April Rose - Biography
April Rose began bellydance at age 11 in Sacramento, California after being inspired by one of Suhaila Salimpour’s legendary company performances at the Renaissance Faire. After studying 5 years of cabaret style bellydance under Daleela Morad, she became a student of fusion bellydance at Hot Pot Studios, directed by Amy Sigil. From 2005 to 2010 April Rose danced as a company member of Sigil’s hard-hitting experimental dance troupe UNMATA.
In 2009 April earned a bachelors degree in Dance from UCLA where she studied choreographic method, the role of dance in the production of culture, and a variety of dance forms (including: ballet, modern, West African, jazz, hip hop, Bedhayo Javanese court dance, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, and Khathak classical Indian dances, contact improv, and Skinner Releasing Technique).
In 2008 and 2009 she studied abroad in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India where she studied the Hindi language, yoga, and dance.
From 2010 to 2012 April Rose danced as a principal performer with Miles Copeland’s groundbreaking commercial dance company Bellydance Superstars. While touring internationally for the shows “Bombay Bellywood” and “Magic of the Dance”, she had the honor of dancing alongside world class performers like Kami Liddle, Moria Chappel, Sabrina Fox, and Petite Jamila.
After her touring break from school, April Rose returned to Los Angeles to finish graduate school at UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures|Dance Department, where in 2012 she earned her Masters degree in Dance Studies, with honors. April’s research explores the transnational history of bellydance since the mid-19th century and the many incarnations of bellydance practice in the post 1960’s US. She is currently editing her Masters thesis for future publication.
April Rose now permanently resides in Austin, Texas directing her dance school, Rose Movement Studio (www.rosemovement.com), where she teaches classic bellydance, experimental bellydance, and Improv Tribal Style (she is the first ever certified teacher in the UNMATA format of ITS).
April has had the honor of teaching dance technique, history, and theory at bellydance conferences in over 20 countries including Russia, Estonia, Croatia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, India, Mexico, Colombia, France, Italy, England, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Canada, and Brazil. Look for April at a festival near you, visit Rose Movement in Austin, TX or study with April Rose from anywhere at Rachel Brice’s online dance studio, Datura Online.
For her dance companies, April Rose creates playful and thoughtful choreographies that often seek to find a balance between fused traditions and the ethics of intercultural performance. Her professional life is dedicated simultaneously to bringing into bellydance the theoretical, historical, and compositional knowledge she has gained in her academic study, and to helping people understand the potential bellydance has for thoughtful self expression, community formation, and challenging of social convention.
Her strategy for life and art is to take risk without taking yourself all too seriously!
Want more?
Read an interview with April Rose here. Hear a podcast with April Rose here.
website: http://aprilrosedance.com
In 2009 April earned a bachelors degree in Dance from UCLA where she studied choreographic method, the role of dance in the production of culture, and a variety of dance forms (including: ballet, modern, West African, jazz, hip hop, Bedhayo Javanese court dance, Bharatanatyam, Odissi, and Khathak classical Indian dances, contact improv, and Skinner Releasing Technique).
In 2008 and 2009 she studied abroad in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India where she studied the Hindi language, yoga, and dance.
From 2010 to 2012 April Rose danced as a principal performer with Miles Copeland’s groundbreaking commercial dance company Bellydance Superstars. While touring internationally for the shows “Bombay Bellywood” and “Magic of the Dance”, she had the honor of dancing alongside world class performers like Kami Liddle, Moria Chappel, Sabrina Fox, and Petite Jamila.
After her touring break from school, April Rose returned to Los Angeles to finish graduate school at UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures|Dance Department, where in 2012 she earned her Masters degree in Dance Studies, with honors. April’s research explores the transnational history of bellydance since the mid-19th century and the many incarnations of bellydance practice in the post 1960’s US. She is currently editing her Masters thesis for future publication.
April Rose now permanently resides in Austin, Texas directing her dance school, Rose Movement Studio (www.rosemovement.com), where she teaches classic bellydance, experimental bellydance, and Improv Tribal Style (she is the first ever certified teacher in the UNMATA format of ITS).
April has had the honor of teaching dance technique, history, and theory at bellydance conferences in over 20 countries including Russia, Estonia, Croatia, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, India, Mexico, Colombia, France, Italy, England, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Canada, and Brazil. Look for April at a festival near you, visit Rose Movement in Austin, TX or study with April Rose from anywhere at Rachel Brice’s online dance studio, Datura Online.
For her dance companies, April Rose creates playful and thoughtful choreographies that often seek to find a balance between fused traditions and the ethics of intercultural performance. Her professional life is dedicated simultaneously to bringing into bellydance the theoretical, historical, and compositional knowledge she has gained in her academic study, and to helping people understand the potential bellydance has for thoughtful self expression, community formation, and challenging of social convention.
Her strategy for life and art is to take risk without taking yourself all too seriously!
Want more?
Read an interview with April Rose here. Hear a podcast with April Rose here.
website: http://aprilrosedance.com