Saiidi to Sensuality and Goddess to Zodiac - Guinevere’s work invites exploration into style, group work and personal reflection. With 58 cards to choose from, The Belly Dancer’s Treasure Pack is a great resource for teachers, performers and students of Belly Dance.  See - www.baubo.co.uk

Guinevere writes:

I have been dancing for 13 years. initially starting my training in London with Jacqueline Chapman in 1993. I started dancing to help ease backpain and found it worked wonders, improving my core strength, flexibility and general fitness and wellbeing. I found Jaqueline to be a very good teacher, introducing the distict art of belly dance gently and with genuine enthusiasm. Jacqueline also reminded me early on in my belly dance journey that we dance with emotion and charcter, that the dance is not just about peforming moves it is about feeling the dance and being one with the music. This sentiment has been echoed during my recent trip to Egypt with lectures from Professor Hassan at his ISOC studio in Cairo on 'dancing with emotion' and also Liza La Ziza's talk on 'peformance and stage skills.'

After moving from London in 1997 I found myself practicing alone until I found a teacher who focused mainly on Egyptian styles. During this time I completed a degree in Creative Arts, which involved a module on Physical Theatre where I focused on dancing with speed and slow motion and worked on my muscular isolation techniques. I also completed modules on shamanism and peformance and contemporary Goddess Art.

In 2002 I started teaching belly dance due to the demand for classes locally in Pembrokeshire. When I felt I had shared all I knew I decided to expand my knowledge and skills as a teacher and trained in Keti's advanced A-Z system in Egypt in 2004. Here I learnt a wealth of new dances, cultural experiences and especially teaching skills and rhythmic interpretation. All useful and of which I continue to build upon, now having learnt the original A-Z and Keti's inspiring Astrobelly.

I find belly dance a liberating art from, full of control yet full of abandonment....it connects me to my feminity, my soul. As part of my Masters in Creative Writing I am completing a little book on belly dance, which I hope to share with you all soon! My inspirations come from dancing with other women who are equally passionate about the art, learning from other dancers in workshops and watching belly dancers peform. My main inspiration is when I watch a dancer, I see how she always has her own style, we each dance our own dance within the discipline and for this we can celebrate our freedom of personal expression...this is the key to peace.

Upcoming Events 2011

March 19th - 20th - A-Z Belly Dance Trainng Weekend. Sat 19th - A-Z Personal Technique - Original and Advanced sequences - with 2 fun, new A-Z fusion choreographies. Sun 20th - A-Z Student Day. Bookable 45 min or 90 min slots for; Personal Technique and Teacher Training tuition for certificate students, support, filming and assessment progression.

May 5th - AstroBelly Workshop - Explore deeper character and body awareness in your dance with zodiac dances for each sign! Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 5.45 - 8.15pm

May 10th - Veil Dance Workshop - Enchanted - veil dance with original A-Z Belly Dance techniques. Ideal for beginners.
Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 5 - 8.15pm

June 9th - Belly Treasure - Creative empowering workshop using Guinevere's Belly Dance oracle The Belly Dancer's Treasure Pack. Aberystwyth Arts Centre. 5 - 8.15pm

July - 15 - 17th - Belly Treasure Weekend - Summer residential at the glorious Rainbow Mansion in Ceredigion, West Wales. Delve deeper into the elemental sections of The Belly Dancer's Treasure Pack and find new routes into your creativity, develop dance skills and group work.

Sept 1-7th - A-Z Troupe Patterns & Formations - Workshops at the A-Z Teacher Training Programme in Baska, Croatia. Two NEW Original and Advanced A-Z fusion choreograpahies. Sensual, emotive dance to Pare Pare by Tarkan (Original & AstroBelly) PLUS fast and funky moves - to Enak by Shereen (Advanced, Original and AstroBelly). For soloists and groups.

Sept 1-7th - Belly Treasure Workshops - Two exciting NEW Belly Treasure Workshops to take place in Croatia at the A-Z Teacher Training Programme. Circle of Fire - tray dance with candles using elemental poses and sequences in circle formation, good for groups. PLUS Rhythm Lady - Drum Solo tips, techniques and choreograpahy. Great energising solo piece.

Enquries guinevere@baubo.co.uk. Please note Aberytstwyth Arts Centre workshops and weekend Over The Rainbow workshops must be booked at least 1 week in advance.

The Belly Dancer's Treasure Pack is available for teachers and students at discounted prices - visit www.bauboshop.bigcartel.com or contact Guinevere if you'd like some bringing to any of the above venues.