Combing her love of dance, words, and music with her desire for well-being, health, and fitness, she adds writing and meditation to her dance teaching repertoire, because she says, “Dancers have a lot of profound things to say about their experiences, with the need to reach down deep and have their voices heard!”
Paulette is an advocate for her organic and vegan/vegetarian lifestyle, and a firm believer in cross-training. She has practiced Yoga for over 30 years, along with several varieties of fitness, including being a licensed Zumba (R) instructor, and incorporates kick-boxing, Pilates, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, circuit training, modern, and always throws in some boot-scootin’!
Paulette says,
The crazy high, the joyful rewards, the spirit connection and energy I get from teaching and sharing the inspirations, and of course, dancing with my tribe, either on or off the stage are moments of ecstatic joy and sheer bliss! To see dancers come into their own, women acknowledging their own beauty and power through the dance is true fulfillment, and what an honor. I am the proud mother. As the communities continue to grow and expand, we create beauty and magic in our circle while we raise the energy of life—through a shimmy, a mudra, a breath.
Paulette has an ongoing traveling and online teaching itinerary. She leads annual women’s retreats, Illumination: Dance with your Desire, for movement, personal growth, and adventure! With an exciting bi-weekly video blog Heart and Hustle: Visionary Healers, Movers, and Shakers, Paulette and her guests inspire and share about creativity and business, empowering women to live fully!
Now, her focus is on teaching the Leaders and Master Teachers, to carry on the legacy and integrity of this dance style, as well as certifying teachers and dancers through her online series.
Previously, Paulette wrote a monthly international e-newsletter— Caravan Trails/ Tribal Travels, with over 1800 subscribers for the last ten years. Add producing eleven Tribal Technique Dvds, seven musical CDs of original dance music, and several online dance and writing classes, she is able to fulfill her dream of taking Tribal Bellydance Global!
Combining her love of the dance with her passion for writing, Paulette has published three books, including Breaking Down the Walls, a collection of her poetry, and the must-read for every dancer: Tribal Vision: a Celebration of Life through Tribal Belly Dance, in 2008 (Cultivator Press). This is an amazing history of Tribal, a memoir and share of other dancer’s and musician’s experiences. She has been featured in several books (the Tribal Bible, The Bellydance Book) in films and on TV- the Bellydance TV/DVD series, and magazines (Fuse, Shimmy, Zaghareet, Jareeda, From The Hip, Habibi, England’s Tribal and Mosaic, Germany’s Tanz Oriental, and Australia’s Bellydance Oasis, plus local Portland newspapers and zines), both interviews with her, plus her stories about the dance life.
In 2007 she graduated with a Master’s Degree in Writing and Publishing and created a publishing house, called Cultivator Media Group. Receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Photography from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1983, she also self-published a limited-edition photography book, Skin Stories, in 2000. Paulette has directed and produced over eleven international best-selling teaching technique DVDs and four performance videos, along with seven musical Cds.
Paulette owned and managed the world dance studio, Caravan Studio, from 2000-2008. Loving to play hostess, she produced and organized Tribal Quest NorthWest, the five-day international music and dance, from 2000-2007, bringing dance and music masters such as FatChanceBellyDance, Rachel Brice, inFusion, Domba, Solace, Karim Nagi, Raquy and the Cavemen, Zoe Jakes, Darshan, Sarah Locke, Dalia Carella, Colleena, and many more to her festival.
Her documentary, Tribal Travels: A Collage, following Gypsy Caravan’s experiences and performances (June 2005), won “Best Historical Documentary” from the Giza Academy Awards. This is still available on DVD! With Gypsy Caravan, she has won awards for “ Troupe of the Year” (twice), “Favorite Musicians” (twice) from the Zaghareet Magazine Golden Belly Awards, “Best Choreography for the Camera” from the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance, and “Best Troupe”, and “Best Entertainment Video” from the Giza Academy Awards.
