Baxtalo Drom Performance, Feb '11:: Photo by Yan Pritzker http://pritzkerphoto.com/
Elana began her study of belly dance in Chicago around April of 2004 with Stephanie Barto of Read My Hips and shortly thereafter was invited to join the company. While studying and teaching technique classes under Stephanie’s mentorship she and KC Mendicino co-founded Bella Fuegas, a belly dance and fire fusion company which performed and taught internationally.
In November of 2008 Elana moved from Chicago to San Francisco in order to deepen her understanding of belly dance.
Since then she has studied with the incredibly talented and world-renowned dancers Jill Parker and Mira Betz, and performed with Foxglove Sweethearts under Jill’s mentorship.
Elana then began dancing with Joie Mazor of MyRedHeart and Kristine Adams of Fat Chance Belly Dance as Les Trois Petits Oiseaux. The Oiseaux teamed up with Avatar Ensemble (Doug Martin’s gypsy swing band) to bring you whimsical evenings of belly dance fused with swingin’ tunes to melt your heart.
Currently, Elana is working with several dance partners and companies, and focusing on her solo performance by studying and fusing several other dance forms into her dance.