Tarryn Rego

Professional Belly Dancer and teacher Slash Chemical Engineer by day

I had first started dancing at the age of 4, and from then dancing and performing was always a part of who I was! Dancing forms including Tap, Modern, Latin, Freestyle and Hip hop. Found the teacher, Phyllis of Belly Dancing Academy of South Africa, and started classes and added belly dancing to the list of dancing forms I was already doing, and since then I haven’t slowed down. I found to have a talent and passion for this dance form and found a love and fulfillment in performing it.

I have been on stage since the age of 6 so I am a born performer, as many have said. I have been privileged to learn what I have, here in South Africa as well as in Egypt. I also have the pleasure of teaching belly dancing for the past 5 years, sharing all that I have been taught, as well as what I have learned from experience.

When I perform I feel fulfilled, freedom, euphoria, and the more the crowd cheers and claps, the more energy and passion my performance is filled with, and I can’t get enough, I crave it. It has been impossible to stop, I belly danced my way through High school, through University, graduating from the University of the Witwatersrand for Chemical Engineering, and I’m not stopping dancing any time soon! Even just missing a weekend of performing gives me withdrawal symptoms…

My style is inspired by various styles of Oriental Dance, (Egyptian, Turkish, Lebanese, etc) as well as various forms of dance, therefore making it very versatile and entertaining, adapting to the music and the crowd. My performance will be inspired by the music, as well as my mood, my emotions, my feelings at the time! I am able to make use of various props in my shows, my favourite being sword and fire, but I don’t need to make use of them to make the most of my shows.

I started dancing at “The Sheikh’s Palace”, a Lebanese restaurant in Rivonia, at the age of 14 and have been part of the family there for 10 years. Performing there helped me grow as a person as well as a dancer, giving me exposure to the various facets of Arabic cultures and dance. Highlights of my career also include travels to Belgium, Angola, Swaziland, several times to Portugal, Zambia, Namibia, Seychelles, and all over South Africa. I have also been blessed with TV exposure including performing with Phyllis on the “Tony Sauderson Chuckle and Chat Show” on SABC in 1999. Other TV features on international and Portuguese programs include: “Contacto Africa Do Sul” on “RTPi”, “As dois por tres” show on “Sic TV” and “Ola Portugal” show on Tvi. Local Shows include: “Mamepe”, “Pasela”, and “Wildroom on YO TV” on SABC 2, “3 Talk with Nolleen” on SABC 3, and “Show me the Mommy” on MNET.

Besides newspaper features, in 2003 I featured on the cover of “Noticia” Portuguese magazine as feature article, done on me as a Portuguese youth, belly dancing my way through school and university.