Biography
Joanne began her dance training with tap, jazz, and ballet in New York City, where she was born and raised and continued her dance training with modern and ballroom dancing in college. She discovered belly dancing in 1995 on the west coast and immediately fell in love with the art form. Joanne moved to Chicago in 1999 to get her Master degree in Social Work at the University of Chicago while continuing her love of belly dancing.
Joanne's grandparents were from Turkey and she wanted to honor them by using their last name as her professional stage name - Abrevaya. The namesake is pronounced Ab- rev- EYE- ah.
In 2007, Abrevaya became certified in the Suhaila School of Dance, a program dedicated to enhancing technique and maintaining the integrity of this dance. She is also certified in Hadia's Teacher Training Level I and is working towards Level II and Level III certification.
Abrevaya has performed nationwide and currently teaches and performs in the Chicagoland area.