Today, the NYC bellydance community lost one of its greatest dancers, artists, and visionaries, Jeniviva. Early this morning she passed in a car accident involving a drunk driver. Please learn from her story and encourage others to do the same.
I had the distinct honor of watching Jeniviva perform, using her glamorous bath goodies, and learning from her as a student. She was a wonderful person who was always generous with smiles and encouragement, and she will be remembered for many many years to come. Please enjoy this video of her work and send your thoughts and prayers to her family, friends, and loved ones.
On December 1st Jerry Bezdikian is hosting an evening at Kamasutra Lounge to honor her memory. Please help us spread the word.
In Jeni’s own words:
“But I shall weep no more today for the Dead,
They are free of this mortal coil
I shall weep for the ones left behind
and whisper prayers of love and healing instead.
Fill the void now left with light
and drink to the immortality of love.”
Born and raised in a family of Balkan music and folk dance fanatics, Jenna Shear has been moving to groovy Slavic tunes from the womb. At age three, she began her formal dance training with tap, jazz, and ballet. However, by middle school, her interest had turned exclusively to Ballet and Russian Character dance. In pursuit of her dream of becoming a professional dancer, she studied intensively under Eugene Petrov and the late Irine Fokine supplementing her training with summer ballet intensives at the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, the Princeton Ballet School, and the Joffrey Ballet School.
Now a double major in Dance and Asian & Middle Eastern Cultures at Barnard College, Jenna Shear has fallen in love with a new dance form: bellydance. In fall 2009, she stumbled into an audition for Columbia University Bellydance troupe (over a half hour late), and has never looked back. Since that fateful day, Jenna Shear has become CUBD’s Vice-President, and looks forward to deepening her new dance practice.
View all posts by Jenna Shear
This entry was posted on Saturday, November 19th, 2011 at 6:51 PM and posted in Misc.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
HELLO,
THANKK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE TO JENI. I AM HER COUSIN AND I AM INTERESTED IN KNOWING MORE ABOUT DECEMBER 1ST @ Kamasutra Lounge . THANK YOU. MAMIE
This has been bringing tears to my eyes ever since i heard about this tragic accident. Although i did not know her personally i used to see her at our events, the vampire ball entertaining for us. This is a heart breaking story, and my heart goes out to her family especially her mom and all of her friends in the community. R.I.P. Jeni
November 24th, 2011 at 10:12 PM
HELLO,
THANKK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL TRIBUTE TO JENI. I AM HER COUSIN AND I AM INTERESTED IN KNOWING MORE ABOUT DECEMBER 1ST @ Kamasutra Lounge . THANK YOU. MAMIE
November 30th, 2011 at 11:50 PM
This has been bringing tears to my eyes ever since i heard about this tragic accident. Although i did not know her personally i used to see her at our events, the vampire ball entertaining for us. This is a heart breaking story, and my heart goes out to her family especially her mom and all of her friends in the community. R.I.P. Jeni
Azraelina ~ Sahjaza