The Gilded Serpent presents...
Arabia
Arabia holds degrees in Fine Art, Art History, and Ciritical Theory & Visual Culture. She works as a graphic designer for a Northern California performing arts presenter and as a freelance writer/art critic/creative consultant. She has also performed and taught in a variety of dance styles, and is a certified fitness instructor.
Safiya
Living and working on an infant-maternal nutritional field project with pastoralists in Tanzania years ago helped to inform her appreciation of indigenous art and ritual practices, and inspired her to continue an exploration of diverse ethnic and folkloric dance forms. In cultivating her passion for classical Oriental Dance, she has taken classes and workshops with some of the most revered Oriental teachers, including Raqia Hassan, Leila Haddad, Morocco, Momo Kadous, Dahlena, Jehan Kamal, Margo Abdo O'Dell, Suhaila Salimpour, Jamilla al Wahid, Samasem, Zahra Zuhair, Yousry Sharif, Beata & Horacio Cifuentes, and, of course, Jillina.
Committed to interdisciplinary endeavors, Arabia is currently working on a multimedia installation-based performance art project, exploring themes of gender, feminism, trauma, memory, society & culture in an effort to contextualise her experiences in both Oriental and Western dance forms, and from the perspective of being a new mom. She lives in Sacramento with her husband and daughter, Safiya.
Web site:www.raqsarabia.com
Articles on Gilded Serpent by or about Arabia
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4-15-04
An
American Belly Dancer: The Significance of Jillina
It seems quite evident that it wasn't Jillina's motivation to become the Superstar title which now precedes her -- that she is, in fact, just doing what she loves, being who she truly is, working hard at it -- and the rest sort of fell into her hands.
