Philosophy: Coming from a commercial arts background, I view bellydance not only as a medium for entertainment and distraction, but as a vehicle for higher artistic expression. It was actually bellydance that defined for me the meaning of the word “Style” in an artistic context - something that four years of arts education could not help me with.  Meanwhile my arts background has been fundamental in the evolution of my dance arts - with a focus on higher expression and story telling, as well as a framework within to look at the whole piece, rather than just the individual elements in a dance.  It’s something that I like to bring into a classroom as well - not only instructing student in How they might do something, but also exploring the reasons behind Why they might do something. I want to see better dancing, and I’m excited about the possibilities of bellydance as it continues to evolve and want to be a part of that evolution - not only in dancing myself, but in helping other dancers to find their own voice.
A Statement . . . "Though I've been dancing all my life, in one form or another, I first fell in love with the art of Oriental Dance in 1999. I came upon it accidentally, as I think many of us do, and was immediately taken aback by the grace and beauty of the dance, not to mention the amazing feminine strength incorporated into it. I dabbled for years before deciding to take my studies seriously in 2004. It was at that point that I began to intensify my class schedule, and take my home practice seriously. It was also at that time that I began to perform in public. . . . "I’ve reached a point in my dance where I’m realizing, and able to admit freely, that I still have no idea what I’m doing. While my style would probably be categorized as Tribal Fusion, any cute little names or specifics at this point would be useless and misleading. I’m still figuring out what I like, how I move, and what makes my ears ring with joy. . . . "I’ve inadvertently and purposely taken influence from Classical Indian, Flamenco, African, Vaudeville, Swing, Ballet, Modern, Jazz and Egyptian styles. I’ve played heavily with what I’ve referred to Depression-Era themes (calling it Boxcar Fusion) with my troupe; and on the opposite end of the spectrum done lots of work with local Modern-Cirque-Inspired group Quixotic Performance Fusion. . . . "I’m still experimenting, and I expect to be for a very long time. . . . "And the future is so far away at this point it’s hard to tell if I’ll be in the mood for something swanky, something spy-themed, or something entirely unspecific and beautiful." -January 2008
	"The evening began with a preshow display of belly dancing by the inimitable Marie DeMars. Actually, I honestly feel that I am doing her a disservice by just saying it was belly dancing. I have only seen a dance performance of this quality once before, when I watched Zoe Jakes at the Really Big Show for TribalCon one year blow the doors off everyone in the ballroom with her solo performance. Marie was alone, on a bare stage, in front of a red velvet curtain. No props, no backdrops, just her. It would have been very easy to just be someone moving around on stage. However, Marie commanded and demanded the audience's attention without using zills or other dancers to cheer her on. And once her performance was complete, the night only got better from there." - Russ Matthews