About Loreley

Loreley is a well-respected professional performer and qualified teacher with many years of experience. She is devoted to sharing her passion for Arabic dance and music, encouraging everyone to enjoy this beautiful art form. ‘Belly dance’ is used as a label which encompasses a great variety of Middle Eastern, Tribal, and fusion styles. In her training and career, Loreley has focused on the various styles of dance to be found in Egypt, though in recent years she has also embraced Tribal Fusion, a dance form with West Coast American origins rather than Middle Eastern.

Loreley has been dancing since childhood. Her first dance lessons, at the age of 11, were on ice! At 15, she decided to dance on a less slippery surface and took up ballet. However, she did not see herself pursuing a career in ballet.

In addition to dancing, Loreley has always had a fascination for Egypt’s ancient past, so she went to university to study for a BSc in archaeology and then a postgraduate degree. Her studies took her to Egypt where she participated in archaeological field research and also discovered Egyptian music and dance. When she returned to the UK at the end of one summer of fieldwork, she started going to a belly dance class while continuing to attend ballet classes. Over the years, she has trained with a number of different teachers, and has always particularly welcomed the opportunity to learn from Egyptian dancers.

Loreley has performed widely in the UK in shows and dance events, as well as at festivals, corporate events, private functions, and in restaurants. She especially enjoys teaching and has been offering regular classes since the early 1990s. Students at all levels appreciate her patient and clear teaching style. Some of them have themselves gone on to become teachers and performers.

Loreley is an IDTA-qualified belly dance teacher and a member of the IDTA (International Dance Teachers’ Association). Her students were among the first to be awarded medals in belly dancing by the IDTA which began accepting belly dancing candidates in 2003.