Interview with Jazmin Sapphire

March 17, 2010 01:41 PM

Name: Jazmin Sapphire

What is your role within the Sahara Dance community? Student, Fan, and wanna-be Urban dancer

Childhood ambition: I wanted to be an Archeologist to help further discover the undiscovered. I was fascinated by the Egyptian & Mayan history and culture.

First job: My first job was an air traffic control signal processor system engineer for the DOD. I worked as the technical lead and the instructor for the DOD.

I know….. pretty boring but it helped me travel and visit different states. I think I have visited over 30 states during my career and 3 foreign countries.

What’s playing on your iPod or CD player? Beyonce Knowles CD, love her sexiness, boldness, and a beautiful powerful voice.

Indulgence: Clothes, shoes, handbags, and designer sportswear. I have so many of them that I have filled two houses with them already. I am really into Louis Vuitton and Coach bags.

What’s your favorite belly dance moment or experience? My favorite belly dance moment was the feeling of great accomplishment when we just walked off the stage after completing our challenging routine to XR2 by Ebony.

I had struggled with this routine from the beginning and realized that I finally nailed it down when I did not make any mistakes while performing the routine during the show. We were so in tuned with each other and with the music.

Current inspirations: I hope to continue my journey with Sahara Dance into more advanced dance methods, and become a more graceful dancer.

What is your dance background? My first dance experience was by chance.

When I was in the 3rd grade, I was picked to be part of this dance show while I was walking down the hall one day. The dance teacher needed one more person to complete her 9 person dance troupe.

Other than that I didn’t start to take dance classes until I became an adult. I took hip hop classes for fun and a belly dance class because I was curious. After the first belly dancing class, I took a belly dance workshop at Sahara. This was 4 years ago and I have been with Sahara ever since then.

How did you get interested in belly dance? I saw Sahara’s first Saharabesque show and was fascinated by the artistic abilities of the dancers. They projected a very positive image of belly dancing as a way of self expression and uniqueness. Also they have shown that women of different races, ages, and sizes are beautiful in their own way, which made me want to be one of them.

Finally, what do you love most about Sahara Dance (other than Hip Talk, of course!)? I cherish the sisterhood community that we have where each women are supportive of each other. We have several impressive women who are both accomplished professionally with their jobs and as dancers. We do learn from and admire each other.

Permalink →