Beautiful Veil Dance

I want to share this clip today because it beautifully illustrates some of the movements we have been working on in both Beginning and Intermediate classes. The background here is very simple, making it easy to focus on her movements. Students will see many familiar movements and hopefully notice her beautiful way with the veil and how she travels through the space- all things we have been talking about.

Egyptian Belly Dance Legend Taheya Carioca

The dancer here is the beloved Egyptian belly dance star Taheya Carioca (as always, there are different ways of spelling it in English, given how Arabic works). This is a clip from later in her career. She has retained her grace and musicality and it is a lovely way to see how the basic movements of belly dance can be put together into a mesmerizing performance. I hope you find it inspirational!

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Just a reminder- Registration is open for the Summer Session of belly dance classes at the South San Francisco Parks and Rec. Classes will run from July 10th- August 7th and you can register online anytime through their website. Registering early is always the best :)

Princess of Cairo

In my Intermediate classes this term we have been studying the dance style of the Egyptian belly dance legend Nagwa Fouad (her name is also spelled Najwa Fouad in English sometimes). This lovely vintage performance below is not to the same music that we have been using in class, but it is a similarly orchestrated, high-energy piece. It also gives a feel for the spectacle of her shows, for which she is well-known.

I hope you enjoy this one and I’ll be back tomorrow with another video illustrating what we have been working on this term!

Nagwa Fouad - The Princess of Cairo

Casbah Night at El Morocco Tonight!

If you are looking for a fun way to celebrate the holiday weekend, consider joining us for a night of beautiful music and dancing! at El Morocco in Pleasant Hill tonight!

Belly Dance Classes in 2019

Hi Dancers,

I just wanted to let everyone know that my Belly Dance Classes in South San Francisco resume this Wednesday, January 9th! We have a fun 9-week session with no breaks this time - this will allow us to dance our way into a joyful, healthy 2019 :)

Classes meet at the Magnolia Center, 601 Grand Avenue in South San Francisco.

Beginning Belly Dance: 7 - 8 PM

Intermediate Belly Dance: 8 - 9 PM

You can register online here. I will also have a few registration forms in class on the first night but the office really prefers for you to register online.

I wish everyone a wonderful 2019.

Shu Shu Amin (شوشو امين)

Here is a really cute performance by Egyptian belly dancer Shu Shu Amin (شوشو امين).  I wish there were more clips of her online!  I love how her performance here manages to be both high energy and yet subtle.  And I love her beautiful musicality too!

This is bellydancer ShuShu Amin performing in a scene from the 1979 Egyptian film ‘Sa’aktob ismak ala al ramal’ (I’ll Write Your Name in the Sand’ سأكتب اسمك على الرمال ). ShuShu Amin only danced in three movies and if you’re a dancer, you’ll wish they’d spent more time filming ShuShu and less time focusing on the actor Ezzat El Alaili looking shifty and/or murderous. The film also starred Nahed Sherif and Samira Said.

The informative caption is from The CaroVan, where you can always lose yourself and hours of time in amazing belly dance videos!

There is more information about Shu Shu Amin here on the Serpentine website.

A couple reminders: my summer classes started last week but you can still join by calling the SSF Parks and Rec office: 650.829.3800.  There is plenty of time to join the fun.

My next performance will be at Tannourine Restaurant on Friday, July 6th.  Details on my Shows page.

Have a great week!