About us
We are a professional bellydance and movement company based in Cape Town providing high quality performances and classes.
Soma performance troupe
Hire one or more of our professional performance troupe belly dancers to bring an exotic and rich flavour to your event with beautiful choreographed sets, skillful use of props (pot balancing, finger cymbals) and costuming inspired by ancient tribes from around the world.
Dance Instructors
Soma instructors are warm and welcoming. We have a diverse background of training and love breaking down movement to make it accessible to all.
Established since 2006 to nurture the art of tribal and fusion belly dance in South Africa. We are an established American Tribal Style sister studio, have a professional tribal fusion dance troupe and have now expanded to offer pilates classes.
Marissa Cuenoud
Extensively trained 7 years in ballet, 7 years in Oriental and 12 years in Tribal Fusion, director of SOMA Fusion Bellydance, Marissa, continues the line of Tribal Fusion in South Africa (founded 2006) and draws elements from American Tribal Style, Suhaila Salimpour, Jamila Salimpour and Rachel Brice’s 8 elements technique.
Her style of dance is confident and graceful and she is renowned for her complex choreographies, improvised dancing sets and thorough teaching style. Her dance career has seen her travelling extensively to attend workshops and festivals with some of the great names in Tribal Fusion.
She has performed in many international shows, including private performances in Morrocco and Seychelles and festivals in South Africa, Switzerland, UK, Italy and France. She choreographed and performed with her troupe in Nigerian R&B icon, Darey’s, Ba Ni Kidi music video and for Hakim in the televised GLO-CAF soccer awards ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria.
Marissa has also performed in Bellydance Evolution’s production of Alice in Wonderland in Johannesburg in 2015.
When she isn’t dancing, choreographing and travelling, she plays percussion, accordion and dances in the Middle Eastern Fusion band, Ottoman Slap.