"Belly dance has changed my life in ways I never imagined."

My own journey into the world of Middle Eastern dance began in the mid-90's. Though I've mostly performed as a solo dancer, my troupe, "Daughters of Anket" performs at event around the Bay.

I teach private and group homes our of my home studio in Richmond, CA and teach group classes at the Albany Recration Center in Albany, CA.

Currently I am working with an organization that brings dancers into convalescent home, bring performances

Under my direction, Raks al Tasneem has performed at numerous venues. From intimate spaces like the Berkeley Repretory Theatre to the large outdoor stage at Dykefest 2004 & 2005 with an estimated audience of over 50,000, the Solano Street Fair in Albany, the Art & Soul Festival in downtown Oakland, at nursing and convalescent homes through LITA (Love is the Answer).

I and my troup have been invited to present workshops and perform at conferences including the 2005 Bay Area African American Health Summit and The Northern CAlifornia Cancer Center's "Each One Reach One: Working Together to Make a Change, Rakkassah West, Desert Dance, Festival Fantasia, Cafe Belli, the KPFA Crafts Fair and a variety of other local and out-of-state venues.

I'm an award winning dancers and also have gotten enjoyment out of teaching seniors at my local center. Though this year I've tailored down my schedule to focus on developing new material and focusing on my troupe and private students.

I encourage my students to continue to learn from different teachers. To that end I have taken some ballet, jazz, modern (tried some Congelese way too much jumping for me) Tango and Flamenco(love the hands & arms) classes.

And, over the years I've taken a variety of workshops most recently completing Sausan's Academy of Egyptian Dance.