Caliana has been immersed in music and dance arts since she was young. She learned how to play piano, saxophone and guitar at various points of her childhood and teenaged years. From a young age, she had developed a strong ear for music and rhythm which helped her to excel in dance.

Caliana has 31 years of dance & performance experience. This includes 14 years of ballet (Russian Vaganova Method) under close instruction of the late Bella Kovarsky. Caliana has explored other dance forms such as jazz, modern, and latin dancing, but found that her true calling was Flamenco Dance which she has been studying since 1999. She started out with Esmeralda Enrique and is now studying with Carmen Romero in Toronto. Caliana started Middle Eastern Dancing in 2004 at the Arabesque Academy and studied with Emese, Mary, Denise, and Melissa. She ventured out and continued her training at Hannan's Belly Dance Studio & with Roula Said. She currently studies intensively under Hadia & supplements her studies through private instruction with Maha.

Caliana has performed at cultural events throughout the GTA including the Toronto Street Festival, The Dragon Boat Festival and the Peruvian Festival with Flamenco student groups. She has also now performed at various venues such as Roula Said's FunkaBelly Parties, Adishakti's Evening of Oriental Dance II and III, Hadia's Soiree Orientale, Ottawa's Dance the Night Away Fundraiser, IBCC Open Stage 2010 and at Showers and Weddings. She is a versatile dancer.

Caliana continuously seeks new ways to improve as a dancer through workshops with Flamenco and Middle Eastern dance artists from around the world. As of April 2010 Caliana is fully certified through Hadia’s Middle Eastern Dance Instructor Training Program. Caliana attended and participated in Hadia's Professional Course in July 2008 & July 2009. She has also become the Organizer for the Belly Dance Meet Toronto Group and formed the Alhambra Dance Company.

Caliana teaches Introductory and Beginner Bellydance classes out of Tandem Dance & Fitness Studio and on request teaches both Bellydance and Bellyrobics classes and workshops at other fitness, yoga and dance studios throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

www.calianadances.com

Margarita María began her flamenco career in Granada, Spain at the Carmen del las Cuevas flamenco school. Upon her return to Toronto she enrolled at the Academy of Spanish Dance where she has trained in flamenco and classical Spanish dance ever since.

Coming from a Colombian-Hungarian heritage greatly influenced Margarita María to explore various aspects of both cultures. As a result, her early childhood dance training included ballet at The Ontario School of Ballet and Hungarian folkloric dancing at Toronto’s Hungarian House. During her teens, she performed in various salsa and merengue shows in the coast of Colombia.

Margarita María has also had extensive musical training beginning at three years of age with piano. At the age of twelve she was accepted into Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts where she majored as a flautist in the instrumental music program. Upon graduation she received certification from The Royal Conservatory of Music.

Margarita María’s professional flamenco career began with the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company where she eventually became a company member.

In 2006 Margarita María was part of the ‘Dusk Dances’ summer tour, traveling across Ontario presenting the art of flamenco. She was also invited as a guest artist and teacher for the flamenco company Azúcar, Canela, y Clavo based in Medellin, Colombia. She performed in their full-length concert “Flamenco – Ritos del Alma” at the Museo de San Pedro. In November of that year she performed in Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company’s full-length concert ‘Esencia Flamenca’. Other professional appearances include performances at DanceOntario Weekend.

From 2007-2009 Margarita María taught at Opera Atelier’s The School of Atelier Ballet summer program as a Classical Spanish Dance Instructor.

In 2009 Margarita María joined theater group ‘Crisálida’ based in Toronto for their production of Federico García Lorca’s ‘Bodas de Sangre’ where Margarita interpreted the role of ‘La mujer de Leonardo’ by way of acting, singing, and dancing. Furthermore, she received another invitation from Azúcar, Canela y Clavo to perform in their concert ‘Hay Flamenco en Medellín’ at Teatro Lido to great success.

In 2010 she was invited to join Toronto-based theater group NewTeatro as an actress for their production of ‘Hamelin’.

In addition to her ongoing flamenco and classical Spanish dance training with Esmeralda Enrique, Margarita María has also participated in workshops with guest teachers such as Raul and Marco Salcedo, Antonio Granjero, Andrés Marín, Soledad Barrio, Asuncíon “La Choni” Perez, José Luis Pérez, Angela Españadero and Roberto Amaral (Classical Spanish Dance). She has also studied ballet at the National Ballet School’s adult ballet program.

Margarita María has taught both flamenco and classical Spanish to adults and continues to teach children at the Academy of Spanish Dance.

www.margaritamariarigo.com

Maha has been drawn to performing arts all her life. Since she was young, she engaged herself in dance and music. It was a natural thing to do coming from a family of singers and musicians. Maha began her formal training in Victoria, B.C with Aiewa School of Cultural Dances under the direction of Christina Bates. After finishing her degree in anthropology, Maha traveled to Turkey and Egypt to undergo intensive dance studies. In 2007, Maha spent a year in Montreal to undertake studies with her teacher and mentor, Hadia. Maha has completed all 3 levels of Hadia’s Teacher Training program in addition to her Professional Dance Training program. While in Montreal, Maha founded Maha Bellydance Dance school and was a regular performer at La Menara and La Gazelle.

In 2008, Maha came to Toronto to be a full time faculty member at Hannan's Bellydance Studio and student troupe director for the Sultanettes. Currently, Maha is taking a break from teaching regular classes to focus on a busy performance schedule and her involvement as a choreographer in Alhambra Dance Co., a Flamenco and Middle Eastern fusion dance company.

Building an impressive resume, Maha has hundreds of performances under her belt in addition to a gold medal in the 2007 AQDO competition, a performance for the Turkish Ambassador, and Egyptian Super star Dina. In 2010, Maha was a featured performer at the International Bellydance Conference of Canada(IBCC).

www.mahabellydance.com

Alexandra enrolled in her first bellydance classes with Ilana Salazar in the summer of 2003 as a way to balance out student life. It ended up being love at the first shimmy.

In 2005, Alexandra started training with the wonderfully artistic Hannan Sultan. In 2006, she joined Hannan's newly formed troupe, The Sultanettes. As a senior member with the troupe, she performed at various community and charity events under the artisitic direction of both Hannan Sultan and Maha.

In 2007, Alexandra joined the Rhythm of the Nile Dance Company, directed by Nada El Masriya. She performed in the company's two productions: "Rhythm of the Nile" (2008) and "Ayyam Zaman" (2009).

Also as part of her training, Alexandra has taken classes and/or workshops with the following dancers and instructors: Abigail, Robyn, Zahira, Aziza, Jillina, Petite Jamila, Jim Boz, Tamalyn Dallal, Randa Kamal, Denise Enan, Caroline Labrie, Cassandra Shore, and Yasmina Ramzy.

Alexandra has studied with Hadia since 2008. She has completed all three levels of Hadia's Certificate of Teacher Training in Middle Eastern Dance. Her classes and workshops are all based on Hadia's "Body Logic" techniques and principles.

Alexandra taught Intro to Bellydance and Beginner Bellydance at the Danforth and Broadview location of Hannan's Bellydance Studio. She currently teaches out of Tandem Dance & Fitness Studios in the Yonge and Lawrence area, and other parts of the city on request.

www.dancewithalexandra.com

Being an ardent fan of both Middle Eastern and Flamenco music, Taraneh made a New Year's resolution in 2004 to learn something new and study one of these dance forms. She dropped into a belly dance class at Raven Crow's I Dream Bellydance Studio in 2004 and has been a belly dance devotee ever since. In belly dance she found the ideal synthesis for her varied passions: visual art, music, dance, fitness, communication and culture. Taraneh has trained primarily with Hannan Sultan and the instructors at Hannan's Bellydance Studio and continues to develop her versatility and technique via workshops with a wide range of local and international instructors. She has completed Hadia's Level 3 Certification in Middle Eastern Dance Instruction and teaches at Hannan's Bellydance Studio.

As a solo dancer and as a member of the Sultanettes Bellydance Troupe, Taraneh has had the pleasure of performing in a variety of venues and events including Lula Lounge, Funkabelly, Taste of the Danforth, Rak 'n' Roll, Carassauga, and the International Bellydance Conference of Canada.

Studying the traditions and innovations of belly dance has been an ongoing source of creative inspiration for Taraneh, and she is excited to explore the fusion of Flamenco and Middle Eastern dance with Alhambra Dance.