About Charni - Belly Dance Instructor
Charni has been bellydancing since 1995, and danced in a troupe called Wildfires in the 1996 Adelaide Fringe Festival. The troupe also performed at 12 schools as part of the Youth Education Program of the Festival, with Charni performing solos. Charni continued her tuition with all the major school of Adelaide, and took workshops with visiting artists in a variety of styles. She also performed the part of “Azuri” in a production of The Desert Song choreographing and performing several numbers.
After moving to Melbourne in 2002, she continued her tuition both in regular classes and workshps. Since then she has performed in a variety of concerts, fund-raisers, festivals and functions. She has choreographed and taught many group numbers for stage performances. Charni has shared her passion for this expressive dance at Box Hill Neighbourhood House since 2003 instructing women and girls of all ages. She started teaching at a second location in 2007 at Endeavour Hills Neighbourhood Centre. She loves teaching and gets a real kick out of watching the improvement in technique and confidence in the students from one week to the next.
Charni also teaches regular classes during the day by private arrangement for companies, schools and organisations. One such organsiation is “Alkira Centre Box Hill”. Alkira strives to meet the needs and wishes of people with intellectual disabilities, through care and support to enrich and challenge them to be part of the world community.
Besides teaching them belly dance classes, she also provides opportunites for the students to perform. So far they have performed at the Middle Eastern Festival 2008, the Whitehorse Spring Festival 2009 and within the Box Hill community. This increases self esteem and confidence.
Charni has also had students with illnesses or disabilities join in on regular evening classes, this has included, down syndrome, anxiety disorders (one student had a lovely campanion dog who came to class) depression and self-esteem issues (such as connected to weight). Charni’s welcoming environment, a belief that anyone can learn (some just need a bit more time or a different way of teaching) as well as experience as a Life Coach and masters level of NLP helps students feel safe in learning something new. Lets face it, learning something new can be scary as well as exciting!
Wanting to learn belly dance, but feeling a bit shy? Have a look at our frequently asked questions such as “I’ve never danced before, can I learn?” “Is there an age limit?” and “Is it hard?” plus others. If you still have questions Charni is more than happy to answer them, you can either email or call her on 0416 236 132 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Charni has a level 2 First Aid Certificate and always uses safe dance practices.
Charni in the news (from The Leader newspapers):
About Sarah Fleming -Belly Dance Instructor
Sarah began bellydancing in 2007 and enjoys sharing her love of this dance with others. She has performed with Happy Hips Belly Dance in several concerts and is also currently exploring gothic fusion bellydance with Ma’isah. Since starting her tuition in belly dance she has done several workshops with Australian and overseas artists such as Rachel Bryce. She has been teaching in a relief capacity for Happy Hips since 2008 while Charni was pregnant with her second baby and continued to provide relief class teaching while Charni was recovering from birth and then again from surgery in 2010. She has also taught classes and workshops for Happy Hips in 2010. She also regularly assists Charni in teaching classes with mixed abiilites, allowing everyone to have individual attention in class. Her warm, approachable manner and beautiful dance style makes her an asset to Happy Hips Belly dance.