The Fringe Benefit Dancers

  Kimberly  Our Director: has been dancing tribal style for over six years and has loved every minute of it!   As a means to bond with her daughter Katy who also dances with the troupe, Kimberly began studying with Peg Eckert and eventually took private lessons before joining the troupe.  Her background includes living history and theatre  and she has been in several professional production as well as a performance of the Opera "Carmen" at NJPAC in 2001.  Interested in all forms of dance, she has studied ballet, jazz, hula and English country dance/18th century dance. Kimberly also has a side business creating period correct clothing for individuals and groups and spends many happy hours creating her own performance outfits.   Along with other members of the troupe, Kimberly has performed in a variety of venues such as Rakkasah, school groups and benefit concerts.  She continues to study different techniques and forms of this beautiful dance in order to share it with others and teaches beginning and advanced technique classes.   She currently teaches class in Flemington, Tewksbury and provides private instruction as well as troupe consultations.

 Nicole 'Katy'  took American Tribal lessons with her mom Kimberly as a fun way to spend time with her  and they have been dancing together for four years.  As the tiniest member of the troupe, Katy is also currently studying ballet.  The consummate actress, Katy has been in many theatre productions including the works of Shakespeare and has had her own play produced and performed for the annual Dickens Days festival in 2004.  Katy was State Champion in Costume Design in 2003 and placed 3rd in 2004 and has great flair when it comes bringing her own unique style to her costumes. She has performed at Rakkasah and in annual events such as the NJ Teen Arts festival where she did her own solo belly dance performance which earned a rating of excellent. 

 Cerisa   known to us as Lord Za,  dance career started several years back in her native state of Utah. She has studied Cabaret as well as Tribal and is one our most gifted dancers. She is a choreographer for our troupe as well. Shy in person, she is anything but on a dance floor and her veil work is utterly mesmerizing. Cerisa dances, therefore she is!  She currently teaches belly dance in Lebanon, New Jersey.

  Anne Marie   alias Speed Racer and Troupe Cheerleader began Tribal with Peg in 2002 and was immediately hooked. She has taken many belly dance workshops and has also been fortunate enough to receive training in multiple forms of belly dance from NJ's finest teachers.  A troupe member since 2004, she is currently an Instructor in Flemington. Dancing is her passion and she considers being a part of Fringe Benefit an honor.

  Bev   Beverly who is our newest mommy began taking classes for belly dance in 2001 and is one of the earliest members of our troupe. She has prior experience in several forms of dance including ballet, modern, jazz and Celtic folk dance.  Born in California, raised in Wisconsin, now a Jersey girl, she has
an extensive background in theatre.  After earning her B.A. in Theater with
a minor in Music, she worked for over 9 years as a professional Theater
Technician specializing in electrics and lighting design.  Her theatre
credits include work on a wide variety of shows (dance, corporate meetings,
children’s theater, concerts, Broadway tours, etc.) at Lincoln Center,
George Street Playhouse, Raritan Valley Community College, Kean University,
and various outdoor venues --just to name a few. (Though she’d rather not
think about how many Nutcracker’s she has worked, she would be happy to
regale you with stories of working backstage with many well known
companies!) She even dabbled a bit in television and film.  She has also
studied massage therapy which has aided in her understanding of body
mechanics for dance.

 Becky: Former student troupe member, Becky brings her talents and diversified background to the troupe. She loves to explore other cultures and their unique dances, which often gather together whole communities.  Adventure can be found in all dance from Appalachian contra dancing to the Turkish wedding dance to Mexican folk dance.  The spirit of dancing and adventuring is still alive. An educator by trade, she speaks dual languages (English and Spanish) and is a very welcome addition.

 Friga:   Friga is a Fringe Benefit newbie.  A graduate of FIT and Rowan University, she’s an accountant by day and vigilante folk hero by night.  This chick’s been dancing forever, and began studying bellydance in 2003.  While at Rowan, she was a dance minor where she studied modern with Melanie Stewart and ballet with Shawn Doyle, and has most recently studied bellydance with Miranda Ferrara.  She enjoys custom costume design work for dance, theater and ren faires and also bridal accessories and reconstructed clothing design.  Friga is also a founding member of the fusion bellydance and music troupe Insinuous. * Note from the Editor: What she failed to mention is just how awesome she is and how much dimension and creativity she adds to our troupe. We are very lucky to have her! **Picture by Alyson Gaul.

On The Fringe Dancers

Meet Our Student Troupe

Info coming soon!