Karla Marie is a grateful guest of the MENAHT dance community. Karla Marie teaches and
performs Baladi, Shaabi, Raqs Sharqi, Classical Egyptian and MENAHT-influenced Fusion
dance. Growing up in Latin America she was immersed in local folk dances, as well as the
music and dances of Central and South America, and the Caribbean

She is a classical Ballet dancer from the esteemed Academia Madame Marcelle Bonge
(Guatemala City, Guatemala) under the tutelage and mentorship of teachers such as Sonia
Juarez de Devaux and Richard Paul Devaux Bonge, also studying Jazz, Contemporary, and
Modern as part of her classical roots.

While being displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Karla Marie began her belly dance studies
at MidEastern Dance Exchange in South Beach (Miami), under the direction Tamalyn Dallal and
Bozenka. It is there that she was introduced to this art form and the love affair began. She has
been teaching and performing in New Orleans since 2008, training and studying with Master
teachers from all over the world.

Her motto is “I become a better teacher as long as I commit to remain a life-long student and
learner.”