Welcome Drake von Trapp to Datura Online!

Classes coming soon! https://daturaonline.com/authors/drak... Drake von Trapp is a multi-award-winning interdisciplinary belly dancer and emergent scholar based in Central Texas. His dynamic style is an interplay of American cabaret and fusion belly dance, West African vernacular dances, and classical training in contemporary modern dance and ballet. He also holds Stage 1, 2, and 3 Trained Teacher status in “Dance Cohesion,” Suhaila and Jamila Salimpour Level 1, as well as a NASM personal trainer certification. Drake’s combined love of dance and research led him to study dance academically, earning both a master’s and bachelor’s in dance. His master’s thesis, “From Bal Anat to Hahbi’Ru: An Oral History of John Compton, American Male Belly Dancer,” is the most comprehensive compilation of information on men in belly dance, and his most sought after topic for lectures and workshops. It has been described as “a much-needed example of how research into dance, and belly dance, should be captured.” His groundbreaking undergraduate thesis, “Masculinity in American Belly Dance,” has been described as a “wonderful piece of dance scholarship” that has provided an “insightful and important” perspective on belly dance culture in North America, and was awarded the “Excellence in Undergraduate Writing” and “Outstanding Undergraduate Student” scholarships. Currently he keeps busy as a PhD student in Performance Studies at UT Austin, where he continues his research into the history of belly dance in the US. He shares his intellectual and creative work with the world through touring, teaching, and performing internationally, and through Arcanum World Dance, a dance studio he co-owns with his dance and life partner, Kamrah.