ABout apb dance
EXPLORE THE SOUL OF APB DANCE
Dance Instructor and Director
Meet Amanda, your teacher.
Amanda is a Melbourne-based dancer, musician, teacher, performer, and event producer. Nick-named "the fastest zill in the East" and applauded for her "wiggly yet precise hips", Amanda has been entertaining people across the world since 2009. She has performed in Australia, and also in Europe, USA, and New Zealand.
Amanda's journey started with a fascination with Arab-inspired music while learning music as a child. Her dance journey started with Azura in Brunswick (VIC) in 2009. After being dragged to her first class by her friend, she was then drawn in by the music and the way the body was shaped to match the music. The more that she learnt about how to move her body, the deeper her need to continue learning about dance, physiology, culture, and history took over.
Credentials, Training & Teaching Experience
A firm believer that you never stop learning, Amanda is a student of the world-renowned Salimpour School of Belly Dance (California, USA), run by Suhaila Salimpour. Amanda is Australia's FIRST belly dancer to have completed the Advanced Dancer recitals, and she is a certified Fundamentals Level Salimpour School Instructor. This means she can deliver classes using the Salimpour Core Dimensions technique and Salimpour Vocabulary. This technique and vocabulary lend themselves to all styles of belly dance, including fusion, and are a great way to get moving and dancing.
Additionally, she serves as the group leader for the Salimpour Collective Melbourne (AUS), a performing troupe of local Salimpour students.
Amanda has been teaching classes since 2018, utilising the Salimpour School methodology and systems. She is currently working on her Cert IV in Teaching and Assessment, and is a Mat and Reformer Pilates instructor. She has also completed the Belly Queen Teacher Training (2021), and has been a speaker at the online Al Raqs Conference in both 2025 and the 2026 event.
Amanda also takes workshops with many local and international teachers, each helping her to build her knowledge of the many different facets of dance from across the SWANA (South-West Asia & North Africa) region.
Performance & Workshop Highlights
Performance Appearances: Sydney Road Street Party (2010–2013, 2015), Club Rakasah (2010, 2019, 2021), Myer Christmas Parade (2011, 2012), Zodiac Show (2016), Sydney Middle Eastern Festival (2014, 2015), Adelaide Belly Dance Festival (2014), Salimpour Tribute Show (Wellington NZ, 2018), Brilliantly Bellydance (2018), Moomba Parade (2020), Indonesian Diaspora Fair (2023), Dance Create Evolve (2024, 2025), Bal Anat (USA: 2023, 2025), Bellydance by the Bay (USA, 2024), and Yallah Festival (USA, 2025).
Workshops Taught & Performed At: Newcastle Bellydance Festival (2022–2025), Western Australian Middle Eastern Dance (WAMED) Festival (2019, 2021, 2023), Far East Belly Dance Festival (2019), Dance Create Evolve (2023), Synthesis Dance Festival (2024, 2026), Melbourne Bellydance Festival (2024), and the Australian Belly Dance Convention (2023–2026), BB Camp (2026) and many more.
Event Production & Community Leadership
Amanda is the producer of many Melbourne-based events such as First Run Stage (2020–2023), Summer Dreams and Winter Dreams (2019 to 2024), and The Far East Belly Dance Festival (2019)—the latter co-produced with Prue from The Dance Safe Project. She has also been running the Shimmy Mob Melbourne show since 2022, is part of the production team for Gothla AU in Sydney (2024–ongoing), and is one of the producers behind the Australian Belly Dance Convention (2023–ongoing), an event that aims to highlight all the different belly dancing communities and local expertise across Australia.
To date, she has produced one full-length belly dance show—Zerzura in 2019—and is currently working on her next upcoming show. Additionally, she serves as the group leader for the Salimpour Collective Melbourne (AUS), a performing troupe of local Salimpour students, and leads the Melbourne Shimmy Mob team, which fundraises for local domestic violence services.
APB Dance. Teaching dancers since 2018.
Dance is about more than just knowing the moves, it comes from an understanding of the music and a love for the culture. In our classes, you are not only learning technique, but also the other elements that allow you to truly hear and feel the music. Check out a class today to see why we are different and how we can help you to find yourself in dance.
Amanda is available to teach workshops in your city and/or to perform at your event. Send a message via the contact form and we can discuss what is right for your event.
