Emma Pyke – Emma is a teacher and performer based in Reading. She has been dancing since 1993, initially under the tutelage of Afra Al Kahira and has been teaching since 1998. She is often booked nationally as a performer and teacher. She has been a regular teacher at the annual Celebrating Dance Festival. She prefers to teach technique based workshops as she feels that a strong grounding in basic principles nurtures a more confident dancer. She also has been closely involved in the running of two troupes – Mersin, who she co-founded in 2002 with Sara Shrapnell and more recently in 2007 with Covert Bling – an improvised tribal troupe.