Valerie, aka Valarina, is renowned throughout the Philadelphia area for her passionate, authentic belly dance performances. Owner of Studio 1831, she has been teaching and performing Middle Eastern dance for over 2 decades. One of Philadelphia's most recognized and respected dance artists, Valarina has dazzled audiences with her technical expertise, musicality, and agility. Her innovative style is a reflection of her extensive background in dance and fitness. For eight years, she performed with the jazz dance company Waves throughout the U.S. and England and was a teacher and featured dancer at the Philadelphia’s Jazz Dance Center. She began her Middle Eastern Dance studies at the University of Delaware with Egyptian teacher Bona Khalil while obtaining her B.A. in Anthropology. She later studied under numerous masters, including Ibrahim Farrah, Serena, Elena Lentini, Ghazal Rohani, and Jehan to name a few. She has performed as a guest artist with the Belly Dance Superstars during their 2005 tour.

She appears annually at the Rakkasah Festival East showcase in Somerset, NJ, with her Middle Eastern dance troupe The Shake Charmers. She was also featured in the Philadelphia Opera Company’s production of Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio.

Her television and film credits include portraying an Arabian Nights Dancer in the 1998 film Beloved, starring Oprah Winfrey, appearing as a belly dancer and yoga teacher in The Learning Channel's "A Dating Story," and being featured on Channel 10’s news program 10 on 10, for her senior belly dance program. She was featured in nationally known fitness expert Karen Andes’s video as a modern dancer and has recently produced her own video entitled “Belly Dance Basics”.

Valarina has devoted her career to an understanding of dance, yoga, fitness and other disciplines that promote health and well-being.