As Dancer~
Training
From a very young age, Veronique has always been enamored with dance and movement. She began ballet training with The National Ballet of Canada and then studied Asian traditional dances with The Beijing Song and Dance Company in Beijing, China and at STSI Indonesian Dance Academy in Bali thanks to a year-long Darmasiswa Fellowship from the Indonesian Embassy of Washington DC. She perused her passion and received her B.A. degree in Dance from The American University in Washington D.C. and is honoured to have studied with prominent dancers such as Mark Morris, Mel Wong, Milton Myers of Alvin Ailey, Anne Parsons of Joffrey Ballet, Linda Gottfried of The Martha Graham Company, Deborah Riley of the Merce Cunningham Company, Cynthia Reynolds of the Erick Hawkins Company, Mimi Legat, members of the Bolshoi Ballet in then Yugoslavia; Odissi with Jayantee Paine; Bharata Natyam with Christel Stevens; Flamenco with Marina Keet, Dame Alicia Diaz of National Ballet of Spain, Susana de Palma, Nelida Tirado, Debra Belo; Classical Balinese Dance with Dewi Aryani, Wayan Sekariani, Nyoman of Peliatan and as with musicians Pak Kadek in Bali and Nyoman Suadin in DC on the Balinese Gamelan among many others. Her love of all dance styles also include teaching ballroom dance at Arthur Murray Dance Studios.
Professional Career
Veronique is proud to have been a diplomatic bridge amongst people and cultures through her international and diverse professional dance career. She has danced around the world with much love for all people from school children to dignitaries and royalty at diverse venues such as bare school rooms, renown opera houses, and even under full moons in temple sanctums. She is honoured to have danced for Center Dance Company, Jan Taylor Dance Company, Grant McDaniel in Italy, David Rousseve in NYC, The Spanish Dance Society, The Indonesian Embassy in Washington DC, at temple ceremonies in Bali, and Placido Domingo at The Washington Opera which gave her the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center Honors with then President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton in attendance.
Veronique’s Dance Companies and Choreography
Her love of choreography led her to create and direct a collaborative music and dance company, “Spegash”, in Milano, Italy and both choreographed and danced at the Cross-Ethnic Multimedia Festival in Bali, Indonesia. She currently choreographs for her own Oriental Fusion Dance Company, “Arabesque Dance Theatre” and recently choreographed, The Arabian Nights, for Constellation Theatre in Washington DC.
Belly Dance
Veronique luckily had a school friend who is a professional belly dancer and was immediately mesmerized by the music and dance of the Middle East. Nica studied with her friend Yasmina and continued at Joy of Motion with Autumn Leah-Ward, at Sahara Dance, and then taught at Saffron Dance and Ballet Teatro Internacional since their inceptions as well as at other studios and community centers where she developed a Senior’s Oriental Dance Group, the Sultanas. She currently teaches at the Mosaique Center for Cultural Arts, Ballet Nova, Global Music Academy, and with her Arabesque Dance Academy housed out of Ballet Nova. She is thrilled to continue her education with such wonderful dancers Saida Helou, Amir Thaleb, Yousry Sharif, Mohamed Shahin, Karim Nagi, Tamra El Henna, Raquia Hassan, Soraia Zaed, Faten among others. On a trip to Morocco she picked up a doumbek drum and also studies drumming and rhythms. She is grateful for her instruction by Sidqi, Tom Teasley, Ozzy of Bellydance Evolution, Issam Houshan of Bellydance Superstars, and Souhail Kaspar.
As Yogini~
With over 25 years of learning and teaching experience, Veronique’s teaching reflects her global training in movement and philosophy of Hatha Yoga focusing on the Ashtanga, and Vinyasa styles.
Believing that communication is key to impart her knowledge to her students, she understands the need to distill complex ideas into easy and understandable terms and concepts. From teaching the at-risk population yogis to yogis at boutique yoga studios, this allows her to help all of her students along this multi-faceted journey into the world of mind, body and movement.
Veronique has taught worldwide in Italy, Bali, Vietnam, as well as locally at Great Falls Yoga and Equinox Fitness among others. She has represented Eden Yoga at the First Annual World Culture Open in Washington D.C. As a yogini, she is honoured to have studied with Michelle Renfield, Shiva Rea, Simon Park and at top centers for yoga including the Jivamukti Yoga Center and Integral Yoga in NYC, Eden Yoga in Virginia, and O2 in Aspen
Fellowships:
Jacob's Pillow for Mark Morris Summer Program
Darmasiswa Award from Indonesian Government
Member of :
Unesco's International Dance Council
Yoga Alliance (RYT-500, E-RYT-500)
IDEA Health and Fitness Association
and is Pliates Certified
About
Veronique
Veronique is currently the Director and Founder of the non-profit, Circle of World Arts in which she also choreographs and performs for its resident dance company, Arabesque Dance Theatre, and teaches at its resident dance school, the Arabesque Dance Academy. She currently performs and collaborates with world music percussionist Tom Teasley and teaches at Ballet Nova, Mosaique Center for Cultural Arts, and The Yellow House, an arts initiative. Her latest project was as choreographer for Constellation Theatre’s production of, The Arabian Nights, in Washington DC. She is also nominated for president of UNESCO’s International Council of Dance, Washington DC Section!
