Teacher Profile: Fonda Hamilton-Insley

If you're in or around Tucson and you want to learn improvisational group tribal style belly dance, you cannot go wrong with Fonda! With years and years of dance experience under her jingly belt, including ATS certification, sometimes it seems like Fonda knows everything about dance and has taken workshops from every teacher on the planet. She's full of knowledge and funny anecdotes, too! Her classes have a very fun and welcoming atmosphere and are especially good for newbies who might be intimidated by all the crunches and layering of Jolie's class.

I started studying with Fonda at the start of 2011 because she was going to teach some veil moves and I wanted to give veil a try. After that she taught some sword, then some zills, and by then I was hooked! Although we spent some time on props at the start of the year, Fonda's main focus is on group tribal improv, with a very easy-to-understand vocabulary of moves and queues, as well as some time spent on basic belly dance skills like isolations and shimmies and traveling moves.

Currently Fonda teaches at The Dance Loft on Wednesday nights. There's a beginner class and an intermediate class, so newbie students have something to work towards. She's also leading the Tucson Tribal Belly Dance Collective, a newly re-formed troupe that will soon be dancing all over Tucson.

Random cool fact about Fonda: She also does taiko drumming!