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Musical interpretation and cultural meaning are at the
heart of Egyptian Oriental dance, and form the basis of
Baheyya’s artistic development. Her performances are
rich with the precision, play, and soulful expression
characteristic of Oriental dance, while her
choreography and incendiary improvisational style still
reflect the Andalucian roots and global crossings that
have shaped her as a performer – including the
sophisticated edge of contemporary Cairo.
At the age of 15, Baheyya began an extensive career as
a professional flamenco dancer that spanned the better
part of a decade – and took her to Spain, New York, Los
Angeles, throughout the US on a thirty‐city tour and
into tablaos, theatres and music videos. After living in
Sevilla, Spain, for several years, she began to gravitate
more toward the understated strength and elegant
corporeal aesthetics of Oriental dance.
She joined Adam Basma’s Arabic Dance Company in Los
Angeles, where she stayed for two years, collaborating
with a number of talented artists and gaining
experience in theatre productions, private parties,
countless weddings and other celebrations in the Arab
community. Looking for rigorous and authentic training,
Baheyya spent the summer of 2005 in Cairo, Egypt,
studying intensively with Raqia Hassan, Aida Nour, and
Diana Tarkhan, before moving to Europe to pursue a
graduate degree. During her year‐and‐a‐half in The
Netherlands, she kept a busy schedule as the featured
dancer in the country’s most popular Arabic nightclub,
where she worked several nights a week accompanied
by a live Egyptian band — as well as at various other
exclusive venues around the country.
After graduating, Baheyya returned to Cairo, where she
lived and worked as a dancer (and magazine editor) for
a year. Working with top agents in the Cairo circuit, she
danced at various venues including 5‐star hotel
nightclubs, weddings and private parties. She was also
a featured dancer in Raqia Hassan’s 2007
instructional/performance video (“Volume 9”).
For the moment, Baheyya lives in Los Angeles, where
she teaches weekly classes and performs. A perpetual
student herself, she challenges her dedicated and
ambitious students to push themselves to new levels.
Classes cover intensive technique and drills,
contemporary stylings, musical interpretation,
improvisation and the finer details and aesthetics of
professional dance.
heart of Egyptian Oriental dance, and form the basis of
Baheyya’s artistic development. Her performances are
rich with the precision, play, and soulful expression
characteristic of Oriental dance, while her
choreography and incendiary improvisational style still
reflect the Andalucian roots and global crossings that
have shaped her as a performer – including the
sophisticated edge of contemporary Cairo.
At the age of 15, Baheyya began an extensive career as
a professional flamenco dancer that spanned the better
part of a decade – and took her to Spain, New York, Los
Angeles, throughout the US on a thirty‐city tour and
into tablaos, theatres and music videos. After living in
Sevilla, Spain, for several years, she began to gravitate
more toward the understated strength and elegant
corporeal aesthetics of Oriental dance.
She joined Adam Basma’s Arabic Dance Company in Los
Angeles, where she stayed for two years, collaborating
with a number of talented artists and gaining
experience in theatre productions, private parties,
countless weddings and other celebrations in the Arab
community. Looking for rigorous and authentic training,
Baheyya spent the summer of 2005 in Cairo, Egypt,
studying intensively with Raqia Hassan, Aida Nour, and
Diana Tarkhan, before moving to Europe to pursue a
graduate degree. During her year‐and‐a‐half in The
Netherlands, she kept a busy schedule as the featured
dancer in the country’s most popular Arabic nightclub,
where she worked several nights a week accompanied
by a live Egyptian band — as well as at various other
exclusive venues around the country.
After graduating, Baheyya returned to Cairo, where she
lived and worked as a dancer (and magazine editor) for
a year. Working with top agents in the Cairo circuit, she
danced at various venues including 5‐star hotel
nightclubs, weddings and private parties. She was also
a featured dancer in Raqia Hassan’s 2007
instructional/performance video (“Volume 9”).
For the moment, Baheyya lives in Los Angeles, where
she teaches weekly classes and performs. A perpetual
student herself, she challenges her dedicated and
ambitious students to push themselves to new levels.
Classes cover intensive technique and drills,
contemporary stylings, musical interpretation,
improvisation and the finer details and aesthetics of
professional dance.
WORKSHOP WITH BAHEYYA: MODERN CAIRO STYLE Sunday, May 17th at DanceGarden Click here! |
Baheyya says:
Raqs sharqi is like any other highly developed
form – it demands a great deal of discipline
and artistic sensibility. The best choreography
in the world is nothing without technique; but
technique is just the beginning, a vocabulary
we perpetually develop to enhance our
interpretation and expression of the music.
A highly specific cultural art form, Egyptian
Oriental dance is rooted in history and
tradition – it has an origin, a location; a place
where it lives and breathes. Those roots
should inform your practice. That said, the
dancer who can ground herself in the wisdom
of the past while responding to the aesthetic
evolution of the music and culture is in a good
position to progress and flourish artistically.
In other words: Train relentlessly, know your
roots, and challenge yourself by pushing the
boundaries.
Raqs sharqi is like any other highly developed
form – it demands a great deal of discipline
and artistic sensibility. The best choreography
in the world is nothing without technique; but
technique is just the beginning, a vocabulary
we perpetually develop to enhance our
interpretation and expression of the music.
A highly specific cultural art form, Egyptian
Oriental dance is rooted in history and
tradition – it has an origin, a location; a place
where it lives and breathes. Those roots
should inform your practice. That said, the
dancer who can ground herself in the wisdom
of the past while responding to the aesthetic
evolution of the music and culture is in a good
position to progress and flourish artistically.
In other words: Train relentlessly, know your
roots, and challenge yourself by pushing the
boundaries.
