BELLY

 Sensual…Scarred…Sacred...

CREW:

Cecilia Rinn, Director, Producer, Writer –

         Cecilia has been dancing professionally since 1995.    Before falling in love with Middle Eastern dance, Cecilia studied ballet, modern, jazz, flamenco, and choreography for 18 years.  Along with dancing, Cecilia is an award-winning filmmaker & graphic artist with her productions company Full Tilt Boogie L.L.C. Cecilia also is a professional seamstress and costume designer, creating under the name of Star Belly Creations.

Her award-winning dance short “Full Circle” has shown at several film festivals across the country.  She produced and co-directed her first feature-length film “Half Ass Jig”, as well as several other shorts.  She has been an active and integral part of the formation of several groups in Boise’s artistic community including Gypsy Flames, Catalyst News, Small Pond Films and Cairo Fusion.

Chad Rinn, Director of Photography, Producer, Editor-

          Chad has been a published writer since 1995.  His stories have appeared in several publications such as FASTER than SHEEP and Equilibrium.   He wrote, produced, edited and co-directed his first feature length film “Half Ass Jig” in 2000, which was based on his first novel, and he later adapted it to a comic strip that ran in the Boise Weekly.  After being the director of photography on Cecilia’s award-winning short “Full Circle”, Chad looks forward to filming and editing Cecilia’s vision of belly dance.

          Cecilia & Chad Rinn both live in Boise, Idaho with their two adult sons, Jacob and Joe, their two dogs, Pink and Zoe, and their turtle, Bob.

Thomas Brown, Producer, Production Sound Mixer and Lighting Designer/ Technician

        Thomas Brown lives in Washington D.C. where his vocation is broadcasting and his primary avocation is micro budget digital cinematography. He has worn a number of hats on a handful of feature length movies and short subjects including "White Devil", an adaptation of the classic play by John Webster, which he photographed and directed.

       Thomas lives with his wife Amy, the rabbit Harold, and a peculiarly reclusive guinea pig named Ruth.

Lynzsea Sky Williams, Assistant Director, Production Assistant –

            Lynzsea Sky Williams first started working in film in 2000 while she was a freshmen at Kimberly High School.   She completed her first short/PSA on recycling entitled 'The Breath of Nature' for a scholarship to the Art Institute of Seattle in 2003. In the summer of 2005, she was hired by Evil Wine Films as an assistant director, script supervisor, and producer on the full-length feature film 'The Seven Sins of Daniel Tucker.'   She is a member of Dead Eight Productions and Reel Women of the West.   

Eric Sandmeyer, composer –

            A graduate of the University of Idaho in Music Composition, Eric first began composing as a young boy. Formal studies in harmony, counterpoint, arranging and orchestration gave him the foundation to create music in a wide variety of styles.  Eric has discovered his passion composing scores for numerous shorts and feature-length productions.  In his cinematic collaborations he has produces dramatic symphonic underscores as well as rock, jazz, blues, reggae, hip-hop, electronica (and even a cha-cha or two).

           All his work has called for a flexible foundation.  He enjoys beautiful Boise with his lifetime partner Patricia Hadley and their pet cactus "Fred."

Dennis Carr, post production sound guru–

               Audio editor Dennis Carr jumped (literally) at the chance to work on this film.  He saw it as an opportunity to test his abilities in the full range of sound and picture.  Having logged countless hours recording and mixing rock bands in his home studio, and recently earning a degree in Sound Arts, “Belly” is Dennis’s first full-length film project.
 

Star Cast:

Delilah, Seattle, WA

 Delilah is an internationally acclaimed belly dance performer and instructor. She was the first dancer to receive the Dancer of the Year Award from the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance in Hollywood, California 1997.

Delilah grew up in Southern California, learning the dance form as it was passed on and popularized in this country by first and second generation immigrants from Lebanon, Armenia, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Morocco and Greece. Her years of devoted study and practice have led her to become one of the foremost teachers and innovators in the field of belly-dance today. She is widely known for her breathtaking and deeply inspiring performances.

Mahisha, Santa Fe, NM-formally of Colorado Springs, CO

              Mahisha is a national and international performer and instructor. She has been dancing and performing for over 50 years. She has extensive expertise, knowledge, education, in the Middle Eastern dance styles and is well-known both nationally and internationally.

 Mahisha's style and humorous, dynamic mode of teaching have made her a much sought after instructor and performer through the years.  Her love of dance has been what has seen her through many of the lessons faced in life. Mahisha has found that an active and renewing knowledge of one's self fosters a sense of belonging on a universal level as well as a sense of inner peace and well-being.

Midnight Mirage, Ogden, UT, dancers Jamileh and Calypso

Dance has always been a passion in Jamileh's life, training in jazz, tap and ballet, and since 1993 has extensively focused on Middle Eastern Dance training. Jamileh travels throughout the United States and has studied with many fabulous instructors. Jamileh performs regularly at many special events and has been featured on “E” television at the Sundance film festival, Senior Olympic Games, and the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. Jamileh competes regularly as a soloist and as a member of the Midnight Mirage Dance Company and has been awarded numerous titles at nation wide belly-dance competitions.

              Jamileh is co-owner of Midnight Mirage Inc. based in Salt Lake City, Utah, which encompasses the Midnight Mirage School of Dance, the Midnight Mirage Dance Company (professional performing group), as well as a successful vending and production company, producing Utah’s annual “Mirage in Winter”.

             Calypso is a member of the Midnight Mirage Dance Company as well as the Co-Director of the Midnight Mirage School of Dance. At the 2001 Double Crown Belly Dance Competition, She won the alternative music category, and along with Jamileh, was named Duet of the year, as well as capturing the title of Egyptian Dancer of the Universe 2003 at the Belly Dancer of the Universe Competition in California. She has been a guest artist for numerous events including an exclusive Sundance Film Festival Celebration hosted by "E" entertainment television, Ballet West's 2001 fundraising dinner, and the 2000 and 2001 Utah Senior games. Calypso incorporates her previous dance training with her Middle Eastern dance, giving Raks Sharqi an exciting modern twist.

Samira Il Naia, Boise, ID

Samira is the director, instructor, and choreographer for Cairo Fusion.

In 1997, her background of various dance forms led her to her true love, studying and performing bellydance with SiDonia Om Dunia and the Beli Danse Academie. Samira  began dancing at the professional level in 2000 as an independent soloist and premiere dancer of Nada Brahma, an eclectic Boise-based band and has frequently collaborated with Portland, OR band Brothers of the Baladi, and on occasion with Jeremiah Soto of Solace.  In 2004, Cairo Fusion was born and since then, dance has taken on a whole new meaning to Samira, she finds no greater pleasure than sharing the stage with her girls!  In solo performance, she seeks to demonstrate the importance of audience participation while specializing in the art of progressive belly-dance fusion, improvisational dance, and the essential dancer/live musician connection

Shimmy Shakti, Twin Falls, ID, dancers Christina Gonzales and Jenna Harder

Christina Gonzalez became a Studio Evolve certified Yoga Instructor in 2002 with Paul Olsen and Elianna Dunlap. Christina taught public yoga classes at Falls Ave Fitness and Gold’s Gym. In 2005, Christina was deeply honored to be asked to join her Instructor, Paul Olsen, to co-instruct the Evolve Yoga Teacher Trainer Program. The Evolve Teacher Trainer Program took nine individuals through a 100 hour intensive. She also teaches beginning Belly Dance, co-directs Troupe Shimmy Shakti, and is co-owner of Studio Shimmy Shakti.

Jenna Harder became an Evolve certified Yoga Instructor in the spring of 2004.

Jenna is a deeply compassionate, intuitive, and fearless woman who teaches yoga from the soul. Recently she was able to attend an intensive workshop with Manju Jois. In addition to teaching Gentle Yoga, Jenna teaches beginning Belly Dance, co-directs Troupe Shimmy Shakti, and is co-owner of Studio Shimmy Shakti.

Unmata, Sacramento CA, dancers Amy Sigil and Rachel DeCant

Amy Sigil is owner and director of Hot Pot Studio in Sacramento, CA, home of UNMATA.  For the past decade, Amy has been developing, teaching, and performing modern belly-dance fusion and her distinct vocabulary of Improvisational Tribal Style. She danced as half of Haruspicy Dancecraft for several years, and then formed the professional fusion troupe UNMATA in 2003.  UNMATA has brought home awards such as Belly-dance Troupe of the Year 2004, Belly-dance Troupe USA 2004, Ensemble of the Year 2005, and Tribal Fusion Group of the Universe 2007. 

Amy and UNMATA teach workshops and perform nationally and internationally at events such as The Spirit of the Tribes, Northern Migration, Tribal Fest, Tribal Quest Northwest, TribalCon, and Tribal Café.

Rashel DeCant Works for the USDA at the Western Human Nutrition Research Center on the UC Davis campus as a Project Coordinator and a Support Scientist for Kevin Laguero. Rashel dances fulltime with Amy Sigil at Hot Pot studio and is a member of Unmata, a professional troupe that travels the world. She teaches the intro to belly-dance classes at Hot Pot Studios.