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Anna's Biography
Anna has always been a dancer at heart, but never really pursued dance until she saw a belly dancer at a Greek restaurant while attending a holiday office party.
Nearing her college graduation, Anna decided she was going to need to find something to fill up her time after graduating. She decided to try middle eastern dance. In July 2003, Anna signed up for her first class with her first teacher- Jaleh of Puyallup, WA. It was love at first dance...
Soon after beginning classes, Jaleh asked Anna to join her troupe - Raks El Zahira. Anna performed with Raks El Zahira at many local events, but in late 2004 decided that she wanted to work on being a soloist performer and to study under a variety of teachers. Jaleh remains one of Anna's friends and an inspiration for this dance form.
Dance education is very important to Anna. She believes that through education a deep appreciation, knowledge, and skill of this dance can be cultivated. Anna has studied with many dancers and teachers in the Pacific Northwest and regularly attends workshops from some of the best performers and teachers in the U.S. and the world.
Anna enjoys learning about and listening to Arabic music. She is currently studying the Egyptian tabla (or doumbek). Anna also enjoys playing finger cymbals, not as a simple performance prop, but as a musical instrument.
Since beginning her journey into middle eastern dance, Anna has had the opportunity to learn about many of the folkloric dance forms that are a part of the middle eastern dance genre. Her interests are mainly with Egyptian and North African dance forms, folk dances, and styles including: Egyptian beledi (and shaabi), Raqs al Assaya (stick/cane dance), Khaleegi (womens dance of the Gulf region), Moroccan, and Tunisian, among others...
Anna enjoys sharing this beautiful dance art form with others. She entertains and delights audiences with her grace, elegance, and playfulness. Inspired by Classical Egyptian "Raqs Sharqi", Lebanese, and other modern styles of Oriental dance, Anna blends together the styles she loves into an expression all her own. Her performances are dramatic, energetic, and fun.
Anna also explores the use of various props during her performances including: veils, cane, sword, isis wings, candles, melaya, and tray.
In addition to middle eastern dance, Anna studies and performs in several other dance forms to enrich her overall dance education. Her repertoire includes: lyrical, ballet, hip hop, jazz, Irish step, as well as North Indian bhangra and giddha.
In her spare time, Anna plays bass guitar and enjoys cooking. She has also worked in IT for many years and has a degree in IT, specializing in networks and telecommunications.
