Tanya's
dance origins lay in a seven years of classical ballet and three years
of Kundalini and Hatha Yogic studies in Montreal and Vancouver, Canada.
These were combined with studies in
mysticism during university and initiation as a serious student of
Rifai-Marufi Sufism, a branch of Islamic mysticism, in 2002. Through
Sufism she studied the Mevlevi Sema under the tutelage of Raqib Brian
Burke of Open Secret School of Whirling and became a Semazen or
Whirling Dervish in Canada in 2002. What is whirling?
Since 2005, Tanya has been performing throughout Europe as a Whirling Dervish Dancer with
Turkish Electronic-Folk group Mercan Dede. She has given whirling workshops in France and Turkey which focus on whirling as active meditation.
With an additional background of studies in West African
Dance from
2002-4 with Fana Soro of Masabo Culture Company in Vancouver, Tanya has also performed as a dancer with Afrika Ritimleri ve Dans Topluluğu or African Rhythm and Dance Troupe, based in Istanbul.
She attempts to combine all of her
experience into One
Ars Electronica Festival
first solo performance with Mercan Dede, Linz Austria September 2005
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