The Dancing Gypsy is the dream come true of dancer Dina LeDuke (see sidebar) who
began her career portraying a bellydancing Gypsy character at Renaissance faires ~ hence
the name of her business. TDG aims to be a resource center for the Middle Eastern dance
and music community throughout central New England, and is also a place where magical
Gypsies-at-heart can come to express ourselves and find our "needful things". We'd like
you to stay awhile, enjoy a cup of tea while having your fortune told or your hands painted
with henna, leave us your business card, and meet you again at the next event. We proudly
offer you our talents in teaching and performing Middle and Near Eastern music and dance
for your enrichment. We also offer a number of exotic imported items, jewelry, musical
instruments, potions, amulets, and spells at our adjoining shop, "The Gypsy's Cauldron".

Our dance studio space is approximately 1000 sq feet and regularly hosts classes,
workshops, performances, and parties. It is available to rent at the very reasonable rate of
$25/hour. If you would like to teach a class or workshop on the Dancing Gypsy schedule,
the usual split is 80/20 in the teacher's favor. Please contact Dina if you are interested in
using our studio!

The Dancing Gypsy proudly offers a place for New England's bellydancers, musicians, and
Gypsy spirits to find each other, teach or take a class or workshop, participate in a
performance, enjoy good company, have some fun, and take home the items they need to
pursue their passion for the arts. Thanks for dancing and shopping with us, and we hope to
see you again at our next hafla!

Dina is Creative Director of TDG's
Troupe Shivani; she is one half of the
musical duet Ensemble Davuli, and
she is the Proprietress of both The
Dancing Gypsy and its adjoining shop,
The Gypsy's Cauldron.

Dina has been dancing since the age
of 4, and has been performing
professionally as a "Dancing Gypsy"
since the turn of the new millennium.
She has an extensive foundation in
Ballet, Jazz, and Modern Lyrical
Dance, and also holds a Master's
degree in Teaching.

Dina's special focus is Tribal Fusion
Bellydance. She has studied with
Morocco, Dalia Carella, Donna Mejia,
Artemis Mourat, Amaya, Sabrina,
Rose Champagne, Troupe Awalim,
Troupe Zafira, Ela Rogers, Mardi
Love, Tempest, and Aepril Schaile to
name just a few of her most notable
dance teachers.

Dina has been a producer and
promoter of theatrical and dance
events for over 20 years. She has
played music and danced with
members of Turku, Djinn, Ishtar, and
even the classic rock band Jethro
Tull.  Her performance venues have
included colleges, castles, nightclubs,
rock concerts, and many renaissance
faires. Her special talents include
sword dancing and percussion. Dina
plays zills, tambourine, def, doumbek,
davul, shruti, keyboards, and several
other musical instruments.


Past Bellydance Endeavors:
* Artistic Director of troupe "Green
Mountain Gypsies", 2000-01. *
* Member of performance troupe
“Accidental Circus”, 2002. *
* Special Performances with Ian
Anderson, and Jethro Tull at Mohegan
Sun Casino, 2003 *
* Member of Tribal Fusion troupe
"Primal Redemption", 2006. *
* Member of Tribal Fusion troupe
"Ambika Badi'ya", 2007. *

Productions:
* "Rythms of the Dance" bellydance
showcase, 2001. *
* "Mideast in the Mountains",
Vermont bellydance festival, 2002. *
* "The Worcester Bellydance
Festival", 2004. *
* "NBDA Bellybuttons" Showcase,  
MC 2005; performer 2006, 2007, co-
host and performer 2009. *
* Dancing Gypsy haflas, 2008-present
*
* Co-organizer of the bi-monthly
"Bellydance Spectacular" with the Ed
Melikian Ensemble at the Sahara in
Worcester, 2009 - 2010 *
Dance Resume Of
Your Hostess,
Dina LeDuke
ABOUT THE DANCING GYPSY

A Brief History of the Romany ~ The Real Gypsy People

Part of the mission of The Dancing Gypsy is to bring attention to the culture, magic, music,
and dance of the Romany -- the "real life" Gypsy people. Since the Middle Ages, the
Romany have been much maligned, persecuted, romanticized, and finally "civilized" almost
out of existence. Yet they persevere, and have had an enormous influence on the music and
dance of the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Eastern Europe, which
remains vital to this day.

The Gypsies originated in Northern India from a mixture of various tribes such as the Jats,
Sindis, Banjara, Lohar, and Dom. Today, they prefer to be called Romany, Romani, or Rroma,
and their language is a derivative of Hindi. Some time around the 9th century, when the
Islamic invasions of Northern India began, these Hindi-speaking tribes were displaced and
began to migrate westward, passing through Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Persia. When they
reached Armenia they split into two groups; one went northward into Turkey, the other went
southward into Egypt. By the mid-1400s the Turkish group made it into the Balkan states,
Italy, and thence into Northern and Eastern Europe. The Egyptian group travelled across
North Africa, crossed the Straits of Gibraltar, and ended up in southern Spain. Because of
their mysterious dark looks, foreign ways, and sudden arrival in large groups, medieval
Europeans were rather taken aback by these new people. The story given by some of the first
Romany to arrive in Europe ~ perhaps attempting to impress their new neighbors ~ involved
a tale of their tribe being "Princes of Little Egypt" who were on pilgrimage to holy places.
Thus the English began to call these dark travellers "Gyptians", and soon "Gypsies", and the
name stuck. In modern times, the term Gypsy is not considered the "politically correct" word
to describe the Romany, and is even considered a derogatory term amongst many modern
European Rroma. In America we use the term Gypsy to describe a romantic vision of any
colorful, magical, artistic, and independent people who travel about and do not live by the
rules of society; we also use it to describe certain styles of music, dance, and costuming. But
what we think of as "Gypsy" in our modern popular culture should not be confused with the
reality of life for the Romany people throughout history.

It is true that the Romanies/Gypsies have always been independent nomads: travelling
entertainers, peddlers, horse traders, blacksmiths, and fortunetellers, among other
professions. Traditionally, they kept their few possessions in elaborately decorated wagons
called "vardos", and usually wore their wealth in the form of gold jewelry or coins. As a rule
they did not mix with the gadje (non-Gypsies) around them, except to do business. This,
coupled with their nomadic ways and the need to scrape out a living any way they could, led
them to be classified as undesirables, thieves, con artists, and worse. By the early
Renaissance period in Europe, the persecution of the Gypsies had begun. In Romania they
were enslaved, and elsewhere they were often forced to leave their camps under threat of
violence and even execution. This phenomenon grew into massive, organized persecutions
which included internment in Nazi extermination camps during World War II ~ and,
shockingly, these persecutions continue in some countries to this day.

In spite of their difficult past, and the struggles they continue to face, the Gypsies have given
the world the gift of their music, dance, language, and folk magick. They have influenced the
performing arts in every country that claims to hold the origins of bellydance, from India to
Turkey to Egypt. Some go so far as to say that the Ghawazee of Egypt and the Cengi of
Turkey (the Gypsies of those lands) invented the bellydance style that we practice today. I
will leave that up to the scholars to debate, but I think it is safe to say that bellydance is at
least in part a Gypsy dance. The Dancing Gypsy will continue to teach about and honor the
history and culture of the Romany people as best we can.