SAHARA DANCE RESIDENT TEACHER

Malina has been training in Middle Eastern dance since 2006 including traditional Egyptian and Turkish cabaret styles, folkloric styles and fusion. She has also studied latin dance styles, hip hop, jazz, contemporary, South Asian classical and folk dances. While she enjoys traditional styles, she also experiments with fusion techniques and enjoys creating innovative choreography, especially with South Asian dances while she learned while growing up in the region.

Malina has performed in a number of events in the DC area including Sahara Dance events, Cherry Blossom Festival, Fiesta Asia, Travel Expo and a number of private events. She has also performed in Boston where she danced regularly with a troupe. She has been a member of Raqs Caravan East, Raquettes Latin and Raquettes Tribal Fusion and trained with teachers including Rachel Kay Brookmire, Jennifer Tether, Julie Athie and a number of Sahara faculty. She has also completed the Sahara Dance Teacher Training and some of her other teachers have included internationally recognized belly dance artists. Malina enjoys studying the emotional and contextual aspects of Middle Eastern dance.