Our Faculty
The faculty at Sahara Dance is committed to a shared vision of teaching belly dance as an art form. Our faculty works from a standardized
curriculum, emphasizing strong technique, individual expression
and contextual awareness of Middle Eastern dance and music. While each
teacher has a unique style, our shared syllabus ensures a
comprehensive approach to belly
dance instruction.
We uphold the highest standards for the study and practice of belly
dance as a cultural dance form and an emerging experimental genre.
All faculty members teaching the Sahara Dance curriculum have
completed the following professional training:
* Sahara Dance Foundations Teacher training with Rachel Kay Brookmire, Karim Nagi and guest artists (80 hours)
* Journey through Egypt 1 (JtE) certification with dance ethnologist, Sahra Saeeda, MA, UCLA (20 hours)
* Journey through Egypt 2 (JtE) certification with dance ethnologist, Sahra Saeeda, MA, UCLA (20 hours)
* Sahara Dance Teaching Assistantships
* Continuing Education: weekly training and ongoing master classes
Allyson hopes to share with her students the joy of belly dance and the unique, individual expressions it generates. Years of experience as a college instructor have shaped her energy and flexibility in the classroom. and she is honored to be part of the artistry of Sahara Dance.
Ami has studied dance for more than ten years and brings an understanding of balance, rhythm and energy to American Tribal Style belly dance and Raqs Sharqi. She is the co-director of Sahara Tribal and the director of Raqs Caravan West and Raquettes Tribal. She is currently teaching 5 weekly classes in tribal, tribal fusion with sword and raqs sharqi.
Sidqi (Brad Sidwell) has more than 25 years experience playing darabuka for belly dance and teaching classes and workshops in darabuka technique and rhythm. He has experience with Balkan and Middle Eastern drumming techniques, and a special interest in Turkish and Macedonian Romany rhythms ...
Brianne sought out belly dance classes after experiencing the beauty and unique expressiveness offered through this art form. She has been studying and dancing at Sahara Dance ever since.
Chiaki is a professional dancer who specializes in modern Egyptian belly dance. Drawing on her background in classical ballet, she brings grace and musicality to her dance and choreography. ...
Drawn to the grace and beauty of raqs sharqi and the spontaneity of American
Tribal Style, Dee Dee teaches and performs both traditional and tribal belly
dance. She brings an understanding of balance, posture and alignment to her
teaching from years of training in Anusara yoga...
Ebony performs both traditional raqs sharqi and her own dynamic fusion bellydance style, which is fueled by her background in both raqs sharqi and urban dance genres.
A talented and accomplished composer and performer, Hicham El Anmari started his musical career at the age of 14 in the capital of Morocco. His love for music took him to music school and soon after he was playing in concerts, night clubs and weddings ...
Jennifer has danced all her life, though she found her home with the soulful richness of belly dance (raqs sharqi). In addition to her raqs sharqi studies, she has trained extensively in classical ballet and jazz as well as intensive study of Sivinanda & Vinyasa yoga.
Adjunct Faculty
Karim Nagi is a native Egyptian who specializes in traditional Arabic music. Karim developed and currently performs Turbo Tabla : a music and dance show that combines traditional Arabic and Turkish music with modern Electronica and Techno.
Laura's interest in the arts and abstract thinking led her to explore belly dance as a creative outlet. Laura finds belly dance to be the best physical and mental therapy and hopes all women will discover its holistic joyfulness.
Laura began studying raqs sharqi with Autumn Leah Ward, and continued studying primarily with Rachel Kay Brookmire. Laura has been influenced by her studies with Saphira, Elysa and Faten Salama. Laura is entranced by both the subtlety and organic grace of raqs sharqi, and the bolder, evolving styles of tribal belly dance ...
Leila has been performing and teaching with Sahara Dance since its inception and has enjoyed the various roles she has had as part of the studio. She is dedicated to sharing the joy of belly dance with her students and helping them achieve their goals for performance, health, and having fun.
Melissa has studied belly dance for several years with Rachel Kay Brookmire and founding members of the Sahara Dance faculty. She has completed the Sahara Dance Foundations Teacher Training program and participated in several teaching assistantships. Sahara Dance’s community of rich and soulful women has drawn her further into this beautiful art form.
Michele looks forward to sharing her love of belly dance with her students and strives to make her classes both fun and instructive. Michele is inspired by the graceful, expressive styling of Raqs Sharqi as well as the experimental and ethnic fusion styling of American Tribal Style belly dance.
Born in Colombia, Monica's desire to study belly dance started out of curiosity and has evolved into an exploration of dance interpretation and femininity.
Co-founder of Shakra in 2002, Na'la's choreography and personal style came out of a fusion of all her past experiences including ballet/tap/jazz, cheerleading and talent show choreography, African, Bhangra, Hip Hop and Modern.
Adjunct Faculty
Rachel Brice is a contemporary innovator in Tribal Fusion Style Belly Dance based in San Francisco. She is the co-director (with Mardi Love) for The Indigo Belly Dance Company and a frequent performer with the Bellydance Superstars.
Rachel Kay Brookmire is the founder and director of Sahara Dance and a professional Oriental dance artist and instructor. A sought-after performer in the Washington DC region, Rachel specializes in modern Egyptian raqs sharqi. Her playful performance style is shimmy-rich and lyrical ...
Adjunct Faculty
Sahra has performed and taught Egyptian-style Orientale and Folkloric dance on five continents. Originally from the Los Angeles, California area, Sahra lived, danced, and researched in Egypt from 1989 to 1995. Since then, she has been teaching and performing Egyptian and Folkloric dance around the world.
