THE SHIMMY SISTERS :: Who are the Shimmy Sisters UK?

Becky is our youngest sister has put her Egyptian style belly dancing to the test by giving birth to Tobias with no pain relief. Shake that baby down and out! I Cash Radii is her brilliant first venture into Tribal style choreography

Bernadette loves Arabic dance and everything that goes with it: the music, the moves, the performances, the friendships, and especially the shopping opportunities!!

Jill first became acquainted with Arabic music when living in Morocco; she loves the dance form but, just as importantly, the companionship and support of the sisters

I love the creative aspects of dance - the choreographing, designing and sewing costumes, that warm glow from cheering up the residents at the Homes we dance in, but if I'm honest I'm simply addicted to liberating that cheeky inner diva who can't help but bubble up and smile out when I dance!

Sarah has been dancing since she was a tiny tot and formed part of an Egyptian dance group in London. She enjoys all forms of dance, especially Flamenco and Latin-American

Sharon has flirted with Flamenco and gets a buzz from Bollywood but her heart belongs to Bellydance in all its styles

We all met at Egyptian Dance classes run for Scola in Sutton by the highly talented Melissa Abraham who gave us all a fantastic grounding in technique and the art of performance. A few years later in 2003 we formed the Shimmy Sisters with the aim of practising together on a regular basis to supplement what we learnt in classes and to share news and views about bellydance-related events. As our confidence and ability grew and in response to enquiries about what bellydancing is we started giving demonstrations to schoolchildren, women's groups and charities. Eight years later and the seven of us perform regularly around the locality and are still good friends!

A love of dancing is why we got together, and some of us have also done flamenco or bollywood dancing and we are constantly working on new bellydances
to include in our sets. Our method is based on sound technical ability that we maintain and improve at workshops
by some of the world's best-known professionals as well as local teachers
- read details of the private lessons and workshops we attend in the News page

Apparently Bernadette was Aziza's first private student in the UK (click here to read about the experience!)

Our main bollywood dancers Sharon and Kathi form part of Bollissima and have studied and performed under the direction of the
dynamic Malti Patel of Apsara Arts.

Kathi and Sharon backstage at the Croydon Mela 2010

Sarah, Semera and Jill study and perform flamenco with the charismatic Dani Allen - we have a good relationship with other local dancers and are always happy to consider collaborations or featuring in events - Bollywood dance divas, Saqarah, Arabesque, Silk Route, World Party day ...
- why not contact us if you've got a project in mind or want us to advertise your event in our news section?

We've added a section in our website Glitz and Glamour where we have put information for you about where we source our outfits (Bernadette can spot a Cairo-designer dress a mile off!), examples of different dress styles and our favourite bits of advice about performing
(along with some photos of how not to do it!!). Becky has shared her make-up advice too!

Our Events page details the kind of performances we've been taking part in - everything from private parties for 100 year-olds to massive public events
such as the Croydon Mela - for several years running!
This is where you can also find answers to the questions we get asked most regularly, such as who teaches bellydancing locally.
Got a question? Need an answer? Pop along to FAQ on Your Event page.

Becky, Bernadette, Sarah, Jill and Kathi perform at Arabesque's Anniversary Showcase

Click on our Gigs page to see up-to-date information on where we'll be appearing next - we think contact with the audience is of paramount importance
so please feel free to join in by clapping along and do come up to us to chat after our set, we'd love to meet you!
To catch up on our most recent photos have a look at the photos page
- a resume of our year in photos appears at the top with links to specific albums of events if we have photos of them.




We all met at Egyptian Dance classes run for Scola in Sutton by the highly talented Melissa Abraham who gave us all a fantastic grounding in technique and the art of performance. A few years later in 2003 we formed the Shimmy Sisters with the aim of practising together on a regular basis to supplement what we learnt in classes and to share news and views about bellydance-related events. As our confidence and ability grew and in response to enquiries about what bellydancing is we started giving demonstrations to schoolchildren, women's groups and charities. Eight years later and the seven of us perform regularly around the locality and are still good friends!
A love of dancing is why we got together, and some of us have also done flamenco or bollywood dancing and we are constantly working on new bellydances to include in our sets. Our method is based on sound technical ability that we maintain and improve at workshops by some of the world's best-known professionals as well as local teachers - read details of the private lessons and workshops we attend in the News page Apparently Bernadette was Aziza's first private student in the UK (click here to read about the experience!) Our main bollywood dancers Sharon and Kathi form part of Bollissima and have studied and performed under the direction of the dynamic Malti Patel of Apsara Arts. Kathi and Sharon backstage at the Croydon Mela 2010 Sarah, Semera and Jill study and perform flamenco with the charismatic Dani Allen - we have a good relationship with other local dancers and are always happy to consider collaborations or featuring in events - Bollywood dance divas, Saqarah, Arabesque, Silk Route, World Party day ... - why not contact us if you've got a project in mind or want us to advertise your event in our news section?
We've added a section in our website Glitz and Glamour where we have put information for you about where we source our outfits (Bernadette can spot a Cairo-designer dress a mile off!), examples of different dress styles and our favourite bits of advice about performing (along with some photos of how not to do it!!). Becky has shared her make-up advice too!
Our Events page details the kind of performances we've been taking part in - everything from private parties for 100 year-olds to massive public events such as the Croydon Mela - for several years running! This is where you can also find answers to the questions we get asked most regularly, such as who teaches bellydancing locally. Got a question? Need an answer? Pop along to FAQ on Your Event page. Becky, Bernadette, Sarah, Jill and Kathi perform at Arabesque's Anniversary Showcase
Click on our Gigs page to see up-to-date information on where we'll be appearing next - we think contact with the audience is of paramount importance so please feel free to join in by clapping along and do come up to us to chat after our set, we'd love to meet you! To catch up on our most recent photos have a look at the photos page - a resume of our year in photos appears at the top with links to specific albums of events if we have photos of them.