Baksana consists of professional, international, award-winning performing artists. All members participate in the creation of the dance, music, and overall development of Baksana Emsemble. We are “forever students,” each dedicated in independent and group study of Arabic and Turkish music and dance and many other fields of study. We are all multifaceted humans, with fascinating stories to tell. Here we are, in a nutshell, in alphabetical order…
Bevin Victoria: Dance, Percussion, Vocals.
Professional Actress, Director and producer of independent films, award-winning dancer, degree in Astrophysics, and black-belt in Taiquando. Co-writer and star of the new musical “Rella.”
Carla Michelle: Dance, Percussion Vocals, Accordion.
Award-winning principle ballet dancer, Sesiminas Company of Dance (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) in the early 2000s. PDX Contemporary Ballet (current). Performing Arts degree from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.
Danielle: Artistic Director, Dance, Percussion, Vocals, Baglamas, Mandola
Baksana’s Founder & Director, BFA Mixed-Media and Performing Arts from Alfred University. 30+ years dance study. International performing artist and instructor. Yoga instructor, environmentalist, and native plant nerd.
Elise: Dance, Percussion, Vocals, Ocarina
Founder of JamBallah NW, a global dance conference established in 2011. Professional arts and community organizations coordinator in the Portland Area.
Evgeny: Darbuka, Tin Whistle, Hang Drum
Over 15 years of experience playing Darbuka. Studied and Instructed at School of Percussion Ethnobeat in Moscow. Studied in Turkey with Misirli Ahmet and Serdar Bahtir. Software Engineer and Researcher.
Kaya Hellman: Music Director, Percussion, Vocals, Accordion, Melodica
BA Music Education, MA Education. Choral singer and conductor. Studied middle eastern percussion since 2013 with many talented artists such as Jason Ramirez and Faisal Zedan.
Makēda: Dance, Percussion, Vocalist.
International performing artist, including Delacorte Theater and Carnegie Hall. Dual degrees from Stanford University as well as Masters in Education from Stanford Graduate School of Education.
Morgan Fay: Dance, Percussion, Vocals, Violin
Award-winning Raqs Sharqi Dancer. certified 8 Elements TM Practitioner and registered Datura Style TM Teacher. Currently studying Middle Eastern and Persian Dance at the Salimpour School. Professional videographer and dance education developer. Also has a degree in Spanish Language.
Ryan : Trombone, Frame Drum
7 years of experience playing trombone. Previous USA Dance Nationals competitor (Waltz and Quickstep). Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from UC Riverside.
OUR TEACHERS
Some of our teachers in the Arabic and Turkish styles of dance (and music) include Karim Nagi, Tito Sief, Reyhan Tuzsuz, Gigi Dilsah, Faisal Zedan, Rumen Shopov, Hany Morgan, Amel Tafsout, Mr. Ozgen
Our Fusion/American teachers include Rachel Brice, Suhalia Salimpour
baksanaensemble.com 