Melody Gabrielle specializes in Oriental dance, primarily Egyptian Raks Sharqi, Cairo Beledi and American Vintage/Theatrical belly dance.  She is also fluent in Turkish Oriental, Lebanese Oriental, and various Middle Eastern folkloric dances. She is an accomplished performer and teacher.

Melody is the founder and director of Numinous Dance Arts, an Oriental arts entertainment and education company. Melody and her dancers perform in many venues in Overland Park and the Greater Kansas City area.  These include multi-cultural events, fine arts events, fundraisers, bachelorette parties, birthday parties, weddings, restaurants, libraries, and community centers. 

Background: Born into an artistic family, Melody was educated from an early age in classical music and dance.  She studied ballet for eight years and danced in Metropolitan Ballet Company of Wichita 1991-1994.  She also studied voice under Deborah Baxtor, PhD. 1997-2002.  She received a minor in music from Wichita State University.  Melody has sung in many choirs and been active in drama and music theater.

Melody's academic interests in anthropology and history, as well as fond memories of dancing the Arabian chorus in the Nutcracker, led to her discovery of belly dance.  Melody began belly dance in 2003.  She has studied with Dona Baba, Safira Zeki, and Zada Al Gaziyeh.  She has also attended numerous workshops with noted dancers such as Mahmoud Reda, Elena Lentini, Cassandra Shore, and Sahra Saeeda.

Education: Melody holds a Master of Arts from the University of Kansas in religious studies with an emphasis on sacred dances of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Wichita State University in anthropology and history with a minor in music. Additionally Melody is JTE1 certified.

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