After valiantly battling brain cancer
for over four years, Rose Champagne passed away on February 6, 2008.
Her family has requested that this Web site remain active, as a
memorial, an inspiration, and a source of guidance for the Middle
Eastern Dance community.
Rose's obituary can be found here: Rose's
obituary at MassLive.com
There is also a Guest Book linked to her obituary,
with reminiscences from family, friends, and students: Rose's
Guest Book
A special fund-raising Middle Eastern Dance show
will be held Friday, MArch 14, 2008 at the Clarion Hotel in Northampton,
MA to raise money for the local VNA Hospice organization, which
provided Rose and her family with much assistance and support.
Details can be found here: Clarion
Show March 2008
 My
mission as a performance artist is to show my heart and soul through
dance and to make my audience feel alive. I hope to awaken the spirits
of my audience and transport them to a peaceful yet emotional place
far away from mundane life. My dancing is a celebration of life
and because life is not scripted, I rarely choreograph my performances.
I perform for Ethnic people who long for a piece of home as well
as for Americans with a thirst for the exotic or cultural enrichment.
My commitment to this dance keeps me in the classrooms of professional
world-renowned dancers. I will always be a student as well as a
teacher, constantly learning and teaching. My mission as a teacher
is to give a solid foundation of authentic movements so that the
student can later chose a specific style to apply the basics to.
By teaching, my goal is to inspire people, to introduce fun that
keeps you fit, and to produce smart, skilled and ethical professional
dancers. Students can demonstrate their achievements in the
Jewel of the Valley student recital I hold for them two
times a year.
This dance gives permission for personal expression in a way that
frees the soul. It is the most rewarding experience to encourage
people to express themselves beautifully and then see them transform
like butterflies. I especially love teaching young people partly
because I hope they will experience the dance as positively as I
had as a teenager. Coming of age within the Middle Eastern dance
community was an experience that encouraged a healthy self-image,
as I grew up amongst supportive adult women and learned to control
my body at a time when it seemed out of control. Discovering and
practicing this within a society that grossly objectifies youth
was one of the pieces of my life that empowered me and helped me
to find myself.
Transformation can happen at any age. Many people
come to my class with a negative issue that is dissolved when the
power of this dance and loving community accepts them as another
dance sister. Lots of people come just to have fun and get fit and
then find they are a part of something bigger than just exercise
or socializing.
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