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Teacher Bios
Vanessa and Sa'diyya have been collaborating for more than a year, and they are excited to share their creations!
Your workshops will be taught by Vanessa, who's coming direct from Cairo, Egypt (the homeland of Belly Dance!) where she lives and works as a professional dancer and instructor - And by Sa'diyya, an internationally recognized instructor and performer and creator of "Sa'diyya ONLINE," her own line of downloadable instructional videos that have sold all over the world in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America!
Your workshops will be taught by Vanessa, who's coming direct from Cairo, Egypt (the homeland of Belly Dance!) where she lives and works as a professional dancer and instructor - And by Sa'diyya, an internationally recognized instructor and performer and creator of "Sa'diyya ONLINE," her own line of downloadable instructional videos that have sold all over the world in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America!
Vanessa - www.VanessaRaqs.com
Vanessa, a native Texan, received her BFA in Ballet from Texas Christian University. She led a dual life teaching and performing classical dance genres as well as training in Danse Orientale, and then went on to dance in New York City for eight years.
In addition to performing in musical theater, off-Broadway plays and varied acting roles, she also trained with Ann Reinking, Gwen Verdon and Gregory Hines in conjunction with The Broadway Theatre Project. Her teaching credentials include performing arts camps for children and the Boys and Girls Club of America. TV credits include America's Next Top Model and the WE (Women's Entertainment) Network. She established herself as an in demand NY area Oriental Dancer performing in all the top venues and became well known and respected in the NYC dance community. Her Danse Orientale training includes such greats as: Mahmoud Reda, Dr. Mo Geddawi, Hassan Afifi, Raquia Hassan, Tito, Osama Emam, FiFi Abdo, Dina, Lucy, Aida Nour and Lubna Emam. Vanessa moved to Egypt in 2008, where she has been successfully working ever since. Vanessa has taught and performed internationally, including at the Nile Group Festival in Cairo. Now based in Sharm El Sheikh, one of Egypt's most prized tourist destinations, Vanessa is believed to be the first and only (American) woman to start a production company in Egypt. In addition to daily night club shows, she is contracted in many Five Star hotels including The Four Seasons, The Hyatt, The Marriott, Hilton Dreams, Hilton Sharks Bay, Hilton Waterfalls, Maritime/Jollieville, Helnan, Kiroseiz, Sonesta Beach, Melia Sharm, Melia Sinai, Holliday Village, Nubian Island and others. She also provides a variety of group dance shows with her company, Vanessa Show Productions. Specializing in Egyptian folklore, her company has branched out to offer International, Latin and Oriental Dance shows. Her dancers are from Egypt and all over the world. She and her company have been featured in numerous music vidoes and performed for many special events, including the renowned Peace Conference which brought all world leaders together in Sharm El Sheikh. To learn more about Vanessa and her experience in Egypt, check out her exclusive interview with Isis Zahara at orientallimelight.blogspot.com |
Sa'diyya - www.SadiyyaDance.com
Sa'diyya's charismatic, energetic and culturally authentic performances have made her one of the most requested belly dancers in North Texas! She is a full time professional performer, instructor, event producer, costume designer and owner of North Texas School of World Dance - Art of Belly Dance by Sa'diyya, based in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX. Her exciting and memorable performances have made her a sought after performer for cultural events, weddings, parties, festivals and charities. Her signature style of Belly Dance is a dramatic yet jazzy mixture of American Cabaret with a heavy modern Egyptian Raks Sharqi influence. She also specializes in various folkloric and fusion styles of Belly Dance.
She prides herself on her entertaining, family-friendly, tasteful, cultural and artistic presentations of Middle Eastern Dance. Having started learning the art of belly dance while in her teens, she has almost 2 decades of experience in Middle Eastern Dance! She has entertained thousands of clients throughout the years in DFW and beyond. The combined qualities of experience and true talent make Sa'diyya the obvious choice for First Class Belly Dance Entertainment! Having won more than 20 regional, national and international awards for her solo and troupe performances, including 2011 Belly Dancer of the Universe, she is a rising star in the international world of Belly Dance. She recently won the prestigious online reality series competition, “Project Belly Dance,” produced by Cheeky Girl Productions, the current leader in the market for Belly Dance instructional DVDs. As an instructor with over 15 years of experience teaching Middle Eastern dance, Sa'diyya has developed a clear-cut, challenging and fun method of teaching that leaves her students inspired and sharing her enthusiasm and passion for Belly Dance! She has recently debuted her first full-length instructional DVD with Cheeky Girls Productions entitled, "The Move Before The Move: Belly Dance Transitions". Sa'diyya's new DVD has been welcomed with much praise and requests for additional instructional titles. Sa'diyya's exciting and unique performances and choreographies have made her a sought after performer and instructor of the Art of Belly Dance! "Sa'diyya is fluid yet dynamic, feminine yet powerful, and extremely inventive. She is an amazingly gifted dancer, instructor and choreographer. She is also fun and lively throughout, always smiling and enthusiastic. I hope she will come back to Indonesia again!" -Mia, Jakarta, Indonesia |
Photos by Tammye Nash and Chris Brown.
