Every month we will be spotlighting a dancer in Westchester county. This month, our spotlight turns to NAHLA!
Nahla has practiced Middle Eastern dance for ten years and has studied with various teachers such as Amira Iriz, Aszmara, Samantha Diaz and Oreet Schwartz, creator of SharQui, the Bellydance Workout. She has received teacher trainings from Tamalyn Dallal of Bellydance Superstars and Kaeshi Chai of Bellyqueen. Most recently she became a certified SharQui instructor. Her specialties includes Classical Egyptian, Raqs Asaya (Saidi cane dance), and use of various props such as fan veils. She enjoys all kinds of Middle Eastern dance and other forms of bellydance but her true love is Egyptian style. Nahla has performed throughout various venues in NYC, Long Island, and Westchester County such as Tagine, Tapas, Tosca, Modern, Hash-o-Nash, and Vintage, just to name a few. She is affiliated with Westchester-based Bellydancers for Charity headed by Leslie Howard and Long Island-based Shimmies for Life headed by Mishaal.
A big part of the reason why Nahla wants to promote and teach Bellydance (as its commonly known) is to show the public the cultural context of this dance and to see how accessible it is. Her hope is help the general public understand the context so this dance will get the respect it deserves. Bellydance expresses joy and happiness which drives her. And joy and happiness can be accessible to everybody! The benefits of learning this are numerable as they are enjoyable! One can get in touch with her feminine side, learn about a different culture, boost her self-esteem and give much needed time to herself and time with the girls! The physical benefits include toning and strengthening the core, learning new awareness for the body, balance, coordination and overall fitness.
Currently Nahla performs at various shows sponsored by local bellydancers and is teaching SharQui, the Bellydance Workout at Love Dance & Fitness located in White Plains, NY
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