Joy Herbst, director and found of Celadon Tribal Belly Dance, completed ATS General Skills training and is a certified Teacher by Carolena Nericcio in American Tribal Style.  Joy is proud to announce that she is a Sister Studio of Fat Chance Belly Dance. 

Bellydance is both a celebration of the female spirit and a physical display of the strength and beauty of women. Its roots can be traced back to the rituals of past matriarchal cultures and to the secular entertainments that evolved as the itinerant performers traveled through India, Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Spain.

With these traditions in mind, Carolena Nericcio created FatChanceBellyDance in 1987.

American Tribal Style (ATS)  belly dance is an American-created, modern adaptation on the folkloric dances of North Africa, Spain and the Middle East.  It is unique in that it consists of a system of 70 plus dance movements and combinations that the group of dancers is able to cue to one another to create a new and unique performance that is solely improvised!  The focus is on the group as they create beautiful dance pieces through non-verbal communication among the Tribe. 

Cues and Formations are the brilliance of ATS!  Often unnoticed due to the elaborate costumes, fancy steps, exciting music and the sheer beauty of women dancing together, formations and cues are the anchor of Improvisational Choreography.

From FCBD.com: "Sister Studios are graduates of General Skills for ATS, ATS Teacher Training and exclusive FCBD Teacher Training. These teachers are dedicated to presenting ATS as created and developed by FatChanceBellyDance director and master teacher Carolena Nericcio. Sister Studios do not blend ATS with other styles of dance, tribal or otherwise. They present ATS only, or clearly separate ATS from the other styles of dance they are presenting.
Our goal is that you, the student, should be able to attend a FCBD ATS class anywhere in the world and receive consistent, quality instruction."

-Some information taken in part from Fat Chance Belly Dance, fcbd.com.