Gigi lives in London and has been studying the beautiful art of belly dance for over a decade.

How the journey begun

Being half-Guyanese, Gigi proudly took part in Notting Hill Carnival when she was growing up. She loved wearing hand-made costumes and wining in the streets of London to Soca classics, celebrating West Indian culture in Britain.

She began her belly dance journey at university, where she fell in love with the exciting music and earthy yet intricate movements. She was also drawn to the fact belly dance celebrated body diversity and community, which reminded her of her own cultural background.

A life-long student

Gigi is inspired by her peers in the thriving London belly dance community and is open to collaborating with many.

She has studied with Jalya Aslanova from Azerbaijan, Dance Body Mind, Fleur Estelle Dance School, Melissa Belly Dance, Mayel, Charlotte Desorgher director of Company of Dreams and the Undeniables programme to name but a few. In recent years, Gigi has added to her dance knowledge by learning Tahitian dance –  combining flowing hand movements with emotive storytelling and fast and fiery hips. Exploring her creativity, Gigi subscribes to Datura Online where she has started learning fusion dance from world renowned teachers.

Gigi strongly believes in being a never-ending student, especially as a teacher.  Studies include:

• Level 1 and 2 belly dance teacher’s training on Melissa Belly Dance’s highly accredited course  (2018 and 2022)
• Neuroscience of dance workshops (2020)
• Travelling to Cairo to learn more about the history, culture and belly dance cabaret & live music scene. Taking dance classes from Egyptian teachers across styles (2023)
• Participant in the Belly Dance Now International Challenge, creating choreographies in oriental & folkoric styles, studying improvisation & musicality (2023)
• Belly Dance Now: Music for Belly Dance Explored (in progress)

Making deeper connections

Hungry to learn more, Gigi along with friends founded a community group ‘Shimmy and Share’ in 2017. The key aims being to create a space to develop creativity and collaboration within dance – and simply connect and share our love for this art!

Performing in the community

She has performed across London, internationally and virtually for a variety of community, dance, wellbeing and arts events including;

• Showcases for dance schools since 2015: Fleur Estelle Dance School, Melissa Belly Dance, Dance Body Mind and The London School of Hula and Ori
• Festival, cabaret and arts events: London Decompression and Burning Nest (Burning Man festival regional events in the UK)
• Mind Body Spirit Wellbeing Festival: in London and Birmingham with Melissa belly dance and the Mahira girls
• Belly Dance Festivals: The Tabernacle Theatre for the National Belly Dance Academy Festival, Fantasia in 2019, 2021 and 2022, Celebrating Dance in 2023
• Charity fundraisers: Haven House and St Joseph’s Hospice, CHABS charity fashion show
• Belly dance community Haflas (which means ‘party’ in Arabic), including Rouh Arabi (a premier Arabic music and dance event in London), Shimmy & Share, Fuschia in Milton Keynes and Casbah Cafe in Oxford
• Virtual events (Vcompression, Online Burning Nest and private Zoom parties alongside a live DJ)
• Internationally at Bosnia’s competition Just Dance Fest 2019 winning 1st prize, representing Sahara Sahara dance school
• At various community events around the UK as a troop member of Hecate’s Spells fusion belly dance group, led by Diana Lunae
• Private events: wedding

Wherever Gigi performs, she likes to try and make a connection with other dancers, event organisers, the wider community and of course the audience!

Teaching in diverse settings

Her passion has led Gigi to begin teaching to share what she has learnt. She has run introductory beginner’s workshops for a wide variety of events in different settings from the South African desert to a garden in Essex and virtually during the 2020 pandemic.

Gigi believes the art form can be enjoyed by anyone and has taught participants of all ages, identities and backgrounds.

Workshop have included; Hen parties, festival environments, English language summer school for teenagers, Arts events, private get-aways and in 2019 she taught internationally for the first time at both ‘Afrikaburn’ in the South African desert and as a guest teacher for Sahara Sahara belly dance school in Bosnia.

During the global pandemic Gigi adapted to teaching online and taught at virtual Burning Man events, private Zoom parties and for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity as part of their employee wellbeing programme.

Gigi can also teach private 1-2-1 classes to those who prefer a more personal coaching approach with a tailored development plan and beginner’s group classes on Zoom.

She cannot wait to dance with you!