The Feminine Divine is made up of a team of passionate and skilled teachers and performers! Let them introduce themselves...
Tenille Joy Lindeque
Founder, Principal Teacher, and Performer
Founder, Principal Teacher, and Performer
I started dancing as a little girl, first ballet and then modern dance. As a teenager, looking forward to my daily dance classes got me through the long tedious days at school in Knysna. At the age of 16, I started teaching aerobics classes for my Godmother, Briony, and when I finished school I moved to Cape Town and completed my training as an aerobics instructor and personal trainer through the ETA at the Sports Science Institute in Newlands.
In 2000 I met my life partner, Trygve, who introduced me to my first belly dance teacher, Dawn Kennedy. I attended classes with Dawn on and off for a year and became increasingly passionate about the beautiful, ancient dance form. Having spent my teen years living on apples in the hopes of getting thinner, I was delighted to find a dance form that embraced the natural curves of a woman's body.
I later danced with Natasha Van Der Merwe, of The Hip Circle stduio, and was impressed by her dynamic stage presence and graceful movements. Natasha's style suited me and I began teaching a creative dance class at Dakini health and wellness studio. This class, along with my regular aerobics classes, gradually progressed from grapevines and V steps to shimmies and undulations.
In 2003 Dakini closed and I decided to open my own studio ... teaching stretch and tone classes ... but it was not to be. Destiny prevailed and soon my students were requesting belly dance lessons. And so The Feminine Divine was born! So from 3 die hard Dakini students the studio has now grown to over 350 members... all Goddesses who are a part of the Feminine Divine family!
Qualifications for Teaching
- 2000 - Trained as an exercise teacher with ETA.
- 2005 - Traveled to Cairo, Egypt, to attend the Ahlan wa Sahlan Festival where I attended workshops with world renowned teachers including Dina, Tamalyn Dallal, Farida Fahmy and Mahmoud Reda.
- 2005 - Resident Dancer at Anatoli Turkish Restaurant.
- 2007 - Traveled to Cairo, Egypt, to attend the Nile Group teachers training course with Farida Fahmy and Mahmoud Reda ... what an amazing experience!
- 2008 - Completed Hadia's International Belly Dance Teachers training course level 1 and 2 in Cape Town!
- 2008 - Resident Dancer at Anatoli Turkish Restaurant.
- Board member of the Belly Dancing Assosiation of South Africa since 2006
Genevieve James - Teacher and Performer
I started acting at a young age. I was with Spotlight drama school for 5 years, and achieved my grade 6-8 certificates in Speech and Drama from the Trinity International Academy. I have performed on many a stage, so this I feel is the beginning of my eccentric/ dramatic personality! I try and keep this fun energy in all my classes.
I also love martial arts. I have done 6 years of Karate and 2 years of Kenjutsu (a form of samurai weapons and hand to hand combat mastery). I feel this has influenced me a lot more to dancing with swords.
I have been belly dancing since 2004 and have loved every second! I started professional dancing a year later and became a teacher 2 years ago. My stage name is Auradia - meaning daughter of the moon goddess.
Qualifications for Teaching
- 2004 to present - Trained with Tenille Lindeque of The Feminine Divine.
- 2006 - Grade 1 and 2 student certificates from the Belly Dance Association of South Africa
- 2008 - Completed Hadia's International Belly Dance Teachers training course level 1 and 2 in Cape Town!
Tiffany Lindeque - Teacher
Tiffany Kim Lindeque is Tenille's baby sister. She has danced since she learned to walk and has studied ballet, tap, modern and Latin dance. She began teaching Latin dance in Knysna for her dance teacher, Celeste in 2008 and has recently moved to Cape Town to join her sister on the Feminine Divine team. Tiffany teaches Latin in Medowridge, Saltriver and Monte Vista and is currently undergoing intense belly dance teacher training with her sister.
