Sahara Dance

Our Faculty

Eric Lofhjelm

Eric Lofhjelm

Eric Lofhjelm was born in the 60s, and influenced in his ‘impressionable years’ by pop culture, mainly the heavy guitar driven bands of the 70s. Several significant events in the 80s, most notably the birth of his daughter, inspired personal changes and broadened his musical horizons, to include jazz,psychedelia,and early in-roads to ‘world music’. Playing kit drums in rock bands through the 80s, Eric found new passion in hand drums and world percussion in the early 90s. An informal exploration culminated in his attending the Womad music festival in 2000. Since, he has been narrowing his focus to his current emphasis on Middle Eastern/Northern African rhythms and instruments. A special interest in tribal and fusion styles of belly dance led Eric to attend Tribal Quest NW in 2005. He is influenced by a wide range of traditional and contemporary music. He has been studying with Brad Sidwell and currently teaches beginner doumbec at Sahara Dance in DC.