It wasn't until she was in high school that Anna finally had the opportunity to take dance classes.  She started her formal dance training with what else- tap dancing, of course.  Her first teacher was impressed that she picked up the steps quickly; and she received praise for her "natural grace" while performing in her dance school recitals.  Anna continued with tap classes throughout high school and college.  During this time she also performed in high school musicals and took a beginning ballet class in college. 

After college, Anna's love of dance continued to grow, and she decided it was time to experience some new styles.  She took a year of ballroom and Latin dance classes, and found it exciting to be trying something new.  Actually, this new style really came in use a couple of years later when she met Tony Ferguson.  When Anna found out that he was going to start teaching his own beginning ballroom dance classes, she signed up (to get to know Tony- remember she had already taken ballroom).  Anna soon moved from student to assistant teacher in Tony's class; and not too long after that the two were married.

After her year of ballroom and Latin dance classes, Anna was enthusiastic to try yet another style of dance; and so, in 1995 she took her first Middle Eastern or belly dance class.  Anna had already had her first encounter with belly dance years earlier when she was only ten years old.  On a family vacation to New York City, her dad brought her, her mom, and her brother to a restaurant he had been to on an earlier trip.  What made that restaurant special?  Anna and her family barely sat down at their table when out came a woman dressed in a sparkly sequined and bead fringed two piece outfit- yes, a belly dancer!  Anna was impressed by not only the beauty and grace of the dancer but also by the way she seemed to captivate her audience- every eye, young to old, rarely left the dancer as she flowed through her movements.  It was an image that stayed with Anna throughout the years.  This memory along with Anna's interest in other cultures naturally drew her interest to the belly dance class listed in the local paper.  Anna, although excited for her class to begin, didn't quite know what to expect.  The words "belly dance" held an air of the mysterious, the exotic, the Middle East. 

In her first year of belly dance classes, Anna, although she was moving her body in new ways, picked up the dance quickly.  She soon learned that belly dance is an intricate form of dance; and is grateful to have had a teacher that stressed the technique behind the moves she taught.  After only a year of lessons, Anna was able to join her instructor's dance troupe, the Desert Caravan Dancers.  She enjoyed learning and performing dances such as raqs sharqi, raqs al assaya (cane), hagallah, khaleeji, sword, veil, scarf, and basket with the troupe.  Besides group dances, Anna also performed as a soloist while in the troupe.  She received praise for her hip work and for her ability to connect with the audience.  Although Anna greatly enjoyed her eleven years learning and performing with the Desert Caravan Dancers, she felt it was time for a change- a chance to really discover her own unique style of the dance; and so she left the troupe.

For Anna, who is naturally a very shy person, dance is a form of expression; and Anna has found belly dance to be an extremely expressive dance style.  Through her dance, she has found a way to communicate to others- to share a part of herself that may otherwise remain hidden.  While a part of a troupe, Anna's main focus was on the oriental style of the dance and with the technique behind it.  On her own, Anna began to notice that, after years of practice, the technique was there- she didn't have to think about it as she danced.  With this realization, Anna began to move more freely to the music- to add more of her own stylizations; and, in doing so, she really began to make the dance her own.  She was shifting away from oriental and heading toward fusion belly dance.  Anna began exploring the dark fusion or gothic belly dance genre.  Besides the expression found in oriental, Anna has discovered that dark fusion has an added theatrical side which allows her to get into the character of the dance.  At first, Anna was unsure of how audiences would respond to the darker side of belly dance; but she soon found she had no need to worry.  She was actually receiving greater praise for her dark fusion style.  Audiences are moved by Anna's interpretation of the music. 

Throughout the years, Anna has developed a passion for and respect of belly dance, whether oriental or fusion.  She seeks opportunities to learn and grow as a dancer, loves to perform, and continues to develop her own unique style.