Martine Wérotte
Artistic director, dancer and choreographer

Born in Europe, Martine has lived most of her life in Montreal . At the age of 9, she began dancing International folklore and specialized later in Balkan folklore (Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Macedonia), loving their rhythms and rich music. At a young age, she was already a member of several different troupes and had the opportunity to perform at prestigious sites such as «Man and his world». To complete her training, she chose to study classical and modern ballet with teachers from Le Groupe de la Nouvel’Aire, and with Martine Haug, whose talent and rigorous style she appreciated. She resumed her ballet and jazz training in 2002.

In 1980, at a time when Martine was still searching for the right music and movements, she discovered the highly acclaimed Egyptian singer Om Kalthom and it was love at first sight (or sound!). Embracing her love of belly dance, Martine focused her energy, and passion into this dance style by studying intensively with Yousry Sharif, Mahmoud Reda, Raqia Hassan, Beata and Horacio Cifuentes and Diana Tarkhan. Moreover, her style excelled from taking part in various workshops with Aida Noor, Faten Salama, and new dance stars such as Randa Kamel and Tito…to name a few. Due to her strong attachment to the Egyptian style, she has been traveling to Egypt on a regular basis to refine her dance style and to improve her knowledge of the Arabic language.