The phenomenon that is Suhaila Salimpour has its roots in the cultures
of her ancestors. Her mother, Jamila Salimpour, pioneered Middle
Eastern dance in the United States. Her father, Ardeshir Salimpour,
was a skilled Persian drummer.
This dynamic background set the stage for Suhaila's emergence as
one of the world's most sought-after  performers,
teachers and choreographers of traditional Middle Eastern dance.
Today, Suhaila Productions creates instructional and performance
videos for all dance levels, as well as fully-orchestrated Middle
Eastern dance musicals and CD recordings of the latest percussion
artists.
Schooled from an early age in jazz, tap and ballet, Suhaila began
integrating her extensive classical training with the Middle Eastern
dance passed on by her mother. The result was a true artistic breakthrough,
as exciting as it was unique. Suhaila's performances expressed the
emotions, soul and rhythms of ancient dance, influenced by the discipline
and structure of modern forms.
As her reputation grew, Suhaila began teaching and performing her
unique art throughout the U.S. and Europe. Her reception in the
Middle East where she was frequently compared in the media to some
of the greatest dancers in the Arab world-was nothing short of astonishing.
She holds the distinction of being the first American belly dancer to
be interviewed on Arab-American Television.
In the U.S., Suhaila appeared on television series such as Fame and Max Headroom
and choreographed various music videos. For six years, she was the
featured dancer
at Byblos, a prestigious Arabic nightclub in Los Angeles, where
she shared the stage with the most renowned singers of the Middle
East. Miles Copeland, owner of IRS records, prominently featured
Suhaila in his 2005 documentary, American Bellydancer. Comedian
Margaret Cho is currently producing and directing a documentary
about Suhaila, and producing Suhaila's one-woman show.
Suhaila's singular vision can be seen today in the Suhaila Dance
Company, formed in 1996, for
which she serves as artistic director. In 2000, Suhaila revived
her mother's dance company,
Bal Anat, the world's first tribal-style belly dance company. Suhaila
is the artistic director and
producer of Sheherezade, an acclaimed performing arts spectacle
that mixes belly dance with the synchronization of Riverdance, the
pounding rhythms of Stomp and the aerial artistry of Cirque du Soleil.
For Sheherezade, Suhaila was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance
Award ("Izzie")-making her the first performer in the
belly dance genre to receive this prestigious nomination.
In addition to touring North America and Europe, Suhaila maintains
her second-generation family business, the Suhaila Salimpour School
of Dance, in Berkeley, California. Suhaila has developed and implemented
the first-available certification program in Middle Eastern dance.
The five-level curriculum can be purchased in print or on DVD. Most
recently, Suhaila has released Bellydance Fitness Fusion, a series
of DVDs that take the viewer through a journey of innovative exercise
styles and beautiful performances by the Suhaila Dance Company.
Suhaila looks forward to expanding the audience for and appreciation
of traditional Middle Eastern dance in a distinctly contemporary
style.
Download
a full Professional History here.
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