As Printed in the Quarter 3/2005 Issue of The Belly Dancer Magazine
Formerly As the Quarter Star Dancer
Introducing this Quarter’s Star
Amy Luna Manderino of Berkley, CA * Submitted by Adry Svraka
Amy Luna Manderino was inspired by belly dancing after seeing a Fat Chance Belly Dance performance at a Festival in Oakland. Her other big inspirations include many wonderful dancers and teachers, such as Carolena Nericcio to start, then Jill Parker, who got her started teaching by asking Luna to co-teach a class with her at a dance studio in Berkeley. Nanna Candelaria, who is always stunning and has infallible taste in costuming; Suhaila, who keeps us all honest with her driving commitment to technique.
Luna produces Cafe Bellie, a recurring bellydance benefit that's raised thousands of dollars for homeless women and children in the Bay Area. www.cafebellie.com. Luna has also formed a troupe, Shuvani (she is the artistic director): Dances of the Romani Trail, which is her professional troupe. Luna's students perform as Lunatique, which is featured in Chapter Three of Kajira Djoumanha's book The Tribal Bible. She also creates all the choreography for Lunatique, which over the years has included many different styles such as Tribaldellic (black light Tribal bellydance), Bollywood, Chicago Style Jazz Burlesque and even a candle choroegraphy to express their opposition to the Iraqi War which was featured in the 10th anniversary Dancing Poetry Festival at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. All of Shuvani's choreography's are a collaboration of all the dancers and include Kalbeliya dance from Rajasthan, Turkish Rom, Spanish Flamenco, and Egyptian Ghawazee/Saiidi.
Luna uses her many talents to both improvise and choreograph her performances, when she dances solo. She says "There's a precision to choreography, but improvisation can allow for spontaneous authenticity." Luna was the first bellydancer to combine dancing on wine glasses with a flaming sword on her head and it's become sort of a signature piece for her.
Besides performing, Luna also teaches workshops of Flaming Sword, Dancing on Glasses, Spanish Fan, Manton Shawl, Romani Skirt Work, and more (these are also the subjects of her soon to be released instructional DVD series). Her "Dancing on Glasses" workshop created quite a stir at Majma Dance Festival in Glastonbury, England when a Member of Parliament heard about it and stopped by to try balancing on them herself!
When not dancing, Luna works as a professional pianist, world music composer and multi-instrumentalist and is regularly commissioned to choreograph and/or compose for the Bay Area dance scene.
She is also an initiated Wiccan priestess and an active minister in the Bay Area Interfaith community and teaches workshops in the Goddess Grace Moving Meditation created by Mariel. In 2004, she performed her Moon Goddess dance for the 25th Anniversary Silver Jubilee Spiral Dance at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. Luna was able to bring all of her skills together in one production when hired as both Director of Choreography and Music Director for Masque of the Goddess, a sacred dance ritual for 13 solo dancers, each masked as Goddesses representing 13 different cultures. Luna composed and performed live music from 13 cultural traditions for this critically acclaimed performance held at the New College of California in San Francisco.
So many wonderful talents in one person! Thank you very much Luna for your time and for sharing your special information with us!
Submitted by: By: Adry Svraka
You can find more information about Luna at: http://www.lunabelly.com
