SAHARA DANCE RESIDENT TEACHER

Alma discovered and fell in love with belly dance at the age of 16. She started her career in Mexico, where she specialized in Lebanese style belly dance and performed regularly with live bands at restaurants, weddings, and theaters. Her talent, discipline, and dedication led her to be part of various dancing troupes at a young age, such as Layali Lubnan and Shazadi Dance Troup. As a Middle Eastern dancer, Alma is recognized for her strong improvisation skills, her mastery of veil, zills, Isis wings, and double cane, and for her extensive repertoire that includes Khaleegy, Dabke, and Raqs Al Kawliya dances. Alma has learned from international teachers such as Tito Seif, Randa Kamel, Lebanese Simon, Shahrzad, Amar Lammar, Samara, Valerick Molinary, Jillina, Ansuya, Rania, Aziza, Bozenka, Zahra Zuhair, Yousry Sharif, Amar Gamal, and Saida Helou. Likewise, Alma has developed her unique improvisational-oriented style by training with middle eastern musicians such as Fadi El Saadi, Fady Gebrayel, and Hicham Billouch.

Alma’s passion for dance has led her to expand her training beyond oriental dance to learn Latin, Brazilian, and African dances. Moreover, Alma is a trained percussionist, which reflects on her exceptional musicality. Alma has performed at festivals and private events in Canada, Switzerland, Mexico, and the United States. After spending a couple of years in California, she moved to Washington DC in 2019 and became a member of Sahara Dance’s Raqs Caravan East company, and completed the Sahara Dance Foundations Teacher Training.