World Dance

One of my passions in life is dancing. I was encouraged to dance and have been dancing since I was four.I owe my inspiration to my Mother, who dances Persian beautifully, my youngest Aunt, who taught me the basics of Arabic, and my childhood friend Neda, who would spend hours on end dancing with me in her room.

Dance of Tajikistan

I truly believe that expressing oneself through body movements to music is a great way to let off steam, boost confidence, and just feel all around great about yourself and your body!

When I find a dance that I love, I make it a point to perfect the art and use/fuse movements from the dance into my own style of dancing. So whether I’m performing a highly structured Samba at a Latin gathering or just moving to a beat at a club, world dances certainly play a large role in my life.

Flamenco Dance of Spain

Here are some dances I know (and am pretty good at):

-Persian (Iranian & Tajiki)
-Azerbaijani/Armenian
-Arabic – Belly Dance
-Samba
-Merengue
-Bachata
-Swing

Samba

Belly Dance

Here are some dances I’d love to learn:
-Various dances of Africa
-Salsa
-Quick Step
-Flamenco
-Kurdish / Syrian Debka
-Dances of Columbia
-Hip Hop

Dance of the Caucus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia)

Contemporary Dance

If you’re not a dancer, I hope this page inspires you to at least learn a bit about dancing and how truly important it has been in world cultures from keeping people from depression in times of war, to the symbolism it has in cultures across the world.