Sicilian/Greek-American dancer Jamila Salimpour is known for many innovations in belly dance (a dance form also referred to as oriental dance, raqs sharqi, raqs baladi, among others), but is probably best known for her cataloguing and naming of belly dance steps between the 1940s and the 1970s. Many practitioners of the dance form use these [...]
Of course, we're a little biased, but we think that Jamila Salimpour's format revolutionized belly dance practice, teaching, and understanding around the world. Her and her daughter's careful cataloging of steps by dancers from a diverse range of styles and regions has left us with a versatile and comprehensive collection of movements. But when you're [...]
If you’ve been in the Salimpour School for a while, you are probably already familiar with at least some of the choreographies on Unveiled. And if you are newer to the school, we hope that you have at least watched these recorded performances, familiarizing yourself with Suhaila’s body of performance work. If you’ve been belly [...]
By Abigail Keyes (SL5/JL5) In the Beginning: Joumana Jazzes up Belly Dance In 1983, Suhaila Salimpour auditioned for a unique and groundbreaking annual dance event in San Francisco. She presented “Joumana,” the first in a triptych of works she created in collaboration with her mother. These works—“Joumana,” “Maharajan,” and “Hayati”—explore the new musical compositions created [...]
When looking at the total of Suhaila’s recorded performances, you might notice that the “Pharaonic Suite” on the 1988 production Dances for the Sultan is different. The movements are highly stylized, bound, and deliberate. If you are familiar with more “traditional” interpretations of Arabic music, you might also notice that this particular work challenges those [...]
The Ballets Russes was a traveling ballet company founded by Sergei Diaghilev and comprised of highly skilled dancers, most of whom had classical training from Russian Imperial schools in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Company traveled throughout Europe and the United States from 1909 to 1929. The Company breathed new life into ballet by combining [...]
