Denise | Saba | Mary | Melissa | Rosanna | Valizan | Lisa | Irina | Laura | Hiba | Guest teachers

Yasmina Ramzy

Yasmina Ramzy is Artistic Director and Choreographer for Arabesque Academy and Arabesque Dance Company. For more information about Yasmina, see her biography page.

Denise

Denise began studying Middle Eastern Dance in 1987. Since then she has explored various forms of dance, such as Brazilian, African, modern, flamenco, improvisation and Skinner Releasing. She has been a member of Arabesque Dance Company since 1992 and performed with Yasmina Ramzy in Greece and Lebanon. Denise has also been involved with Candid Stammer Theatre Company, performing in fFida, Rhubard festival, and festivals in Montreal and Calgary.

Saba

Saba was moved by the beauty of music, dance, and different cultures since her childhood in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia. This led her to be bent on the exploration of various dances as well as the preservation, creation, and fusion of African dance forms. With a background in Ethiopian dance, Saba has furthered her training and performing in dance forms such as Congolese Soukous & N'Dombolo, West African, hip hop, and bellydance with Franklin & Marshall College African Dance Group (USA). Imani Edu-tainers (USA), Arabesque Academy, DLM, Cottage dancers, and more. Saba is currently a dancer and performer for Nouvel Expose Dance Troupe, as well as an apprentice with Arabesque Dance Company.

Mary

Mary's interest in bellydancing began at a young age while attending Greek bellydance dinner theatre performances with her family. Mary has studied Middle Eastern dance exclusively at Arabesque Academy with teachers Audra and Mayada. Mary trained intensively with Yasmina Ramzy, participating in classes, workshops and Teacher Instructional programs. Mary is a member of Arabesque Dance Company and fulfills her passion for teaching Middle Eastern dance at Arabesque Academy.

Melissa

Melissa began her formal dance training in Ballet with six years of study at the Canadian Conservatory of Dance in Toronto. Her love of dance has led her to explore various dance styles such as Folk, Latin, Modern and eventually classical Raks-Sharqi. Melissa began training in Middle Eastern dance at the age of 16 with instructor Raven Crow and is continuing to refine and master her technique at Arabesque Academy with instructors Yasmina Ramzy, Emese and Mary. She has also had the pleasure of studying with famous Egyptian dancers Momo Kadous, Tito, and Aida Nour. Her newest venture in Middle Eastern arts is learning to play the Dumbek (Arabic drum) with instructor Suleiman Warwar. Melissa started her apprenticeship with Arabesque Dance Company in 2005, and was proud to be a part of their most recent production, Asala.

Rosanna

Rosanna started bellydancing in 2002 with Amelia Moore of Seattle and continued studying with Yasmina Ramzy in 2003. She joined the Arabesque Dance Company and started teaching at Arabesque Academy in 2006. Rosanna studies Suhaila Salimpour format and has become particularly interested tribal fusion style bellydance, which she enjoys choreographing and performing. She has been particularly inspired by Rachel Brice, Sharon Kihara, Ultra Gypsy, Frederique, and Unmata. She has also been a guest teacher at Mad for Dance Studio and choreographed the Miss World Canada 2006 Pageant.

Valizan

Valizan began his journey into Middle Eastern dance in 1995 when he joined The Society For Creative Anachronism, an educational group that learns about the Middle Ages by recreating it. Teachers Rayah Blackstar and Moria The Black instilled basic technique, while classes with the sublime Roula Said took him to a new plateau. Current influences include Fat Chance Bellydance, Jillina, Rachel Brice, Francisco Carranza and Aziz of Salt Lake City.

As one of few male Bellydancers in North America, he has become a sought after solo performer and teacher across Canada and The U.S. for his powerful style and energy. He also heads up his own troupe, Shades Of Araby. Local appearances include Tribally Inspired, Northern Migration, The Dark Side, Face Zenna at the Royal Ontario Museum and The Bewitching Bellydance Ball.

He began teaching American Tribal Style Bellydance at Arabesque Academy in 2004, and became an apprentice in the Arabesque Dance Company in November 2005 when he began training in Egyptian Folklore with Yasmina Ramzy. Valizan also holds a degree from The Ryerson School of Journalism. The learning continues...

Lisa

Lisa began her formal dance training in ballet at the tender age of five. She studied at the National Ballet School of Canada as well as the Children's dance program at York University's Fine Arts Department. After falling in love with Middle Eastern Dance, she began studying exclusively at Arabesque Academy in 2003. Over the years she has had the privilege of studying with Momo Kadous, Yasmina Ramzy, Audra Simmons, Denise Mireau, Emese Dosa, Mary Petsoulas and Aida Nour. Lisa is thrilled to be part of Arabesque Dance Company.

Irina

Inspired by her travels and her love of music, Irina discovered her passion for Bellydance in 2003. Determined to explore the power and beauty of dance, she began her studies at Arabesque Academy, and since then has been studying with teachers Denise, Mary, and Artistic Director Yasmina Ramzy. Realizing how empowering this art form is for women, Irina decided to change the focus in her academic studies from film to womenís studies and anthropology, and is currently completing her Bachelor of Arts at York University. She recently became part of Arabesque Dance Company, and also teaches and performs as a soloist in venues around Toronto.

Laura

A graduate of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Laura first discovered Middle Eastern Dance when she was fifteen. Her love of this art form has taken her to Turkey, India, and all over Canada. She has studied with renowned artists including Aziza, Suhalia Salimpour and Ansuya, having been most influenced by Hadia and Yasmina Ramzy as well as Arabesque's Mary, Emese and Denise. Laura also continues to explore Latin, Hip-hop and Odissi Indian Classical Dance. Performance highlights include the Miss Pakistan World Competition, performances in Istanbul and India, and many weddings, restaurants and events in Toronto as well as Nova Scotia.

Hiba Al-Kinani

Hiba, as an Arab-Canadian, had always had an interest in the unusual and exotic Middle Eastern Arts, particularly what is commonly referred to as Belly Dance.

When she was fifteen she began studying with top-professional and principle dancer of Arabesque Dance Company, Kara Culp-Wenman.

Hiba continued to take regular classes and private lessons with Kara along with workshops with some of North America's best Middle Eastern Artists such as Yasmina Ramzy, Artistic Director of Arabesque Dance Company, Mayada and Roula Said of the Toronto Belly Dance Collective, Samara, Phaedra, and Jajouka of the Ibrahim Farrah School of Middle Eastern Dance in New York, Hadia of Calgary, dumbek drumming with Sheldon Valeda, dumbek with master drummers Amer Matri and Suleiman Warwar of Arabesque Dance Company.

In January 2002, Hiba founded the Hibatellah School of Middle Eastern Dance, which started with one Middle Eastern Dance class per week with an average of four people. The school is now known as Rakasseh Studio: School of Cultural Dance Arts, which offers seven to ten Middle Eastern Dance Classes per week with an average of 10 students in each class.

Rakasseh Studio also hosts regular Middle Eastern Dance workshops as well as African Dance and Yoga, with hopes to offer Thai Chi, Modern Dance, and Pilates in the future.

Samara

Samara is a graduate of Ryerson University's Dance Program in the teaching stream. This follows a long history of dance training, having studied various dance forms such as ballet, modern, tap and jazz since the age of seven. Samara began studying Middle Eastern dance with Yasmina Ramzy in 1998 and became a member of Arabesque Dance Company in 2000. She also enjoys choreographing and teaches hip-hop, jazz and creative dance, as well at art classes.

Hally

Hally, born in Western China, has been dancing since age eleven. She earned her University Diploma in Middle Eastern and Central Asian Dance, and specializes in Bellydancing, Ballet, Urghur, Ozbeck, Kasack and Modern Dance. Hally has toured professionally and extensively throughout Tibet, Mongolia, Canada, China, Thailand, Russia, Malaysia, Turkmanistan and Japan.

Dr. George Sawa

George Sawa was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1947. He studied Classical Arabic music at the Higher Institute for Arabic Music specializing in qanun (arabic psaltery), Arabic theory and classical singing. After immigrating to Canada in 1970, he studied ethnomusicology and obtained his doctorate in historical Arabic musicology at the University of Toronto. His research in medieval Arabic music concentrates on performance and rhythmic theories. George Sawa has given numerous concerts and lecture demonstrations at universities, museums and art galleries in Europe and North America. As well, he is frequently invited to international conferences for presentations and lectures on various aspects of medieval and modern Arabic music.

At present, he is directing the Centre for Studies in Middle Eastern Music. The Centre is a private institute devoted to research in Arabic music, as well as a school which offers private and group instruction in vocal music, theory and the following Arabic instruments: qanun, nay (flute), darabukka (goblet drum), riqq, mizhar, duff (tambourines), and sagat (finger cymbals).

Since 1995, George has been collaborating with Yasmina Ramzy as musical director of Arabesque Dance Company. Mr. Sawa has transcribed, arranged, conducted and performed music for Arabesque's productions Nedaa El Nil, Descent of Ishtar, and In Search of the Almeh and has trained various singers and musicians for Arabesque's orchestra.

Suleiman Warwar

Suleiman Warwar was born in Nazareth, Palestine in 1977. He began playing Arabic Tablah, or dumbek, at age 6. The self-taught musician was the lead dumbek player in his high school orchestra in Nazareth and performed traditional and modern musical pieces around the country. Suleiman immigrated to Canada in 1995, where he was introduced to Latin American, African, Turkish, and many other types of music. As well as traditional Arabic percussion, including dumbek, duff, katim, and riq, Suleiman also plays bongos, congas, and djembe. His innovative style of drumming has led him to play with such artists as Bassam Bishara, George Wasouf, and in various peace movement events. Suleiman also teaches Middle Eastern, African, and South American drumming through the Toronto Board of Education. He is now the lead dumbek player for Arabesque Dance Company and is working on his CD for release in fall 2004, titled "Beyond Rhythm".