Majda Qaqish for the Gilded Serpent

The Gilded Serpent presents
Majda Qaqish

Majida Anwar* is dancer and instructor in the Atlanta Metro Area. She is also member of the largest and longest continually active Middle Eastern Dance troupe in the state of Georgia: Dancers of the Harem. Middle Eastern dance has been a part of Majida’s life as long as she can remember. Her family is Jordanian, so she grew up with this beautiful dance surrounding her. As a child Majida would watch such famous Egyptian stars as Nagua Fouad, Sohair Zeki, dance to 40 piece orchestras on television just as any other child would watch Saturday morning cartoons.

Majida learned the dance through her family, her aunts in particular who would visit from Jordan. She started formal training at the age of 11, after seeing a belly dancer at the Georgia Renaissance Festival. She began taking as many classes as she could, now that she knew that there was a Middle Eastern dance sub-culture just waiting to embrace her. After a couple of years of training, Majida decided to enrich her dance by conducting intensive study on the many different styles, costumes, music, and rhythms of Middle Eastern dance. She continues these studies today.

Currently Majida teaches beginning belly dance in Marietta, Georgia. She also offers private coaching for the more serious dancer. Majida also was recently in the video Belly Dance Workout! with Rayzahna and Dancers of the Harem.

“Belly dance has given me an understanding of not only my culture and my family, but also who I am, and what I can and will accomplish through hard work, study, and education. One of my personal goals in life is to bring it to the masses, and having it recognized as a true dance discipline.”

Qaqish5@aol.com
www.geocities.com/atlantamedd
www.geocities.com/dancers_of_the_harem

*Majida Anwar (Majda)
P.S. It sounds as if I have about 3 names, doesn't it? Well in reality my legal name is Majda Anwar Qaqish. My grandmother called me Magda, so did my aunt Munira (who lives in Florida). My other aunts (who live in Jordan) refer to me as "Majida", so I used that for my dance name along with my middle names thus creating "Majida Anwar". Whew! Long explanation, lol.