Directory
Dancers
The professional people layer of Raqs Atlas — performers, instructors, choreographers, schools and the legends who shaped the art form.
174 profiles · showing 49–72
Instructors
Legend · United States
Elena Lentini
Elena Lentini began studying with Ibrahim Farrah in New York in 1968 and became one of the most distinctive artists to emerge from his circle. During the 1970s she performed both in Middle Eastern nightclubs and in prestigious theatrical venues. Her work…
California · United States
Elizabeth Strong
Elizabeth Strong is a San Francisco Bay Area dancer, choreographer and educator whose work frequently centres traditional movement within contemporary performance. She toured with Bellydance Superstars and became a founding member of Bellydance Evolution…
São Paulo · Brazil
Esmeralda Colabone
Esmeralda Colabone is a Brazilian dancer whose professional Oriental career began in the Arab world. In 2002, at nineteen, she joined the Lebanese entertainment company La Maison de L'Artiste and began working professionally in the Middle East. She spent…
Dancer · Lebanon
Estelle Zaghloul Ramia
Estelle Zaghloul Ramia is a Lebanese-born dancer whose international career became particularly significant in Latin America. She lived in Lebanon until her teenage years and carried direct cultural knowledge of Lebanese music and movement into her later…
Colorado · Germany
Eva Cernik
Eva Cernik entered Oriental dance at nineteen after extensive training in gymnastics and ballet. She first studied belly dance with Anahid Sofian in New York and subsequently pursued an unusually international professional career. Eva worked as an Oriental…
Legend · Canada
Hadia — Jocelyn Chouinard
Hadia, born Jocelyn Chouinard, was a Canadian performer and educator whose career spanned almost four decades. She began dancing as a teenager and eventually entered professional nightclub performance in Vancouver before expanding her studies internationally…
Portland · United States
Heather “Henna” Louise
Heather Louise, also known in dance circles as Henna, has built a career shaped by extensive experience with Middle Eastern music and dance across several countries. After years of belly-dance training she relocated to Asia and became active in Tokyo's…
Cairo · Egypt
Hendeya
Hendeya is a contemporary Egyptian performer who has become one of the highly visible dancers of Cairo's current nightlife scene. Her professional image combines recognisably Egyptian movement with the faster, more compact and personality-driven aesthetic…
Dancer · Colombia
Horacio Cifuentes
Horacio Cifuentes began dancing at five and pursued extensive professional training in flamenco and classical ballet. He eventually became a soloist with the San Francisco Ballet, performing in numerous classical and modern works. After discovering Oriental…
Dancer · Ukraine
Iana Komarnytska
Iana Komarnytska is a Ukrainian-born professional dancer, educator and media creator whose career developed substantially in Canada. She completed formal dance studies at York University and spent several years working as a full-time performer in Toronto. Her…
Legend · United States
Ibrahim “Bobby” Farrah
Ibrahim “Bobby” Farrah was one of the most influential figures in the development of Middle Eastern dance in the United States. Based in New York City, he became known not only as a performer but also as a choreographer, master teacher and serious researcher…
Dancer · Brazil
Igor Kischka
Igor Kischka is a Brazilian dancer and choreographer who has specialised in Arab and Oriental dance since 2011. He developed an international career through performances, workshops and festival appearances in more than thirty countries. His teaching places…
Legend · United States
Jamila Salimpour
Jamila Salimpour was one of the most important figures in the development of belly dance in the United States. She began teaching in 1949 and created a structured vocabulary for movements that influenced generations of American dancers. In 1968 she founded…
Dancer · Poland
Jasirah
Jasirah began belly dance in 2008 after approximately a decade of previous ballroom-dance experience. She developed rapidly into a professional performer and teacher and began appearing at events outside Poland. Over her career she has worked in more than…
Belgrade · Serbia
Jelena Leila
Leila is one of the most internationally recognised dancers and instructors representing Serbia. She has been involved in oriental dance for more than two decades and also has experience in ballet, ballroom dancing, and Serbian folklore. She has performed and…
Dancer · United States
Jessaiah Zuré
Jessaiah Zuré began belly dancing in 1997 after growing up in a musical and artistically diverse environment in California. Her early teachers included Katarina Burda and later Jamila Salimpour. In 2004 she began a decade-long pattern of living and studying…
Los Angeles · United States
Jillina Carlano
Jillina Carlano built an international reputation as a performer and choreographer before becoming one of the most visible directors in modern belly dance. She served for years as artistic director and principal choreographer for the Bellydance Superstars…
Dancer · Portugal
Joana Saahirah
Joana Saahirah is a Portuguese Oriental dancer who spent nearly a decade living and working professionally in Egypt. During her Cairo career she performed regularly with her own orchestra and experienced the demands of the Egyptian professional entertainment…
Dancer · Brazil
Ju Marconato
Ju Marconato is a prominent Brazilian Oriental dance educator with a background in physiotherapy. Her work became well known in Brazil through professional teaching, workshops, performances and published educational material. She approaches belly dance…
Dancer · Ukraine
Julia Farid
Julia Farid is a Ukrainian dancer, choreographer and educator who has built an extensive international career. She founded the Isadora Dance Academy and became the organiser of major events including the Isadora Cup and Dream & Dance. Julia is particularly…
Buenos Aires · Argentina
Julieta Maffia
Julieta Maffia is an Argentinian fusion dancer whose work developed within the country's large and technically sophisticated belly-dance community. Unlike many Argentine artists focused primarily on Egyptian-style Raqs Sharqi, Julieta became strongly…
New York City and San Francisco · United States
Kaeshi Chai
Kaeshi Chai is a multidisciplinary dancer, teacher, choreographer, producer and designer. She co-founded Bellyqueen, a professional dance company and school that became internationally recognised for theatrical world-fusion performance. Chai also co-founded…
San Francisco Bay Area · United States
Kami Liddle
Kami Liddle trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern and hip-hop before returning to belly dance as a young adult. She explored American Cabaret and improvisational belly dance before developing a contemporary fusion vocabulary. In 2005 she joined Bellydance…
Dancer · Brazil
Kamilia
Kamilia is a Brazilian-born Oriental dancer whose career has unfolded largely within professional Middle Eastern entertainment markets. She began dance at a very young age and later received training connected with the renowned Caracalla dance environment in…