After
falling in love with the belly dancers in Las Vegas at the Aladdin,
I just knew I had to learn the art. Before discovering local instructors,
I bought my first bellydance video of Joynan in July 2001. She was
also my inspiration of the double veil. I met her for the first time
at the Dancers of the Desert Festival in February 2002.
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Leila
Haddad and I posed for a pic at Rakkasah West 2003 in Richmond, California.
She is one of the sweetest persons I've ever met.
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Stephanie,
Raffa, me, and Sonya at Shake & Bake in Albuquerque, NM, August
2003. Raffa and his dance company were terrific. They add a lot of
zest and spunk to the dance.
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Here
I am with Black Opal (Aurora, Nielle, me, Ava, Satya, and Larissa).
This was the "before-1st place trophy" pic from the Shake & Bake
Festival in ABQ. I received most of my training from both
Ava and Danah.
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My favorite instructor by far is Suhaila Salimpour.
She came to my good friends', Harold and Linda, boutique and studio
of November 2004. The weekend workshop was our very last event before
we permanently closed the doors to the public. Suhaila worked my butt
off (literally!), and taught us combinations that helped my coordination
and memory skills. She has a spunky and sassy attitude that I admire,
as well as knowledgable, talented, and down to earth.
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Aurora
and I took Zahra Zuhair's workshop when she visited Phoenix in 2005.
She was one of Ava's previous instructors, so that made us 3rd line
generation! She taught us a fun and stylish routine. It was awesome!
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I
had a LOT of fun with Fahtiem! She visited Phoenix the same weekend
as Zahra Zuhair. I really loved her warm up and workshop. She is so
friendly
and has a great sense of humor. When she gave me a hug, she said, "Heart
to heart, baby," and hugged me with sincerity. What a classy and professional
lady! I love her!
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I
unfortunately missed Rachel Brice's workshop the first time she came
to Tempe. Then I missed her at Cairo Carnival as well. But lucky for
me, Domba saved the day and brought her back again in 2005, and I was
more than pleased with the workshop! Rachel inspired new ways for me
to
motivate
myself and stay on task with my goals. She is absolutely adorable and
made me feel like an Amazon when I hugged her!
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I
took DaVid's Bollywood workshop when he came to Phoenix in 2005. I
had a difficult time for the first hour, but just when I was about
to throw in the towel, my body finally understood the rhythm and movements.
Bollywood is definitely a challenge for me, but well worth the effort!
I had an enjoyable time! Plus, I believe DaVid has the best stretching
and cool down routine I've ever experienced in person or trained with
a video.
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MY INSTRUCTORS (PAST AND PRESENT)
INSTRUCTOR
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WEBSITE
ADDRESS
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LOCATION
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Amaya
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New Mexico
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Angelika
Nemeth
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California
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Ava
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Arizona
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Aziza
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Oregon
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Bert
Belladine
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N/A
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California
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Danah
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Arizona
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DaVid
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California
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Edric
Aziz
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Arizona
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Elena
Lentini
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N/A
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New York
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Fahtiem
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California
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Jazmine
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N/A
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Arizona
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Jillina
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California
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Joynan
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Colorado
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Katayna
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Arizona
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Leila
Haddad
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France
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Leyla
Jouvana
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Germany
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Melissa
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Arizona
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Rachel
Brice
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California
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Raffa
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Utah
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Suhaila
Salimpour
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California
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Suzanna
del Vecchio
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Colorado
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Yasmina
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Arizona
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Zahra
Zuhair
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California
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Contact
me at: ©
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