Testimonials
Remember the movie The Truth About Cats and Dogs? One woman was smart but considered plain while the other was model-gorgeous, but everyone assumed she was dumb as a brick. The first lived her life as a woman heard, but never seen; the second, seen, but never heard. I felt like the first woman for a long time. Then I started belly dancing with Sabrina. Now I enjoy being seen as well as heard, and the difference in how I feel about myself is astounding.
You don’t have to be supermodel-thin to belly dance—in fact, the very moves of belly dancing echo and celebrate feminine curves. Instead of cursing my fleshy behind and thighs, I now appreciate how alluring and graceful they look when I’m doing downward-8’s or omi’s. (Don’t know what those are? Come to a class and find out!) Belly dancing is good exercise, but it’s kind on my not-so-young-anymore joints. Conquering a challenging movement gives me a sense of mastery and joy I never thought I’d have doing anything requiring physical talent.
Taking class from Sabrina is always a guaranteed high point of my week. Her creativity, obvious love for her students, and infectious sense of humor make every class worth more than the price of admission. In the whopping one year that I’ve been attending class, Sabrina’s already introduced us to beledi and floor work, Turkish finger cymbals (called “zils”), graceful veil technique and a robust gypsy-flavored dance called the karsilama. If I’m stumped learning one move with the first way she teaches it, she finds another way to teach me until I get it.
Most of all, I can’t believe how comfortable I’ve grown in my own skin since I started taking class with Sabrina. If you’d told me a year ago that I’d not only be willing to perform in a revealing belly dance costume in front of strangers, but look forward to it, I would have asked you what drugs you were taking. Now, I just smile and ask if you’re coming to the show.
--Lisa Smith Quincy MA
I just wanted to drop a note to say how much I enjoyed your show on Sunday! I LOVE that music by Omar Faruk Tekbilek, and love how you interpreted it. You were so sweet and flirty - totally channeling the maiden. I always enjoy your work. Your impecable timing and use of music always adds a sense of drama and artistry. Kudos!
– Cathy Moore, The Goddess Dancing
This is just a quick note to say thank you. I can't really explain how fun your classes are for me, and how emotionally renewed and healthy I feel after taking them. It's especially meaningful to me lately, since I've really been struggling with finding a better gig, as my current position has, unfortunately, been very negative (file it under 'learning experience', I suppose). Anyway, instead of going home and (against-my-better-judgment) obsessing about it, I completely forget about it in class. It's as if that world disappears completely, and it's a much needed escape. I'm walking taller and feeling better about myself. I'm connecting more with my sister. I'm making new friends. I'm finding my inner diva. So...Thank you.
– Suzanne
Although I've been dancing for awhile I still always learn something new from Sabrina. She makes me think of things in a different way-by encouraging me to expand in ways I didn't think I could-floor work, etc. Also her encouragement and support of dancers of all sizes, age, etc. and thinking out of the night-club box. Too often I've taken from teachers who are great dancers but teach night-club style exclusively or can dance but can't really teach. She brings out each students individuality while still giving them a solid technique. I know Sabrina's words of encouragement helped me greatly in my performance in England when I was worried as much about what I'd look like (dumb) as my dancing.
– Laurie
Sabrina dances with a passion rarely seen in the boston area. Witnessing her enter within herself as if oblivious to the noisy world around her while somehow perfectly dodging tables and waitstaff was more than enough to get me all the way across town to her classes. I said to myself, "i want somma that!" plus, she's nice!!!
– Olivia
I dance with Sabrina because as a performer, she has a sophisticated way of combining other dance styles with traditional belly dance to create dancing that is uniquely hers, the kind of dancing that no one forgets after they've seen it. As a teacher, she encourage us not only to learn from her style but to create our own styles. I particularly love how group pieces are not choreographed by Sabrina—
she facilitate in our creation of our own unique projects. Teaching us basics and
then paving the way for us to do with it what we will is what makes you stand out as a knowledgeable teacher who has an innate understanding of the individual creative process. Plus, I'll tell you, I'd come for the warm up alone. It's a reminder every class that we're starting over again.
– Jen
Sabrina dances like no one is watching and everyone is watching. So theatrical that it humbles you, makes you smile, then almost cry and then stare in amazement while smiling again. Her knowledge and experience in belly dance are valuable to my own dance and I am grateful that she shares. Sabrina’s teaching methods are thorough and explained with ease and humor. By the end of each lesson, my body feels the effects of her extensive workout and I leave feeling a bit more learned and confident. Traveling a total of two hours to have a class with her is worth every minute to me. (I mean... have you ever seen her backbends to the floor — amazing)!!!
– Samia (Krista Gomez)
I find that she is very dramatic when she performs. Sabrina is very intent with her dance and hand movements. She has a way of capturing her audience and we watch and wonder what will happen next. She is very skilled and talented. I appreciate how Sabrina explains and break down movements in a way that we
can picture and understand. I enjoy her class and always leave there feeling that I've learned something.
– Layla (Lisa)
A note to Sabrina: "I just wanted to say how amazed I am at your intelligence and talent...you are always looking for new ways to explain movement and help us to become better dancers. Your selflessness in sharing your movement knowledge really struck me last night. You don't hold back and it's making all of your students better dancers for it. Thank you.
– Erzulie (Judith Tacelli)
Sabrina is a fun loving irreverent passionate and caring teacher. Her enthusiasm is contagious - I have become totally addicted to fitness and movement with results that no other exercise program has done for me. I am amazed by my newfound strength and flexibility.
– Susan Vroom, BCCE and Ward IV Pilates Student since 2005
Belly Dancing at 80
an essay by Esther R. Cullen
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