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photo of Heather by Dusti Cunningham

The Gilded Serpent presents...

Heather Shoopman

Born and bred in Oklahoma, Heather Shoopman began her journey in cheerleading, dance team and country western dancing. Then came the 1980s, aerobics and her first introduction to hip hop on MTV. Add to the mix tai chi, yoga and various bellydance styles, along with an extensive background in acting and theatrics and you get the strong, fluid, zany style that is uniquely ShOOp.

Her bellydance path started over a decade ago with Mesmera, followed by the discovery of tribal and tribal fusion through Subee Djinn, The Indigo and Fat Chance Bellydance. She then saw Unmata, Suhaila, Frederique, Ariellah, Heather Stants (and many more) and began to appreciate the different personalities that come to fusion. She immediately got to work in the dance lab, came up with some cool stuff, won a few awards, and created a troupe called Se7eN who put themselves on the map with a body image piece in Unmata’s Blood Moon Regale. This piece helped set in motion Bellyqueen of NYC’s touring show PURE Reflections: Beauty Reimagined.

Past collaboration highlights include Calamity Sam, Sherri Wheatley, Aubre Hill, Khani Zulu and Jillina. She can be seen performing as a regular at Zulu Lounge LA or about town with Heavy Metal, her tribal improvisation collective.

She is a proud co-founder of BFLA-Belly Fusion Los Angeles, a collaborative of LA based dancers focused on public awareness of Fusion Bellydance as an art form.

While Heather teaches and performs regularly in LA, she also travels worldwide to spread the delight and healing power of dance. Always approaching class with a sense of heart and humor, her experience in the healing arts brings inspiration for personal growth to both teacher and student.

Articles on Gilded Serpent by or about Heather Shoopman