Hi, My name is Heather

I’m a traveler, dancer, singer and wannabe anthropologist and ethnomusicologist. On November 27, 2014, I left everything behind to travel around the world in hopes of experiencing different cultures through their music and dance. I didn’t get very far before I fell in love with Morocco and eventually stayed. I’m now based in Marrakech but still travel frequently.

While I’ve been on the road for over 6 years, in reality, my journey started long before I left.

Travel

In 1995 I took my first trip abroad to Egypt; to say it was life changing is an understatement.  It sparked a desire in me to travel and changed the way I looked at the world. I hadn’t traveled much in my life unless you count the yearly family vacations to Wisconsin. I was mesmerized and surprised at the feeling I got from being out in the world. Wanderlust had caught me and it wasn’t letting go.

I spent many years after that trip saving all my money and my vacation time just to spend 2-3 weeks each year traveling until I finally took the plunge to travel and live abroad full time.  To date I’ve been to 30 countries (and counting).

Dance

That first trip to Egypt was also my introduction into what would become a huge part of my life—Dance. On the last night of our Nile cruise, our group was treated to live music and a bellydancer. I sat in awe of it all as I listened and watched; the music spoke to my soul and the dancer had me captivated. Being one of the youngest on the ship, the dancer pulled me up to dance with her. I had no idea what I was doing but at that very moment, I vowed that I would learn.

I’ve been dancing ever since! Several years ago, a teacher of mine suggested that I might be interested in also learning the many folkloric and traditional dances of the MENAT. As a “nerdy” dancer who loved researching dance and culture, this suggestion couldn’t have been more perfect. I’ve had the pleasure of studying and dancing many styles of dance from all over the MENAT and beyond. It also completely changed the way I travel; now I seek out dancers and musicians to teach me about their country.

Music

Naturally music comes with the territory, as dancers, our job is to interpret the music for our audience. As I started learning more about folkloric and traditional dance styles from different parts of the world, I was also becoming more familiar with the differences in the music, the different rhythms and time signatures and the different instruments being used. I wanted to know more but not necessarily as “a dancer”. I had been singing since I was very young but had stopped at some point in my life. Singing had been my first love so I decided it was time to start again and use it as a tool to better understand music from different countries. I was lucky that I was living in the Bay Area at the time and joined Aswat, an arab ensemble, and attended the Arabic Music Retreat in MA for 2 years. Both experiences have helped me grow as both a musician and a dancer. One day I hope to learn the Oud and improve my frame drum skills.

A persons’ reasons for traveling can be vast, some chose to experience a place through its food or it’s history and monuments. And while I also love these things, I’ve come to believe that the heartbeat of every culture is in its music. I’ve learned it’s not always the easiest thing to find but when you do, the music will bare its soul to you, it will share i’s joy and pain and tell you stories. Hopefully there will be dancing too!

I hope you’ll join me on my journey!

Heather