Maria Karena ...
Maria Karena began taking hula lessons with a friend in 1972 while their husbands were at sea on an aircraft carrier during the Viet Nam War, and decided to try belly dance lessons with Rhea Marsh in CA. After one class, Maria Karena was hooked! Dancing under the name "Daria," which she used until she moved to Milwaukee in the 1980's, she became a member of Rhea's troupe, which was one of the earliest tribal belly dance troupes (before it was recognized). Later she moved to the Washington, DC area, where she began her professional career as a cabaret dancer and studied with several professional dancers in the area. Maria then moved to the Midwest, where she danced professionally in several cities, including Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Chcago. She later toured the country with a Greek show, and also performed in Louisville, KY and in Fairbanks, AK. Maria studied for a long time with Sadiya, and attended several workshops taught by Ibraham "Bobby" Farrah, Morrocco, Mahmoud Reda, and others. After dancing for 15 years, she "retired" from dancing professionally. Several years later, she started taking tribal belly dance lessons from Barika and later from Trillium, where she has been studying ATS for the past two years. Since becoming a tribal dancer, she has attended dance workshops taught by Carolena, Rachel Brice, Ariellah, Zoe Jakes, Alexandra King, and many others.
Tarilyn ...
Tarilyn started dancing a little less than 10 years ago, as an activitiy to get her down-and-out friend out of the house. It turned quickly into something she wanted to take further, and even into an obsession! She's had great teachers like Romnea, Juliana, Denise, and Trillium, as well as taken seminars from many great names like Ariellah, Sharon Kihara, Rachel Brice, Zoe Jakes, Carolena and many more. Each one infused so many unique ideas and techniques - it's a good thing that Bennu-Bast is a fusion belly dance troupe!
