Rakkasah - Middle Eastern Folk Festival and Fantasy Bazaar

Arianna Halima al-Tiye
Arianna Halima al-Tiye specializes in the field of Central and Sub-Saharan African dances from the ancient, folkloric to contemporary traditions, particularly those from her descendant East African roots. She is the founder of her dance company, Nubian Moon Daughters: Bint al Nuba, and teaches throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Email: arianna.altiye@gmail.com Web: www.NubianMoonDaughters.com Phone: 718.364.5434

Aneena
Aneena has been dancing for 30+ years and teaching workshops all across the US for 25+ years. Aneena owns Aneena's Silk Veils, selling 3yd., circular silk veils with the special rolled edge for easier handling. And she has 10+ videos and DVDs on the market including her specialties: Double Veil, Single Veil, Props, and Arms & Hands.

Web: Dancers of the Desert Phone: 415-892-2027

Ariellah
Ariellah performs and teaches belly dance all over the world. She has an extensive 12 year dance background that includes strict classical ballet training with the Royal Academy of Dance from London . She has studied and performed belly dance for the past seven years with Janine Ryle of Danse Mahgreb and as a founding member of The Indigo with Rachel Brice. Her style infuses many genres of belly dance, all with a modern dark flavour that is uniquely her own. She is featured on the first of its kind "Gothic BellyDance" DVD and has also released her first instructional DVD.

Email: info@ariellah.com Web: www.ariellah.com

Chellcy

Chellcy is an international Mid-East dance artist and producer. She has performed and taught workshops all over Europe, Canada, and the U.S. and is the artistic director and choreographer for Fringe Benefits International Dance Company. Chellcy has nineteen years of classical dance training in ballet, tap, jazz, and many more styles. In addition, Chellcy holds three degrees from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago & teaches belly dance there. Chellcy's broad studies on dance and art have enriched her belly dancing and given her dancing a creative and innovative edge through the fusion of some of these dance forms with Raqs Sharqi. Since 1994 she has studied Raqs Sharqi extensively with many teachers from around the world including renowned Egyptian dancers such as Tito, Aida Nour, Khaled Mahmoud, Mahmoud Reda, & Lubna Emam. In 2007 Chellcy became a proud affiliate of Arabesque International based in Toronto, Canada and sponsored by Yasmina Ramzy (one of her mentors). In January, 2010 Chellcy is releasing her first teaching video "Sa-Rumb-A-rabic: Samba, Rumberous, Egyptian Fusion". In 2009 Chellcy produced a professional performance compilation DVD, Cairo Raks Chicago, starring Aida Nour and Karim Nagi of Egypt including many more star performers. Action Video Productions will be releasing a documentary series in 2009, “Inside the Belly Dancer” the first DVD will feature Chellcy with dance and teaching demonstrations, interviews and performances clips of her and her company. Performances by Chellcy and her dance company can also be seen on these compilation videos: First International Belly Dance Conference of Canada 2007 “BDCC Best of 07/08”, “Stockholm Belly Dance Festival” (SBDF) volumes 2004-2008 produced by Suzanne and Mohamed Abou Shebika , and “Where the Mid-East Meets the Mid-West” 2007-2008 produced by Arabesque Chicago LLC. Chellcy is a featured instructor and performer for Belly Dance Malta in the E.U. She has been teaching and performing extensively in Malta since 2005. Chellcy and her company were featured in May, 2008 on SuperOne TV in Malta and on Family TV-Malta in December of 2008 and January of 2009! In addition Chellcy has been seen on Channel 11 in Malta, “Check Please” in Chicago, and commercials for the hit reality show “So You Think You Can Dance"

Email: c.reitsma@sbcglobal.net Web: www.chellcyraks.com

Dondi

At 12 Dondi began her study of Middle Eastern Dance. In 1991 she was chosen to dance for Omar Sharif's 60th birthday. Dondi has been in hundreds of theatre, film, television and music videos. In 1997 she booked her first dance tour of the Middle East and since then she has danced in Dubai, Turkey, India, Tunisia, Lebanon, Africa, Greece, Egypt, Jordon, Iceland, Spain, Africa and all over Europe. She is often requested to dance for celebrities and has danced for Amr Diab an Egyptian pop idol. In 2000 Dondi won "Belly Dancer of the Universe" and 2002 "Wiggles of the West" with her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe as a Belly Dancer, which she performed throughout Spain and Europe as a member of the Belly Dance Super Stars. Dondi teaches Lebanese, Egyptian, Turkish and Folkloric styles of Belly Dance around the world.

Email: dondi@dondibellydancer.com Web: www.dondibellydance.com

Fatima Al Wahid
Fatima is a prominent Middle Eastern Dance instructor, sponsor and vendor. Born In Africa, Fatima has always had the dance in her heart, being introduced to the dance by her father's native home, the Sudan. After over 20 years in the medical field, Fatima retired and decided to teach, travel and vend. She planted her feet in Sacramento and opened Fatima's Bazaar & Cultural Dance Studio. Fatima travels the world teaching and vending, and manages to spread heartfelt feeling for the dance wherever she goes.

Email: fatima@fatimasbazaar.com Web: www.FatimasBazaar.com Phone: 916-482-3568

Jamilla Salimpour
A pioneer in the belly dance scene on the west coast. Through Jamilla's teachings she has inspired three generations of dancers, performers and teachers. A woman with more amazing accomplishments than can be put into a paragraph! Please go to her web site to read about this fantastic lady.

Email: suhaila@therealsuhaila.com Web: www.TheRealSuhaila.com Phone: (510) 526 - 4344

Leila Haddad
Paris (France) based, choreographer, dancer and teacher in Oriental dances, (sharqi, baladi, saidi etc...) and in North African dances (Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco), teaches and performs all over the world in theaters, works on the rehabilitation and recognition of this art form. Classes are given in english, italian, arabic or french.

Email: hadleila@noos.fr Web: www.LeilaHaddad.com Phone: 011-33-1-43-56-61-64

Naheda
Ludwigsstadt, Germany.Master instructor and choreographer for oriental dance... international award winner and event producer, Naheda does it all. Naheda has been active for many years teaching workshops and performing internationally. Naheda has a tremendous amount of knowledge and is a wonderful communicator of the dance. Her tremendous creativity inspires her students to find the special and exceptional in themselves.

Email: info@naheda.de Web:www.naheda.de

Michelle De Vine
Having grown up in the belly dance community as an appreciative observer, dancer, instructor and promoter, gives her a unique perspective on belly dance as an art, outlet and industry. Having had (and continuing) to study the many faucets of belly dance, combining this training with person visualization and life experience allows her to bring to life her version of this dancing art form. Originally from teh SF Bay area she is currently residing in NJ where she teaches weekly classes and directs Spring Caravan, she also travels instructing workshops and performing with her troupe Mahalat.

Email: michelledevine@att.net Web: www.MichelleDevine.org Phone: 908-996-0269

Natica Angilly

Natica is Artistic Director as well as choreographer and a dancer for the Poetic Dance Theatre. She studied with Hanya Hol and other legendary figures in dance. Using artistry and movement inspired by ancient cultures, as well as contemporary innovations, she has created dance of visual and verbal unity. Natica has made her mark in national dance history as having the only company founded solely for "trance translations" of poetry, using as music the cadence and rhythm of voice.

In the world setting, where in many countries, poetry, dance, and music have never been separated, she combines pageantry, costuming, unique props, and multimedia effects -- and extends poetry's role in the life of American culture.

Email: richardaei@aol.com      Web: www.DancingPoetry.org      Phone: 510-235-0361

Saqra
Saqra from Seattle is a 30 year veteran of oriental dance, an internationally sponsored master instructor and award-winning performer. She has over 14 instructional DVDs, teacher's aides, and is director of severaldance troupes, plus produces CDs and sheet music and plays keyboard with RaqsBand. She was voted Zaghareet Magazine's "Best Kept Secret" of '05...something she is hoping to change! Visit her web site for tips, articles, a free book of dancer names and more.

Email: saqra@saqra.net      Web: www.Saqra.net      Phone: 253-813-8580

Sera
Sera Solstice is an international Bellydance Artist, based in New York City, known for creating the East Coast Tribal bellydance style, characterized by intense multi-layer hipwork, extensive full-body movement, deep emotive power and story-telling flow. Founder and Director of Solstice Studio: a Bellydance Studio in New York with over 200 active participants using bellydance as a means for building self-empowerment, expression, and creativity, Sera is director and choreographer of the dance troupe Solstice, and has created 4 full-length instructional DVDs on East Coast Tribal Bellydance, produced by World Dance New York. Sera's Choreography has been described as "complex, content-rich, sublime, technically superb, at the forefront of evolution of bellydance as an artform." Sera is frequently the featured dancer with bands: Raquy and the Cavemen, Djinn, Copal, Beatbox Guitar, and the Rhythm Shamans. Sera is fed artistically from underground electronic music culture as she works in collaboration with musicians such as Sub Swara and Chronomad. Sera has a passion for electronic music, but also enjoys earthy, acoustic elements: she has participated in American fire-circle culture for nearly 2 decades, therein developing bellydance as a sacred movement form, used in ritual and for healing. In 2005, Sera was invited to India to teach movement as a form of healing and empowerment for young women who had been rescued from sexual abuse and other oppressive circumstances. Sera was a full-time Sculptor upon discovery of Bellydance, and has transferred from her medium of clay and metal into the body moving through space. Although she challenges dancers to find deeper expression in their movements, Sera is known for her hard-driving, highly technical classes. She believes one must first master their tool-set before putting it to use. Sera is a former core member of 3 internationally acclaimed dance companies: Bellyqueen, The Silk Road Dance Company, and Raqs Sahara. Sera's foundation of technique, form, and discipline was by means of her formal apprenticeship with Rachel Kay Brookmire (of DC's Sahara Dance). More information about Sera Solstice can be found at http://www.boldbellydance.com/
Email: Sera@seradance.com Web: www.seradance.com

Shukriya
Instructor and Performer of belly dance for over 35 years. Shukriya has taught in the Untied States as well as Europe. She is renowned for her cymbal and sword work. She is also the director and creator of the Rakkasah Festivals.

Email: rakkasah@comcast.net      Web: www.rakkasah.com     Phone: 510-724-0214

Suhaila Salimpour
Suhaila Salimpour is the world's most sought-after performer, teacher, and choreographer of belly dance. A second-generation belly dancer, Suhaila has developed a format combining her heritage with classical dance training. After being the first Belly Dancer featured by Arab American Television, Suhaila toured the Middle East and Europe. She returned to the US to open her school - offering the first Certification program available in Belly Dance. Suhaila Productions creates instructional and performance DVDs for all dance levels, CDs for percussion artists and printed dance manuals. Suhaila has orchestrated Middle Eastern dance musicals and is director of both the Suhaila Dance Company and Bal Anat.

Email: suhaila@therealsuhaila.com      Web: www.TheRealSuhaila.com      Phone: 510-527-2400