2026 ABDC Committee
Each year, the ABDC is directed by a diverse group of people who bring a vastly different set of skills to the table. Each of the 5 sitting members of the Australian Belly Dance Convention Committee comes with the intention to help create an inclusive, encouraging and safe space for members (new and old) of the Australian and New Zealand belly dance communities to come together.
Amanda
Amanda has been a dancer for 17 years, a musician for over 40 years and a DJ for over 19 years. She is the driving force behind APB Dance and has been the Melbourne team leader for Shimmy Mob for the past 6 years. She has run large events featuring major international bands and artists for over 25 years, touring them locally, interstate and internationally; and smaller productions both within and outside the belly dance community.
Amanda is Australia’s only certified Salimpour School Fundamentals Instructor, was a cast member of the 2023 & 2025 Bal Anat performance and in 2025 became Australia’s first Salimpour School Advanced Performer certified dancer (that’s like completing your Masters in Dance!!).
As a part of her studies within the Salimpour School, Amanda has been studying not only dance movement but culture, history, music, language and context for where this all fits in both historically and in modern times.
She wants to promote a sense of education, community and inclusion through her fundraising efforts and events that are focused on helping to increase the experience of less experienced dancers.
Emily
Emily has worked as a Primary/Secondary teacher for well over 15 years. She has been working in various leadership roles providing support to not only the students but also their families and community on their learning journey.
At night Emily runs her own community dance school, Bluefire Bellydancers, in 2 locations. She is a belly dancer for over 20 years with a history of musical theatre and drama she loves to create her own choreographies, dance and play.
As an educator, she is very passionate about sharing, upskilling and educating the community. She believes that we are always in the process of learning and growing and that this doesn’t ever stop. The second she says she doesn’t need to learn anymore is the moment she needs to quit dancing.
She wants to be a part of the Convention to give our community another platform in which to grow and learn. From dance history to mental health and body awareness, she wants to reach and support as many people as possible and help everyone learn together. Education and community are her passions and dance is her joy.
David
David is a certified sports coach and has been involved in not-for-profit community sports management for over 14 years as secretary for a sporting club with over 170 members.
He is a dancer, having participated in Scottish Highland Dancing as a child, and has been training in ballet for the past 4 years as a way of extending his ability to perform at a high level in his chosen sport.
David has been a DJ for over 20 years, been involved with running weekly and monthly nightclub events, band gigs and touring artists across Australia.
He is a sound and lighting engineer, who has mixed for bands big and small for over 15 years and currently rents out his services and gear for small-stage performances across Melbourne.
He has been a performer with a small theatre group for 15 years and took his first belly dancing class in the early 1990s (even if that part of his life didn’t last as long as others would have liked).
David’s other interests are in fundraising for groups that support communities through car rallies and designing costumes for dancers and performers. He has been doing the latter for over 25 years and is proud that his first designs were for Madi Gras.
Princess Fee
2026 Convention Host
Hi! I’m Princess Fee and I’m so excited to be part of the team hosting the 2026 ABDC! I love the fresh approach of the Convention (not that traditional festivals aren’t awesome! #Biased) but it’s wonderful to really immerse yourself into the Convention’s main focus on knowledge, sharing and conversation.
I also love that we can support the Convention in their goal to travel all around our amazing country, and I’m looking forward to helping to bring this experience to the WA dance community! See you there!
Photo by Alma Sarhan Photography
Kerry
2026 Convention Host
Hi I’m Kerry and I am so please to be part of the team hosting the 2026 Convention in Perth, having been involved with Perth Festivals for a few years now I am excited to see how another festival works. Â
Working with an entirely different team with different approaches and ideas can only be a good thing. I look forward to the knowledge to be shared and the conversations to be had over the weekend.Â
I look forward t hearing where the next convention is, so I can follow them around their Australian journey. Look forward to a seeing you there!
Photo by Alma Sarhan Photography
Melinda
2026 Convention Host
For those that don’t know me I’m Melinda. I am looking forward to being part of the team hosting the 2026 ABDC in Perth. I am quietly humbled that the Convention has chosen us to be party to their goal of travelling all around Australia bringing the Convention to the people instead of the other way round.Â
I am excited to see how this Convention is run, from the inside, good ideas are never wasted, and I’m equally excited to see the awesome talent that this Convention has drawn from all over Australia.Â
I’m quite confident that even though the Convention is slightly different to what Perth usually offers at this time of year the result will be just as overwhelming, in a good way. It’s not far away now and I’m itching to see where the Convention is going next. But first, bring it on!
Photo by Alma Sarhan Photography