Lurainya Koerber is Founder/Director of a 501(c)3 charitable organization called WomenMove, Inc. WomenMove™ was formed in January 2010. Prior to that, Lurainya wasa full time performer, instructor
and choreographer of Bellydance and her own Ethnic fusion since
the year 2000. In 2003 she also created, and is producer and
director of Lurainya's Realm™, LLC and MoonGypsy™ Productions.
She is dedicated to respectfully and responsibly heightening the
awareness and prestige of Bellydance as an ancient art and innovative
form of exercise. Equal efforts are focused on healing and empowering
women and girls around the world through dance and with the start
of her organization, WomenMove™.
MEDIA: With hopes of reaching as broad a public as possible with her art,
Lurainya consistently strives for new means of communication. Her four
television appearances include CN8 "Your Morning" and Fox29 "Good Day
with Kerri Lee". She has been featured in Kimberly Garrison's Health and Wellness
PodCast as well as several newspaper articles including The Intelligencer, The Bucks
County Herald, Out and About, PhillyFit and more.
PRODUCTION: Lurainya produces, directs and choreographs annual dance productions
called WDX™ (World Dance Extravaganza), which is the precursor to her 'World Dance for
World Peace™' project. Additionally, she has been working toward the debut of her full-scale
dance theater production called REALM™ and NECTAR OF THE MOON™. These shows, in
conjunction with her newly formed organization called WomenMove™, will further
Lurainya's goal of healing and empowering women around the world.
Using her background in film production, she has produced, directed and edited six
performance DVDs as well as her 90minute Instructional DVD. She also has three dance
tanktops, and a Bellydance T-shirt.
AREA APPEARANCES Lurainya has performed at World Café Live in Philadelphia,
Sellersville Theater, Puck in Doylestown, the PA Renaissance Faire, numerous
shows and haflas in the tri-state area, and several Arts and Ethnic Festivals.
Additionally, she has been a featured performer at the Casablanca restaurant in
Warrington since the year 2000.
INSTRUCTION, WORKSHOPS & LECTURES Since the year 2000, Lurainya has taught at Healing Arts & Fitness Centers throughout Bucks/Montgomery Counties & neighboring areas. Among others to house her "Bellydance" and "Dance Fusion for Fitness™" classes have been The Health & Wellness Center of Doylestown Hospital, Dance Elite, Slim & Tone Women's Gyms, Soul Works Healing Arts Center, Pilates for Sport Studio, The Sandi Spicer Dance Studio, Body Dynamic Gym, DragonFly Yoga Studio, Stars Studio of Dance and Performing Arts, Spotlight Dance Centre, and more.
She has taught workshops on Costuming & Makeup, the Basics of Bellydance, Tools & Techniques for Proper Isolations, and Creativity in Your Dance.
Additionally, she has taught and lectured on the Benefits of Bellydance at The University of Pennsylvania's Women's Health Convention, the American Holistic Nursing Association, the Women's Business Forum, the Philadelphia Women's Health and Wellness Expo, Bucks County Community College's Day for All Women, the Hatboro-Horsham High School Health Faire, and more.
PERFORMANCE STYLE: Lurainya feels that being a woman means being a combination of strength and sensuality, and it's that combination that exudes when she performs. Though she appreciates and respects the traditional styles of "Raks Sharki" (an authentic term for Bellydance meaning "Dance of the East” in Arabic), she prefers to perform in her own modern fusion, which she calls "American Bellydance”. In love with both the glitz and glamour of "Cabaret” and the earthy, raw femininity of "Tribal”, Lurainya performs both, switching easily between the two - yet always making sure to add her own style!
PERSONAL AND TEACHING PHILOSOPHIES: As an artist her entire life, Lurainya has always expressed herself through a multitude of mediums, but it wasn't until her mid twenties that dance become one of them. Not letting her shyness get the best of her, she took her first steps in this world of dance in 1997, and knew immediately that it would forever be a part of her life. Like most women, she had to overcome her insecurities, but with desire and determination, she found the courage to do so.
Lurainya teaches not only the beauty of this dance, but the many benefits to the mind, body and spirit as well. She has worked with occupational and physical therapists who concur that the intense muscle control and isolations necessary for this dance are ideal forms of rehabilitation for many patients. Her efforts are constantly focused on bringing this dance into the main stream as not only a form of respectful entertainment, but as a healthful dance for women searching our their entirety.
Lurainya knows the power that Bellydance has to change lives, and for that reason, she loves teaching. With patience and sensitivity, she is able to reach students who wouldn't normally venture into such an experience. Many women who inquire about classes are sometimes shy and unsure, but years later, the same women are still in her classes as devout students with more confidence and higher self-esteem!
Lurainya attributes much of her teaching skill to her life experiences. Her sister was born totally blind, so Lurainya grew up teaching someone who never had sight, how to see through other senses. Describing a color to someone who's never known any takes an unusual creativity. Along with her blindness, there are other severe disabilities that make her sister's every day a struggle. Lurainya grew up right next to her, seeing the best and worst of people at a very early age. She's thankful for the challenges she and her family have endured, as they've given her an endless supply of strength and compassion. Lurainya is proud to have such an amazing person for her sister, and learned from the beginning never to take for granted even the "simplest” of tasks. It's this compassion she brings to her students that puts at ease even the most shy of personalities.