About Kari

In June of 2004, Kari began her journey into the amazing world of Middle Eastern dance. Tired of spending excessive amounts of her spare time watching bad television on her living room couch, she took a friend up on her offer to check out a local bellydance class taught by Zafia. Kari was hooked instantly and became a dedicated student of raqs sharqi (oriental dance).

And then, a few months later, magic happened. Zafia began teaching a tribal style class. Kari had been drawn to tribal after seeing videos of FatChanceBellyDance and attending a Domba! workshop in Evergreen, CO. The tribal class soon became "home" for her and its members her family. From that original group, Mizmar Madness was born.

Kari continues to dance both oriental and tribal styles and attends workshops as often as she can. She is an active member of Mizmar Madness, the only professional tribal improvisation troupe in Colorado Springs. She also performs with Baharat Sharqi ("Oriental Spices") at local student nights.

In 2007, Kari was honored (and just a bit intimidated) when Zafia asked her to teach a beginning oriental choreography class. She was extremely fortunate to have a wonderful group of students for her first foray into teaching (thanks, ladies!). Later that year, Kari was asked to become the tribal style instructor. Again, the students were wonderfully talented and extraordinarily patient. :-)

Questions? Please contact Kari.