Rukshana Raks Home Page

Rukshana began belly dancing in 2002 through the local parks and recreation program with no aspirations to perform. She was only looking for a way to exercise and meet new friends with similar interests in the art form. When she heard the word ‘recital’ this started to change. Belly dance was supposed to take her away from her day job as a freelance theatrical costume designer (her career since graduating with an MFA in Scenography from Arizona State in 1994). Her first belly dance costuming experience started with this first recital when buying a costume was not a possibility (at almost 5’11”, skirts are never long enough and a beaded bra and belt set was too expensive). This experience lead to more classes in both American Cabaret style and ATS/Tribal Fusion as well as workshops from different teachers. Every recital it seemed a new costume was made or an older look was improved upon. Soon recitals evolved into dancing at ‘Student Nights’ in a local restaurant and finally dancing dinner shows around town. Tandoori Times I and II (Scottsdale / Glendale locations) and at Dooby’s in Mesa are the locations Rukshana is currently calling home on Friday and Saturday evenings. She still does perform in the occasional recital and student show for fun as her schedule permits.

As a professional costumer, Rukshana was fortunate to spend a number of years working with both Tutu Etoile and Ballet Arizona where she refined her dancewear construction skills and observed the designs of others. This experience goes into her belly dance costume design and construction—both cabaret and tribal styles. Additionally, she spent several years working as a bra fitter for a major department store and received training from a number of manufacturers as to what a correctly fitted garment should look like on a variety of body types before she began her career as a costumer. As a theatrical designer she has designed a wide variety of productions-- plays and musicals as well as numerous children’s theatre productions (dancing bears, wolves and assorted woodland creatures are her specialty of late). Her theatrical and dance experience has culminated into a series of belly dance costuming classes that she teaches through the Mesa Arts Center Studio Program (Cabaret Bra and Belt Construction, Simple Circle Skirts, Simple Harem Pants, Mermaid Skirts, 8 Point Skirt Toppers, and Low Water Immersion Dyeing for Silk Veils).