Shamsi

Biography

I am a Lover, a dreamer, an a**-kicker, a motivator, instigator and catalyst.

I have faith.
I have hope.
I believe in possibilities and that each of us is in charge of our own life and the shape it takes.
I believe that people hold an amazing capacity for Love, creativity, compassion and change.
I believe that perceptions can change and that changing perceptions can heal; that through adjusting our perceptions, each of us can learn to love and trust oursleves.

My own passions lay in helping others uncover their innermost passions and dreams, in teaching classes where people have profound “ah-ha” moments and awaken fully into their Lives.  I live most fully when I help people walk through the fires of their own transformations without fear and show them ways to uncover connections to Self and to their own Divine Source

I do this work because I believe the world is ready to awaken, full of self-aware, fearless human beings.

I have been a professional dancer with a background in Middle Eastern, North African, Persian and Turkish dance, Bharatanataym, Yoga and Tai Chi.

In addition to a certified teachers of Dancemeditation™, I am a Certified Angel Practitioner, “OM” (Oracle Messenger) and a Level III Usui and Kundalini Reiki Master.

The Journey that put me on my path

I believe my life can be simplified to the following mission; Transforming life through dance, movement, music, meditation, and awareness.

Dance

The love for sound and movement that began for me as a child seems never to have diminished or ceased to evolve.  From Mardi Gras parades to my grandparents’ voices singing hymns in church, music was everywhere and to say I am kinetic, is only a slight understatement.

I first heard the sound of the tabla at the age of 15 while on a camping trip.  With the introduction of Middle Eastern Drumming, the bellydancing that followed as a curiosity did not take long to develop into a fascination.  My enchantment with drums and dancing has never stopped.  My love of Middle Eastern music and dance began 20 years ago, launching an unexpected life journey and I’ve never stopped learning or loving the many, varied aspects of the art forms.

In 2000 I began a four-year study of the classical Indian dance form Bharatanatayam with Amruthananda Dance School in Baton Rouge; later studying briefly with Sunanda Nair.  This dance form gave my brain the stimulus and my body the challenge they had been lacking since the days of competitive athletics.  The extraordinary amount of strength, coordination, and rhythm required to perform the complex, multi-layered choreographies of Bharatanatayam pushed me to my physical and mental limits and beyond.

In 2002 I attended her first Dancemeditation retreat in the Catskills of New York, my life again taking a new direction.  After a second retreat in 2003, I fully committed to the 80-day Dancemeditation Teacher Training course offered through Dunya and the Dervish Society of America.  What began as a certification turned into a lifestyle that broadened my perceptions of life and expanded my mind-body awareness, exponentially.  In December 2007 I completed my 80-days of training and became a certified teacher in Dancemeditation.  I credit Dancemeditation with much of the depth and quality of my dance and how it opened me to my depths.

As an entertainer and performer,I feel it important to connect with everyone who is watching the performance.  My goal is to draw audiences into my world, behind the veil, inviting them to feel as though they are part of the movement and story.  In this way, I ensure that each of my  performances is an opportunity to bring joy and wonder to the world.

Spirituality

In 2000 I  began what I call “waking up.”  After a series of seeming coincidences, I embarked on a vision quest, spending six months of intense preparation culminating in three-days of fasting spent alone in the woods near Brevard, N.C.  Through this experience, my life path was revealed and I have never looked back.

During the course of preparation for the vision quest, I worked daily practicing numerous meditations and meditative techniques that included astral projection, journeying and working with Power Animals, as well as re-discovering and developing my intuitive and psychic abilities.  I also acquired Usui Reiki Levels I, II & III while researching different energy healing methods for vision quest “homework.”  Somewhere during this path, I began working with Angelic energies.  Initially the Angelic realm was something I thought to be more mythological in nature until I realized, that these beings had always been with me; as much a part as breathing.

Less than two years later, my introduction to Dancemeditation seemed a natural continuation of the spiritual and meditative practices begun with the vision quest.  The ability to heal through Dancemeditation without examination of an issue has given me the freedom and strength to plumb the depths of my own psyche and soul, in turn allowing me the ability to help others do the same.  I now share techniques learned through spirit animal meditations, astral projections, past-life regressions, energy work, drumming, dancing, finger cymbals, Dancemeditation, whirling, and general awareness.

In 2007 I tip-toed back into the world of Angels; reconnecting and studying on my own.  In July 2008 I was fortunate enough to have an on-the-air Angel Therapy session with Doreen Virtue, from which I was inspired to seek out new information regarding the Angel Therapy process and found Doreen’s son, Charles Virtue.  I registered for and attended Charles Virtue’s “ACP” Certified Angel Practitioner course in February of 2009.  Afterwards, during the course of meeting fellow-Angel Practioners, Shamsi was graced to meet both Lisa Beachy and Birkan Tore and was fortunate enough in November 2009 to study with Birkan during his “Oracle Messenger” course held in Los Angeles, CA.

January 1, 2010 still marks the biggest change in my process as the dance studio I owned, BayouShimmy, was consumed by a fire and I made the choice not to re-open.  I find that twelve years after the completion of my vision quest, I am still transforming, constantly renewing and as of yet, have not stopped growing.

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Certifications: Angel Certified Practitioner, “OM” Oracle Messanger,  Usui Reiki I, II & III, Kundalini Reiki I, II & III, Dancemeditation Teacher Training, YogaSteps Level I, Hadia Teacher Training Level I

Workshops taught: “Dancer Musician,” Houston 2003; “Dancemeditaiton,” Mobie, AL 2005; “Dancemeditation,” Biloxi, Bellydance Festival 2007, MS; “Zils!” Lafayette, LA 2005; “Dynamic Dancer & Dancer Musician Workshop with Shamsi & Shelly” Lake Charles, LA 2007; “The Veil is my Friend,” New Orleans, LA 2005; “Zil Choreography” and “Turkish Improvisation,” 2007, 2008 Baton Rouge Bellydance Festival, LA; “Hand Gestures and Eye Focus,” 3rd Coast Tribal 2009, Ft. Worth, TX, “Zils for Everyone” 2009 Gulf Coast Bellydance Festival Ocean Springs, MS, “Spiritual Bellydance” Dancemeditation(tm) 2009  Danse Du Ventre New Life Center benefit – Opelousas, LA, “Spin like a bad-ass – soloist spinning techniques” 1/7/2010 and “Zils from the Body” 1/8/2010  3rd Coast Tribal 2010, Dancemeditaiton “Fluid Remembrances” 1/30-1/31/2010 – Seattle, WA. “Uncovering the Shadow” bellydance musicality 2/13/10 and Dancemeditation(TM)  2/14/10, Jackson, MS., “Anatomy of Bellydance” 2 part Series Feb-Mar 2010 – Crescent Lotus in New Orleans, “Anataomy of Bellydance” 3 hour intensive May 16, 2010 – Northshore Bellydance in Mandeville, LA, “Subtle Gestures of Meaning” 8/29/2010 – Opelousas, LA

Education:

Workshops attended: “Bad Ass A Cappella Zills for the Advanced Ziller” with Z-Helene and “Shifty Chifti” with Olivia Kissel at 3rdCoast Tribal 2012, “Total Alignment” painting retreat, Sedona, AZ October, 2011, “BIG” Fearless Painting, online painting course, August – October 2010, Footprint Memoire writing course, correspondence, June – September, 2010 and January -April 2011, 21st Century Energy Healing Program with Deborah King – September 2010, Charles Virtue’s ACP (Angel Certification Program) Sedona, AZ February 2009, Birkan Tore’s “OM” (Oracle Messenger Certification, Los Angeles, CA November 2009,  Dalia Carella, Elena Lentini, Mesmera, Gypsy Caravan, Anahid Sofian, Cassandra, Margo Abdo O’Dell, Karen Barbee, Suzana DelVecchio, Eva Cernik, Shareen El Safy, Aisha Ali, Sahra Saeeda, Artemis, Amaya, Fat Chance Bellydance, Laurel Victoria Gray, Hadia 4 day Level I Teacher Training,13 week-long Dancemeditation retreats, Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Karim Nagi, Amel Tafsout (Several workshops), Salah Dawson Miller, Uncle Mafufo, Mistress Isolde, Mistress Edwina, Dutchess Alitha, Dutchess Alyssa, Sonia, Olivia Kissel, Moria Chappell, Rachel George, Billy Woods, Daveed Korup, John Compton, Lauren Checchio, Mychele the Henna Goddess, Mardi Love, Onca O’Leary and the Mezmer Society

Performances:

Principal Dancer: Arzi’s Restaurant, Jamila’s Cafe, Byblos Restaurant, Hookah Cafe, Baton Rouge FestForAll 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 Festival International 2002, 2003, 2004, Louisiana Renaissance Festival 2002, 2003, Southeastern Louisiana University Fanfare series 2003, 2004, Steel Pony Express 2001 , Cite des Artes 2003, Louisiana State University International Festival, Baton Rouge Heritage Festival,  600 Main International Night, SoGo Live, Spanish Town Ball 2004, Biloxi Bellydance Festival 2005, 2007, Lafayette Relay for Life 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. 2008, Drama Rama 2007, Houmas House: Awesome Arts in Autumn Gardens 2007, 2008, St. Francisville’s Taste of Culture 2008, Babel Con 2007, Shadows & Jewels 2004, 2008 BRAC Impact, Guest performers at Urban Gypsy’s “Avant Garden” monthly show Houston, TX 11/11/08, Vagabond Cirque Houston, TX 11/8/08, 3rdCoast Tribal Ft. Worth, TX 1/10/09 and 1/8/10, Nawruz Celebration May 20, 2009 for Louisiana Iranian Society, Gulf Coast Bellydance Festival Ocean Springs, MS, April 4, 2009, Danse Du Ventre New Life Center benefit – Opelousas, LA 9/19/2009, Black Heart’s Ball 2010 with Missishippi, Jackson, MS, February 13, 2010, Danse Du Ventre – Cerebral Palsey benefit – Opelousas, LA 8/28/2010

Awarded – First Runner up – 2004 Bellydance Superstar Southwest Soloist Competition

Self-Produced DVD – Shamsi’s Rhythms of the Soul, Zils for Everyone (Instructional Video)