Troupe Anam Cara, under the direction of Lindsey McCormick,  formed through the bonds of sisterhood and a deep love for the dance. This is a group of incredibly hard-working women who somehow manage to juggle life, careers and children to foster their passion. The Troupe is an invite only group for Anam Cara Dance students.

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The Troupe's members currently are: Lindsey McCormick (director), Tracy Babylon, Jaelynn, Suzanne Lutsky, Katie Jacobsen, Thalia, Tracy Brown, Queen Bastet

Lindsey's love of dance began at an early age and has taken shape over the years in many forms. Several years ago Lindsey fell in love with Belly Dancing and hasn't looked back since. She teaches classical belly dance technique with a fusion flare, blending elements from dance styles learned throughout her life. Her goal is to help the belly dance scene in Frederick flourish,  and to educate the public on the true nature of this beautiful art form.

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Lindsey strives to create a nurturing, inspiring environment for her dancers where they can feel free of judgement and learn to accept and love their bodies just the way they are.

Lindsey loves to cross train in varying belly dance styles including classical Egyptian, tribal fusion, Russian Romany and Flamenco Arabe skirt dancing. She has studied with Kristen Dorsey, Naimah Loren, Saeeda Kasym, Dalia  Carella, Angela Petry and Belladonna Boheme. She is currently certified as a Level 3 Technician in Belladonna's Bohemian Blade technique. 

Lulu is very proud of her Greek heritage and has performed and study dance in Egypt, Turkey and Greece. She is currently performing in the Baltimore/DC area.

SALIMPOUR COLLECTIVE DC – The Salimpour Collectives are volunteer groups of certified Salimpour dancers who organize together to celebrate culture and community through belly dance. These groups strive to present responsible representation of this art form, music, and culture through performance as well as providing a support network for other Salimpour School dancers.

With Salimpour Licensed Instructor Donna Eileen (Sterling, VA) serving as Group Leader Liaison, Salimpour Collective DC has been able to connect dancers from New York to Virginia. Today, Salimpour Collective DC is proud to present two choreographies from the Salimpour catalog, Foundations Drum Solo and Dom Dom. The Foundations Drum Solo, also called the Level 2 Finger Cymbal Drum Solo (L2FCDS), is a challenging drum solo with finger cymbal accompaniment that highlights the skill, strength, and stamina required for the Foundations 1 (S2) certification. In contrast, Dom Dom offers a modern shaabi choreography that reflects the song’s playful nature – love makes our singer’s heart beat like a drum!

Curious about what we do? Follow us on Instagram, @dcsalimpourcollective, for a sneak peek into our process, or email us at dcsalimpourcollective@gmail.com for more information.

Find out more about the Salimpour School at https://salimpourschool.com/. SOCIAL MEDIA: IG – Salimpour Collective DC: @dcsalimpourcollective IG – Suhaila Salimpour/Salimpour School: @suhailasalimpour

Nimeera Nazmine has been performing and teaching in the Washington DC Metro Area for over 20 years, both as a former featured soloist and choreography lead in the Silk Road Dance Company and as an independent artist at many prestigious venues. She has extensive training in a wide variety of bellydance styles as well as Indian and Central Asian dance and has been featured on several video and photo projects.

Nimeera is one of the very few dancers on the East Coast that specializes in Snake Charming. Her largest dance partners are 15 feet long and over 60 pounds. Most recently she has produced several collaborative music and dance videos with Sterling and their Cast of Thousands, available both on YouTube and Facebook.

Queen Bastet is the Dance Director at Luna Aerial Dance and Performing Arts in Frederick, MD. She’s been teaching belly dance for fifteen years and performing for twenty. A Baltimore native, she performed regularly at local restaurants, festivals, and parties and was the talent coordinator for the Desert Cafe. Trained primarily in the PiperMethod, she blends American cabaret, Egyptian raqs sharki, and Turkish Romany with elements of Modern Dance and Hip Hop. Dance is a powerful form of expression and Queen Bastet loves sharing it and guiding others to their own unique style.

Adriane Whalen (Jameela) is a highly accomplished professional dancer, choreographer, and multidisciplinary Dance Instructor. Her life in dance began at age three studying under Lily Ann Tcherkassky, Mother of Principal Ballerina from ABT Marianna Tcherkassky. She continued dancing while she pursued her degree in Political Science at the University of California at Berkeley, where she performed with the Modern Dance Department and Berkeley Conservatory Ballet Company. Adriane is the Co-Director of the Nomad Dancers and the Director of Raqs el Hob both based in the Washington DC area.

Adriane believes that a dancer and choreographer is always learning and expanding their knowledge , she continues to pursue opportunities to grow attending workshops, conferences, and events in Washington DC, New York City and around the World.

Lotus Sol Skirt Troupe from Anam Cara Dance in Frederick under the direction of Lindsey McCormick was born out of a love for all things skirt dancing. Blossoming like a lotus and shining bright as the sun while performing innovative fusion dances with fabulous flying skirts, these incredible dancers put their heart and soul into what they do while executing Lindsey's unique fusion flare.

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Lotus Sol consists of Director Lindsey McCormick, Tracy Brown, Martina Desiree, Thalia, Jamie Fogle, Karen Peacock, Suzanne Lutsky, Deb Colley and Jaelynn.

Jaelynn has been belly dancing for approximately three years and took up sword during quarantine. She enjoys all forms of movement and likes to mix styles when performing.

Deborah is a belly dance performer, choreographer, and instructor from South Central PA. Know for her versatile and imaginative dance compositions, she has provided artistic direction and choreography for several troupes. Deborah’s belly dance style is eclectic. She considers herself a fusion artist, intermingling her Vintage Oriental and Egyptian Raqs Sharqi roots with modern dance styles.

Based in Central Pennsylvania, Taschen is primarily an improvisational fusion dancer who enjoys exploring a variety of styles. Utilizing technique from multiple sources, her focus is to honor root teachings while expanding their potential to cultivate a unique experience with movement in the moment. She has been performing in the local community since 2011.

Farasha is a performer, teacher and choreographer from Burlington, New Jersey. She has embraced Dance her entire life; she was a former member of Morocco’s Casbah Dance Experience in New York, which performed at the Lincoln Center library, NYC and in Cairo, Egypt, among other venues. Currently, Farasha is the artistic director of the Mystic Moonlight Dancers in New Jersey.

She has studied many styles of Bellydance and Fusion with such dance masters as Ibrahim Farrah, Habiba, Dalia Carella, Altagracia and Lindsey McCormick. Farasha co-produces dance seminars with Su'ad in New Jersey and Connecticut. Farasha & Su'ad Dance & Designs sells beautiful Bling jewelry and accessories at events and online at farasha.com/store.

Thalia has been belly dancing for 6 years, and dancing like no one's watching since they were born. Always striving to make their audience laugh and cheer, Thalia loves to dance in a joyful manner that brings a smile to their face. Thalia has studied fans, skirts, veils, fan veils, and their own brand of dance called Disco Fusion. Please enjoy this performance, Thalia hopes it's one to Remember!

Tracy has been under the instruction of Lindsey McCormick since 2020 and draws inspiration from her Anam Cara and Lotus Soul troupe members. Her love of dance began at an early age and has taken many forms over the years. Her favorite movements are rooted in street jazz, hip hop and Caribbean fusion.  Tracy enjoys the challenge of performing with a troup, and is so nervicited to be performing her first fusion belly dance solo!! 

Martina Desiree is the Founder of Love Your Vessel International! A key component for her love of dance and this belly dancing community is the empowerment of the amazing people within it! When she isn’t sword or skirt dancing, she is writing songs, making art, doing yoga, or glass blowing.

Oona is a dancer and instructor in DC metro area. She loves all things bellydance and is thrilled to join her friends , Anam Cara who are near and dear to her heart.

Boudica is an award winning dancer living and teaching in the DMV area. Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, she blends the mystic with the traditional to create something unexpected. Specializing in sword, dark fusion, ritual, and the Fat Chance styles of belly dance, she can be found performing in online shows or in person around the Mid-Atlantic region as a soloist, as part of the Stygian Collective, as the artistic director of Wildlight, or with her dance partner Taraneh in the fusion duo Firefly.

Erin is new to the bellydance performance stage and will be performing the first choreography she has created.  She loves exploring the different styles and cultures that have influenced this beautiful art form.