Sherena has been dancing since she could walk. Growing up a second generation Bellydancer, as well as belonging to a local ballet company, she has been able to gain 19 years of experience at the age of 28.

“Dance is what I know, it is what I think about when I get up in the morning and the last thing on my mind as I lay my head on my pillow at night.” As her student, I have heard her say this often.

Growing up around Bellydance, she often would look at her mother’s Port Said record covers and dream of wearing the costumes and sparkling jewelry. “At the age of 3 I was wearing a hip scarf and shimmying away.” Her mother has said her hips just went so naturally to the music as if she had been dancing for 20 years.

She goes on to explain how it all began, “I was six when I attended my first Bellydance class with Rosemary Popovich. Not only did I love learning Bellydance, I was anxious to learn it all. I studied Polynesian, Jazz, Tap, Ballroom and another great love of mine, Ballet. I was performing weekly at the Desert Inn, and other Middle Eastern Restaurants throughout Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. International festivals, and fundraising events for the Canton Symphony Orchestra are  some of the other events I performed for.

“Furthering my studies I began attending classes at the Canton Ballet Company and was quickly accepted as an apprentice to the company at age 12. I continued to study with many Masters of the Art of Bellydance, including Dalia Carella, the late Bert Ballendine, Conchi & Schehera of Ohio to name a few. I remember playing my zills in the living room, or trying new sword tricks, my Mom would say “take a break!!!” I could not stop until I got it right!“

At age 14 Sherena now a full time Company Member of the Canton Ballet, decided to pull out of public school and have a private tutor. This gave her more time to dedicate to Dance. She appeared in several Ballet classics, The Nutcracker, where she later was featured as Arabian Lead, Swan Lake, and Cinderella. She studied with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and attended several workshops with Edward Villella, and Laura Alonso—daughter of famous Cuban Prima Ballerina Alicia Alonso. “I was dancing 6 hours a day, 4 hours of school, and on the weekends driving to Michigan or PA to perform at International Festivals, Middle Eastern restaurants, or Arabic weddings. Bellydance continued to be a staple every weekend as it is for me today.”

In 2OOO she was the opening act for Assi El Hallani at Tangiers in Akron, Ohio and has opened for other Lebanese stars such as, Wael Kafoury. In 2006 she auditioned for the Bellydance Superstars and was asked to join their American and European tours including their tour in 2008-2009. Her next adventure would come when she was chosen out of more than seven thousand applicants to be a part of the reality show, America’s Next Top Bellydancer/Project Bellydance, where she took first runner up. After Project Bellydance did their final show, Sherena was asked to join 5 of the other cast members to film a workout DVD called the Final 6. Not but a week later, Sherena was on her way to the Bellydancer of The Universe Competition held in Long Beach, California in 2011. She placed 1st runner up in the drum solo category and 2nd runner up in the Universal category.

Sherena will be teaching classes and performing at the Miami Bellydance Convention 2011. Performing and teaching remain Sherena's true passions. Her classes focus on exciting choreography, technique, and unique performance strategies that appeal to the serious student as well as the dance enthusiast. Sherena is available for workshops and performances throughout the United States as well as Internationally.