Thread: Noteworthy Dancers

I currently teach a beginner class and an intermediate class. The beginner class is divided up into 4 6-week sessions. I actually hesitate to call the other class an Intermediate class because it's really just a beyond the basics type.

Something I do for my students is handouts each week. On them are an Arabic word or phrase, some history, what we're working on that week, as well as a short bio on a famous bellydancer of the week. For the beginners, I keep it as interesting as possible, which to them I would imagine being dancers they could relate to, so I keep the dancers current and American (almost all of them are Superstars) because they have a better chance of recognizing them.

For the Intermediate students, I am focusing on noteworthy dancers of the 60's and 70's in the US. So far, I have included Jamila Salimpour and Helena Vlahos.

To backtrack a little, I now wish I would have had some education on becoming familiar with different dancers, etc. For almost a year, I didn't even know about the Bellydance Superstars, let alone Egyptian dancers, dancers of the Golden Era, or dancers from before the Superstars. This is NOT to knock my teachers because they were fabulous. But, now I think that maybe with more information, perhaps I could have become more aware and a more educated dancer.

I'd like anyone's opinion on who they think is a noteworthy dancer from the
60's or 70's in the US. They don't have to be super famous, just someone who made an impact or did something that has influenced dance in the US. Later sessions for the Intermediate students will include dancers classified by region, style, or era. I'm also going to have one session on male dancers who have made an impact worldwide.

Any advice is welcome :) Thank you all in advance!

hi! there are some great threads on this if you use the search box

Bert Balladine, Bobby Farrah

Alyssaraks - Cory Zamora would be great for the 60s and 70s California scene.

Gilded Serpent has some articles about the 60s & 70s scene in California.

Originally Posted by BELLA_BELLA

Bert Balladine, Bobby Farrah

Adriana of DC was Bobby Farrah's teacher. He started out as a bus boy in a restaurant where she was performing. I think it's important to include her.
Andriana of DC Premier Belly Dance Insructor for the DC Maryland and Virginia offering all levels of belly dance training in Belly Dancing
Scott Wilson's mother, Serena had a tv show and also a huge influence. It was Artemis Mourat's exposure to Serena's inspiring 9/8 classes that got Artie on the path to Turkish Oriental and Turkish Romani specialization.
I'm sure she influenced tons of other dancers as well in addition to having a wonderful son playing in the New York scene still.
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serena_Wilson]Serena Wilson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
Bellydancing by Serena Studios

Thanks to everyone who posted. I had Serena in mind and I think I will also include Adriana. I will look up Cory Zamora. I've been trying to find articles on dancers of this time period, but the articles mostly describe the scene and not specific dancers. Usually Google will even pull up stuff from Bhuz and I'm still having a difficult time.

Thank you to everyone so far. I will most likely include all that have been mentioned.

Anyone else?

Tanya Lemani, she also has a bio:

Birute reviews Tanya's book for the Gilded Serpent

Morocco and Dahlena (of Chicago) and Anahid Sofyan

Elena Lentini an amazing dancer and wonderful person.

Delilah of Seattle, Dahlena, Feriuz Aram, Tonya (LA)
Morrocco, Dunia San Jose, Una San Jose CA

Marta Schill, Helena Valahos, Fahtim, Angelika Nemeth (last 2 ladies more 80's I think)

Aida Al Adawi originally in California, now in Dearborn, MI

Thank you so much everyone. I'm typing up a few bios tonight for my handouts. I'm glad I have a starting place now. Even via Google, it was hard to find more than just a few.

a dvd just came out that you might want to check out:

American Belly Dance Legends

https://www.hollywoodmusiccenter.com...productId=1417

my teacher Aziz is on there. I know he made a huge impact in my area.

ooh, thank you! This is something I am certainly adding to my list. I just started my classes and had a lot of expenses to get things going, so it'll be a couple months until I can afford it. I'm looking forward to it though!

i second Cory Zamora...very few dancers can keep the cabaret-spirit like she does!

Originally Posted by mathkitty

Tanya Lemani, she also has a bio:

Birute reviews Tanya's book for the Gilded Serpent

Tanya Lemani is going to be speaking at the Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive in 2010. Just wanted to share the news...

Cassandra!

Cassandra - Biography


Khalida

Great idea. But why narrow the focus to US dancers? The first things we learn really burn in deep. I suspect this approach will leave many students with the subconscious idea that the real belly dancers were from the States. At least throw a couple of Middle Eastern dancers into the mix.

Hmm... not sure about American onces, since most of them are listed here. Non-American one would be Tulay Karaca...