Being a self-described ‘typical Australian kid’, she started off by doing ballet, contemporary and tap dancing, right up until she was at the end of her schooling years.
“I started dancing when I was around six years old, and then when I was in my last year of high school it got very serious, probably a bit too serious. I stopped doing ballet and then I needed something else to take its place”
She enrolled in a local belly dance class and immediately fell in love with not just the dancing, but the culture as a whole.
“I enrolled in a class at Diamond Creek, and I really enjoyed it! It felt great, the music was great, and also there’s a big scene around it and the performance and costuming aspect of it was really appealing as well”
After running a dance studio for ten years and selling the business when she had children, Trisnasari wanted to not only get back into running classes, but do so in a way that could introduce belly dancing to the greater public.
“I used to run a dance studio in Fitzroy, and I sold the business to my business partner when I had children. My kids are still young, and I’ve just started to do classes again, and this was a nice way to introduce it further afield.”
“I run these classes because I love the idea of a shared community space, like I like the idea that people are welcome to join in from wherever, it’s accessible for whoever”
Trisnasari says there are many benefits people can gain from belly dancing, from being active to learning about another culture.
“There’s lots of different things that can be gained (from the classes), depending on your approach and why you’re coming along. I hope that people get some physical exercise out of it, that they’re exposed to another culture, and also to the artistry of the dance form.
She also acknowledges that people may have particular stereotypes in their minds about belly dancing, and she wants to clear those up.
“Not a lot of people know about belly dancing, other than what’s shown in movies, so I’d love it if the general public could see the skill that’s involved.”