In 1995, Saiqa (pictured at left) was my first belly dance teacher, she
continues to teach the “ethnic” or folkloric style of belly dance brought to
us by
Jamilla Salimpour.
 Since then, I have
studied with many teachers throughout the Bay Area and beyond and have also taken finger
cymbals and percussion classes.
I believe it's important to continue the study, currently I study with
Amanda of
Halanda Studio, and with
Malia (resparking my love of Tunisian
Dance), also the occasional drops-in, private lessons
and workshops with various instructors. I find that the best teachers are my
peers, so I
attend as many performances as possible and on my occasional travels, I often look up
local belly dance teachers and take home what I learn as souvenirs.
Classes
In
2002, I began teaching belly dance classes at San Jose
State University through the Associated Students Adventures Program. Currently, I
teach out of my home studio located between Downtown
and Willow Glen in San Jose and find teaching to be very
challenging and extremely rewarding, I love to see students who become hooked
just like I am.
Troupes
and Dance Projects
I love dancing in groups far better than solo because it's more
challenging and I get the opportunity to connect with other dancers. Raks al Khalil (Dance of Friends) is my student
troupe; Rak Core is the advanced dancers and the Rakettes are the mixed
level dancers. We had our grand debut at Desert Dance Festival in 2006 (see
pix) and have since performed at many belly dance festivals since
then (check us out on
You Tube). Currently, I also dance with
Karavansaray which is a student troupe led by Amanda of Hahbi Ru, I love
Amanda's challenging routines. Look for both groups at the upcoming
events!
I have also had the honor of performing with many other dancers,
in
duets, trios and troupes, such as with: Odina, Simone,
Paloma (owner of
Lunatic Fringe), Mozaeek
(Farsi for Mosaic),
Hazeen Helwa, Troupe Namaste,
Troupe Zambalita,
Malia and the New Moon Rising Belly
Dance Company, Dunia's Nile
Spice Dance Company, Jewels of the Oasis, Ke’kuja
and Saiqa's student troupe- Sisters of the Temple Moon.
Costuming
Besides
belly dancing, I love to sew. For me, so much of the dance
is all about the costume. I enjoy designing, making and dressing up in
costumes. A shy person by
nature, costuming helps me to become someone else, my ultra alter ego. With a flair for the
traditional, I favor the ethnic style of costume with a splash of flash.
Dancing Diva
Designs is the name of my costuming company which is my part time work
right now, primarily doing custom work. The most exciting part of
the work is seeing my costumes come to life on dancers. On occasion, I
vend at the various belly dance events
around the Bay Area. If you ever have a need for unique and flattering costuming,
look to me!
Art
Fool
I
have a degree in Photography with a concentration in Commercial
Photography, I am a free lance professional photographer and graphic designer serving the
belly dance community at large. I enjoy dabbling in anything
artistic: sculpture, ceramics, painting, drawing, crafting and graphic design. One exciting accomplishment is the completion of
a home dance studio which includes a hand-painted ceiling border and a mehndi
inspired floor design, it was a lot fun to do and now there is a beautiful place
for me to practice, hold classes, host drum classes and whatnot. (Thanks Mike,
thanks Russ!)
In
conclusion, I just want to say that belly dance rules. IT RULES!
Visit me on Tribe!
http://people.tribe.net/khajulah
Visit me on MySpace!
http://www.myspace/khajulah
Drop me a line with a little info, let's link up! |
