I have dedicated the last 15 years to teaching and promoting Middle Eastern Dance both in South Australia and overseas.  I have an Associate Diploma in Early Childhood education (LUC Beirut), B.A Media Communications (LAU), and am currently completing a graduate degree in Professional Writing and Internet Communications (Curtin University).

I migrated to Australia in the early 90s and naturally my unbridled passion for our Baladi Dance came with me. To this day, it  is what most epitomises my Middle Eastern spirit. My whole life this dance has been both home and identity as my displaced family and I roamed the earth’s continents.

My formal dance training began in Lebanon with an involvement in the local folkloric dance scene. I attended weekly training sessions with various folkloric dance groups and never missed an opportunity to perform. In my late teens, I was lucky enough to train with Middle Eastern Dance icon Nadia Gamal, at her dance institute in Eastern Beirut.

I consider myself blessed to have been part of a generation that witnessed the golden era of Middle Eastern Classical dance. Living in the Middle East at that time, allowed me to be trained and entertained by some of our greatest. Despite the turmoil and ravages of war, I would do it all again just to be able to speak my native tongue and experience my dance heritage from such an authentic and emotional place.

In 2001, and under the patronage of Nayima Hassan, I was given the opportunity to share my passion and heritage through her Belly Dance Academy in Adelaide. For the next four years, I taught, performed, and organised events, both locally and overseas.

In February, 2005, I finally realised my dream of opening my own dance center. In doing this, I hoped to bridge an ever widening divide between East and West. I am a strong believer that education and knowledge can help dispel misconceptions and mitigate sterotypes.

Dancing and music are a pure reflection of a people and their culture. To know Middle Eastern dance and music is to know the heart of the East and the passion and beauty that beats beneath the turmoil and politics.

“The truest expression of a people lies in its dance and its music. Bodies never lie.”                                            ~Agnes De Mille~