Since 2013 TribalDiva Belly Dance Company, led by director Tracey Saunders, has been lighting up stages in Christchurch and around the country with their performances featuring a unique, innovative & creative approach to Fusion Belly Dance, and offering quality belly dance training in fun and supportive classes for all levels at various venues across the city.
None of that is going to change, but we now have a new name to reflect the growth & development we have experienced over the last 6 years, and to add a breath of fresh air & inspiration for the coming years.
From humble beginnings practicing in garages we have grown to be the largest belly dance company in the South Island with an extensive community of dancers, past dancers, supporters and family members involved in events and the social aspect of our group. Our community extends beyond NZ as well through travelling students dropping in to classes & performances, our travels to learn & perform abroad and hosting international tutors here in Christchurch to offer world class training to local dancers.
We’ve built a reputation for delivering eye catching and dynamic performances in a myriad of settings and are sought after as performers due to our blend of adaptability, professionalism, positivity and fun approach to our performances.
All of this fabulousness has been made possible by the energy, enthusiasm and input of countless dancers over the years who have all contributed to shaping our culture of inclusion, welcome and openness to ideas and trying things out together.
For me personally the years I have spent performing, teaching, choreographing, producing shows and all of the behind the scenes work that goes into a dance company have been some of the most rewarding, challenging, fun and growth filled of my life. I have learned so much from everyone I’ve met along the way and am incredibly proud to be a part of something that has been a positive and important part of many people’s communities and lives.
I've been fortunate to travel to the US multiple times to train with top fusion belly dance innovators and creators and recently spent a year training in contemporary dance full time as part of the Hagely Dance Company; combined with many years of performing, teaching classes & leading a performance troupe this has started to illuminate for me what I want to be able to offer as a performer, choreographer, teacher and dance advocate, and I believe a fresh new name & image will help focus and bring those offerings to fruition.
TribalDiva Belly Dance Company has been an awesome adventure and opened up a lot of new doors and opportunities for belly dance in NZ, and now we will be continuing our journey of creativity, growth and inspiration as Firefly Belly Dance.
Why Firefly Belly Dance?
Fireflies represent many of the ideas that our dance group embodies; illumination, fire, beauty, inspiration, creativity, uniqueness, spectacle, and just a little bit of magic – below are some parallels between Firefly Belly Dance and the entrancing bioluminescent beetles we now share a name with to illustrate why the name seemed so suitable:
Fireflies emit a beautiful glow in the evenings which is spectacular to behold, but during the day they appear like any other beetle, just like what many dancers find happens to them when they start learning to belly dance, it unleashes their hidden potential and lets them shine their own light more brightly.
Male fireflies often synchronize their flashes with one another during courtship, a capacity called entraining (responding to an external rhythm) once thought only possible in humans, but now recognized in several animals, and a fitting analogy for the dancer responding to music to inspire their movement.
Fireflies may appear to be putting on a performance for humans, but in fact it is part of their own community’s rituals and communication – while at Firefly Belly Dance our performances are aimed to entertain and entrance the audience, there is a parallel as we aim to keep sight of the experience & enjoyment of ourselves and our troupe mates; dancing together, learning and having fun is just as important as performing.
People often refer to the ‘light bulb’ moment as when inspiration strikes and many of us find inspiration and an outlet for creativity through dance.
TribalDiva Belly Dance Company has a reputation for adding lighted props to their performances to further captivate & entertain their audiences, a parallel with the bioluminescence used by fireflies.
Our new logo represents the idea of having a ‘fire in the belly’ or finding a passion for something but also a determination as it takes a certain level of effort and determination to master belly dance technique and in doing so dancers may discover their own passion for the dance. That our new logo is a beetle is both a nod to unconventional beauty and a reference to the origins of our dance, the Egyptian scarab being firmly planted in the iconography of belly dance.
We’re looking forward to many more years of fun, adventures and dance as Firefly Belly Dance!
None of that is going to change, but we now have a new name to reflect the growth & development we have experienced over the last 6 years, and to add a breath of fresh air & inspiration for the coming years.
From humble beginnings practicing in garages we have grown to be the largest belly dance company in the South Island with an extensive community of dancers, past dancers, supporters and family members involved in events and the social aspect of our group. Our community extends beyond NZ as well through travelling students dropping in to classes & performances, our travels to learn & perform abroad and hosting international tutors here in Christchurch to offer world class training to local dancers.
We’ve built a reputation for delivering eye catching and dynamic performances in a myriad of settings and are sought after as performers due to our blend of adaptability, professionalism, positivity and fun approach to our performances.
All of this fabulousness has been made possible by the energy, enthusiasm and input of countless dancers over the years who have all contributed to shaping our culture of inclusion, welcome and openness to ideas and trying things out together.
For me personally the years I have spent performing, teaching, choreographing, producing shows and all of the behind the scenes work that goes into a dance company have been some of the most rewarding, challenging, fun and growth filled of my life. I have learned so much from everyone I’ve met along the way and am incredibly proud to be a part of something that has been a positive and important part of many people’s communities and lives.
I've been fortunate to travel to the US multiple times to train with top fusion belly dance innovators and creators and recently spent a year training in contemporary dance full time as part of the Hagely Dance Company; combined with many years of performing, teaching classes & leading a performance troupe this has started to illuminate for me what I want to be able to offer as a performer, choreographer, teacher and dance advocate, and I believe a fresh new name & image will help focus and bring those offerings to fruition.
TribalDiva Belly Dance Company has been an awesome adventure and opened up a lot of new doors and opportunities for belly dance in NZ, and now we will be continuing our journey of creativity, growth and inspiration as Firefly Belly Dance.
Why Firefly Belly Dance?
Fireflies represent many of the ideas that our dance group embodies; illumination, fire, beauty, inspiration, creativity, uniqueness, spectacle, and just a little bit of magic – below are some parallels between Firefly Belly Dance and the entrancing bioluminescent beetles we now share a name with to illustrate why the name seemed so suitable:
Fireflies emit a beautiful glow in the evenings which is spectacular to behold, but during the day they appear like any other beetle, just like what many dancers find happens to them when they start learning to belly dance, it unleashes their hidden potential and lets them shine their own light more brightly.
Male fireflies often synchronize their flashes with one another during courtship, a capacity called entraining (responding to an external rhythm) once thought only possible in humans, but now recognized in several animals, and a fitting analogy for the dancer responding to music to inspire their movement.
Fireflies may appear to be putting on a performance for humans, but in fact it is part of their own community’s rituals and communication – while at Firefly Belly Dance our performances are aimed to entertain and entrance the audience, there is a parallel as we aim to keep sight of the experience & enjoyment of ourselves and our troupe mates; dancing together, learning and having fun is just as important as performing.
People often refer to the ‘light bulb’ moment as when inspiration strikes and many of us find inspiration and an outlet for creativity through dance.
TribalDiva Belly Dance Company has a reputation for adding lighted props to their performances to further captivate & entertain their audiences, a parallel with the bioluminescence used by fireflies.
Our new logo represents the idea of having a ‘fire in the belly’ or finding a passion for something but also a determination as it takes a certain level of effort and determination to master belly dance technique and in doing so dancers may discover their own passion for the dance. That our new logo is a beetle is both a nod to unconventional beauty and a reference to the origins of our dance, the Egyptian scarab being firmly planted in the iconography of belly dance.
We’re looking forward to many more years of fun, adventures and dance as Firefly Belly Dance!
