ABOUT ZAHRA ZUHAIR
Professional Dancer and Instructor of Raqs Sharqi in Los Angeles, CA
Mission Statement
The art of Raqs Sharqi won my heart in the early 1970’s. It has led me on many amazing journeys around the world and has allowed me to live out my vision as a dance artist, choreographer, teacher and mentor. After 4 decades I am still in awe and humbled by the beauty and magic of this timeless dance, the deliciously hypnotic music, and the transformational journey it has taken me on. I feel it is my calling as a teacher to pass along my knowledge to my students. It is my duty to educate, mentor and guide the dancers who walk through my door. It is my passion to help them find themselves within the dance. My mission is not to create fantasy and feelings of false accomplishment, but to wipe the glitter from the eyes of the student and help them truly grow as creative beings.
About
International performer, luminary instructor, and choreographer, Zahra is globally renowned for her knowledge, authenticity, and dedication to the art of Middle Eastern dance (bellydance). Raised in raqs sharqi from a young age, Zahra is known for her musicality, flawless technique, and elegant style. She has trained and influenced many of today’s international stars!
Zahra began her dance Journey in Columbus, Ohio and has studied many styles of dance from a young age, but fell in love with the dances of North Africa and the Middle East in the early 1970’s. She enthusiastically studied the traditional music and dance styles of Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, and the Saudi Arabian Gulf States.
She began a specialization in Egyptian dance with her first study tour to Egypt in 1979, studying with Cairo’s top teachers such as, Ibrahim Akef, Mahmoud Reda, Farida Fahmy and Raqia Hassan, Dandash, Dina, and many others. Zahra has had the good fortune to see (and study with) first hand, nearly four decades of the great dancers of Egypt.
Zahra relocated to Los Angeles CA in 1984 and continued her study and love of Egyptian dance. She began conducting study tours to Egypt, the motherland of the dance, under the name Magical Mystical Egypt.
She is the founder and artistic director of the Ghazella Dance Company, and has written, directed and choreographed theatre productions intertwining Middle Eastern stories and dance, under the name PoNaNa Dance Theatre (loosely meaning a blend of many things) since 1997. Her productions include, Layla and Majnun, The Veils of Inanna, Caravan of Secrets, Tapestry, and Journey - In Search of the Divine.
She has staged many folkloric and oriental shows, including a concert for the revered Egyptian composer, Sayed Makawi.
Zahra loves to share her enthusiasm of music and dance, entertaining and educating audiences of all ages. From 1994 - 2000, Zahra’s PoNaNa Dance Theatre collaborated with Gulistan Dance Theatre in creating Silk and Sand (Dances of the Silk Road and the Arab World) an educational program for children, presented by Performing Tree, LAUSD’s (Los Angeles Unified School District) Intergroup Cultural Awareness Program (ICAP), and the Glendale Arts Commission.
Zahra’s Dance Camps in the mountains of Idyllwild, CA, have been a favorite event for many years. Her dance camps sparked the creation of Artistry In Motion (AIM), a dance intensive and dancers symposium for the continuing development of oriental dance excellence. Zahra continues her dance retreats now in Southern Ohio! Ya Helwa Dance Retreat
In 2007 Zahra co-founded DanceGardenLA Dance Studio in Los Angeles, CA, with dancer, Jenna (formerly of New York). DanceGardenLA continues to serve the bellydance community today with new owners, Lauren and Heather.
Los Angeles, CA. was Zahra’s home base from 1984 - 2019, where she has been (and still is) one of LA’s most esteemed teachers. Her always-evolving style keeps students, old and new, coming back for more.
Zahra recently relocated to her hometown of Columbus, Ohio, and conducts classes in Westerville, Ohio.
Zahra Quotes
Music is why we dance. Always dance to the music, with the music, and only because of the music. Watching a dancer show off tricky complex moves one after another, just to try to wow the audience is like watching someone do aerobics. It becomes nothing more than an exercise drill. The simplest movement can be brilliant when executed beautifully, in perfect harmony with music. ~Zahra
A great dancer accomplishes a harmonious blend of strength, elegance, high technical ability, and musicality, all the while appearing a seamless, effortless vision. A great artist acquires all of these skills, yet with that acquisition comes the realization the journey has just begun. ~Zahra