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Sallamah |
Instructor Bios
at EDE School of Belly Dancing
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Sallamah |
Sallamah Chimera began studying belly dancing at the University of Florida in 1979, an ambition she acquired as a 10 year-old after seeing a newspaper article on belly dancing. The photo showed a 14 year-old girl dancing with a red veil and Sallamah knew the dance would make her feel mature and feminine. In 1980-83, she continued her studies at Daytona Beach and Valencia Community Colleges and with Azuri Zanarr of Orlando. In 1981, she started teaching at Daytona Beach Community College. In 1997, Seminole Community College hired her to teach at their Sanford/Lake Mary campus. During the summer of 1997, she moved to Gainesville and began teaching at Santa Fe College. Several of the SFC belly dancing classes are now offered at the studio.
In 1987, as part of her commitment to improve the image of belly dancing, Sallamah, returned to college to major in dance and graduated with high honors in 1989. She had a brief opportunity to study with Erick Hawkins, Martha Graham's dance partner. Her studies improved her skills as a teacher and a dancer, giving her a wider range of dance experience to draw upon to assist her students as they learn to dance. She has taken modern dance, jazz, ballet, ballroom, Polynesian, Spanish, and gypsy dance classes to gain a better understanding of world dances.
Sallamah regularly attends dance seminars to expand her knowledge of ethnic dances and to learn new teaching methods. She has studied frequently with nationally recognized masters of the dance: Serena Wilson, Morocco & Tarik, Amaya, Dalia Carella, Cassandra, Dahlena, Phaedra (NYC), Amir, Aegela, Suhailia Salimpour, Suzanna Del Vecchio, Kathryn Ferguson, as well as with, Aziz, Sergio, Laurel Gray, Habiba, Delilah, Margo Abdo O'Dell, Hadia and Beata & Horacio Cifuentes of Germany. She has also studied with some of the leading Egyptian choreographers and dancers like Mahmoud Reda, Dr. Mo Geddawi, and Nadia Hamdi.
Sallamah has had a number of articles published on dance related subjects over the past 30 years. She is a member of the Florida Folk Dance Council, the Florida Association of Belly Dance Artists, the Arts Association of Alachua County, and was a founding member of MEDEA (Middle Eastern Dance Education Association) which sponsored a yearly dance recital with proceeds donated to the Alachua County Humane Society, Inc. She produces Veils & Visions Revue, an annual production showcasing Ethnic Dance Expressions' faculty and students at Oak Hall School in the Edith D. Cofrin Theater.
Sallamah Chimera opened Ethnic Dance Expressions Studio on June, 1, 1999, and fulfilled a lifetime ambition. She teaches beginning, intermediate, advance/troupe, technique and mature women's belly dance classes as well as dance aerobics and workshops for costume making, veils, canes, etc. Her goals are to have teachers from other fields of ethnic dance teach and perform at the studio. She also directs the Ethnic Dance Expressions Ensemble, a student and professional dance troupe.
Nahimeh
Joon
Instructor of
Prenatal, Baby & Teen Belly,
Belly Dance Aerobics
and Zumba classes at
Ethnic Dance
Expressions Studio
Dancing: 13+ years
Teaching: 5 years
Teacher
Professional Dancer
Nahimeh Joon is of Iranian descent and a recent graduate from New College of Florida Honors College with a degree in biology. She taught Belly Dancing at the College's Fitness Center. She recently moved to Gainesville to pursue her Masters degree in Public Health at UF. She will be teaching Baby Belly (Mommy & Me), Jingling Joonams (Teens), Prenatal Belly Dance, Belly Dance Aerobics, and Zumba classes here at Ethnic Dance Expressions Studio.
Nahimeh has been performing most of her life--she sings opera as well as dances. She has been a student of belly dancing for 13 years, dancing professionally for 6 years, and teaching for 5 years. She studied with Donna Marie in Tarpon Springs, Nirvanna and Misha in Sarasota, Amaya, and Ansuya of BellyDance SuperStars. She has worked and danced at Camp Shalom and at various weddings, special events and workshops. Naomi finds comfort in self-expression and encourages her students to do likewise. Her style is Greek, Turkish, and Lebanese with Persian influences. Some of her specialties are veil, sword, Isis wings, candles, and fire fans. www.jinglingjoonam.moonfruit.com
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"Ayla" |
Ayla has taken a break from belly
dancing to enjoy her grandson and pursue jewelry making.
Her interest in
exotic rhythms began in her early childhood, listening to her
Mother's collection of Hawaiian, Polynesian and Tahitian
music. In her late teens, she was instantly attracted to the
art of belly dancing upon seeing her first live performance
with a professional belly dancer. The dancer's hypnotic and
mesmerizing movements combined with the exotic music and
costumes were all that were needed to entice Ayla to embark
upon a continuing pursuit of this dance form.
Since her first dance classes in Seminole, Florida at Eva
McKeon's dance studio to teaching beginner classes at Ethnic Dance
Expressions Studio, she has had the opportunity
to dance at various events and celebrations. Among them are:
Student nights at Middle Eastern clubs; charitable events;
health institutions; schools; birthdays; an Egyptian wedding;
art festivals; and haflas.
She has attended seminars taught by the following nationally
known instructors: Aziz, Amaya, Dahlena, Dalia Carella,
Kathryn Ferguson, Jihan Jimal, Margo Abdo O'Dell, Dr. Mo
Geddawi, and Phaedra. Ayla
is also a
member of the Bay Area Middle Eastern Dance Association in
Pinellas County, Florida. She has studied and performed
Middle Eastern dance for more than 18 years and brings her
individual style to Studio students. Ayla, teaches Belly Dancing I on
Wednesday's evenings from 5:45 until 7:15 PM and
is one of the original members of Ethnic dance
Expressions Ensemble.
B
2001-2011 Sallamah Chimera
