Although she doesn't like labels, she does consider herself a fusion dancer, being exposed to many different types of dance and fusing them all together into her own belly dance style.
Teaching has been a huge, but rewarding challenge. Her group of students, the Gypsy Belles, includes ladies from all over NW North Carolina and SW Virginia. They are such an inpsiration. Her classes are Wednesdays in Elkin, NC and Thursdays in Galax, VA.
Although she teaches a great group, Mena will always consider herself a student. She has been fortunate to study with some true masters; Professor Hassan & Kyrria Mazzin from Egypt; Leyla Amir from Las Vegas, Caroline Afifi and our own Luci Jennings from Winston-Salem.
Her greatest mentor and friend has been Samra from Winston-Salem, whose influence is without description.
Along with teaching, Mena manages to perform as often as possible. She has performed everywhere from huge stages with a jumbotron to small retirement homes.
Here's what she had to say about NCBellydance.org;
NCBellydance.org has a great resourse in finding various workshops throughout NC and beyond. Last year, when my family and I went to Atlanta for baseball, I checked the website for workshops and viola, there was a workshop listing for Mahmoud Reda, another master, the same weekend I was in Atlanta. It worked out perfectly. I'm also able to get lots of info about Shimmy for a Cause this June where myself and the Gypsy Belles will be performing.
For more information about Mena, visit http://www.menadancer.com
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