Tribal Belly Dance is innovative, amazing, and fun! It is my responsibility to bring value to every dancer in each and every class, so that each student can experience the love and excitement of Pure ATS belly dance. As such, I stress strong technique in the classroom and offer plenty of individual attention so that every student leaves each class with new belly dance movement ability. Being an instructor of the Pure American Tribal Style belly dance format, I have a strong connection to maintaining the authenticity of Pure ATS so that dancers can leave my class confident that they have received reliable, consistent Pure ATS instruction, so that they can dance with anyone in our global ATS tribe.

Being a belly dance instructor, I am positioned to accentuate the beauty of a woman in every movement that I teach. Each and every woman is beautiful, no matter your size, age, shape, or level of movement experience and all women are welcome to experience this beauty through belly dance expression. We all have the feminine divine within us, waiting to shine through our dance.

Jen is Founder of American Tribal Style Belly Dance Company, Sammati, instructor of Pure ATS belly dance, and promoter of local belly dance shows in the greater DC area.

In September of 2008, Jen's American Tribal Style Belly Dance Program at Saffron became certified as one of FatChanceBellyDance's Sister School Programs. For more information on American Tribal Style Belly Dance, please visit: www.fcbd.com. Jen started her belly dance career in Syracuse, NY where she became a principle dancer and choreographer for Zoe Artemis’s Gypsy Fire Belly Dance Troupe. Since 1996, she has performed solo and group pieces at festivals, stage events and private events throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. 

Jen is dedicated to the study of Pure American Tribal Style belly dance and the promotion of this format in the DC area. Her training is been primarily from American Tribal Style belly dance creator Carolena Nericcio, from whom she became Fat Chance Belly Dance General Skills certified in June 2006. She has also studied American Tribal Style belly dance with Jill Parker. Jen continues to deepen her ATS study with Carolena and has recently repeated her General Skills certification and completed Carolena’s prestigious teacher training program in September of 2008.

Jen brings an animation and enthusiasm to the stage and classroom through intricate technique and infectious excitement, bringing audiences and students alike to the dance. Her attention to technique in the classroom brings out the dancer in all types of people - young and old, experienced or not, of all shapes and sizes - into the glory of the woman's dance - building the spirit and the joy for the dance, and creating performers.

In addition to her belly dance background, Jen has trained and performed classical dance forms such as ballet, jazz, modern and point throughout her life, and in the last several years has established her acclaim in the popular 1930's form of swing dance-lindy hop. During the day, Jen teaches Special Education Science.

The eyes are blind. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. --
Antoine de St. Exupery