Jenn Hodge

Co-founder of two dance troupes in the DC area, you can see Jennifer execute the pure ATS format in her dance company Sammati, or express experimental belly dance in her dance company Benat Baharat. Jennifer is also an active board member of DC’s community tribal belly dance collective, DCTribal.

Jennifer started her belly dance career in Syracuse , NY where she became a principle dancer and choreographer for Zoe Artemis’s Gypsy Fire Belly Dance Troupe. Since 1996, she has performed solo and group pieces at festivals, stage events and private events throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Jennifer has concentrated her study of belly dance primarily from American Tribal Style belly dance creator Carolena Nericcio, and became Fat Chance Belly Dance General Skills certified in June 2006. She has also studied American Tribal Style belly dance with Jill Parker. Jennifer continues to deepen her ATS study with Carolena and has expanded her knowledge of belly dance in recent years, learning Egyptian style belly dance from Yasmin.

Jennifer brings an animation and enthusiasm to the stage and classroom through intricate technique and infectious excitement, bringing audiences and students alike to the dance. Her attention to technique in the classroom brings out the dancer in all types of people - young and old, experienced or not, of all shapes and sizes - into the glory of the woman's dance - building the spirit and the joy for the dance, and creating performers.

In addition to her belly dance background, Jennifer has trained and performed classical dance forms such as ballet, jazz, modern and point throughout her life, and in the last several years has established her acclaim in the popular 1930's form of swing dance - lindy hop. During the day, Jennifer is a socially responsible investment advisor.

"Tribal Belly Dance is innovative, amazing and fun!  It is my responsibility to bring value to every dancer in each and every class, so that each student can experience the love and excitement of Pure ATS belly dance.  As such, I stress strong technique in the class room and offer plenty of individual attention so that every student leaves each class with new belly dance movement ability.  Being an instructor of the Pure American Tribal Style belly dance format, I have a strong connection to maintaining the authenticity of Pure ATS so that dancers can leave my class confident that they have received reliable, consistent Pure ATS instruction, so that they can dance with anyone in our global ATS tribe. "

"Being a belly dance instructor, I am positioned to accentuate the beauty of a woman in every movement that I teach.  Each and every woman is beautiful, no matter your size, age, shape, or level of movement experience and all women are welcome to experience this beauty through belly dance expression.  We all have the feminine divine within us, waiting to shine through our dance."