| The Arab-esque Dance Concert features a talented cast of choreographers and dancers contributing to the theme of the show through predominately new work created for the show. | |
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Juliette
Arroyo, Artistic Director and Producer (see Arabesque Dancers for bio) |
| Choreographers | |
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Rei Aoo began with ballet at the age of five, spent four years with Hara Creative Ballet Lab and eight years with Kawazoe Ballet in Japan. During her tenure at Kawazoe Ballet she taught students of all ages and performed in productions such as Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and La Bayadere as a principal dancer. She has choreographed for music videos and unlimited live concert works. Her acting credits include more than ten original musicals and NHK TV dramas as well as voice-overs for major motion pictures such as Marvin's Room, The Hours, and Chicago. Her knowledge and ties to the Los Angeles dance community led to the establishment of the Rei Aoo's Dance Planet company. As a dance performer, teacher and creator, she strives to create an environment geared to giving dancers, choreographers and other performing artists a vehicle to express themselves as well as bring their talents to the community. www.reiaoodanceplanet.com |
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Deborah
Brockus has been called an "impresario" by the LA Times because of her involvement in the dance scene as a choreographer, teacher and producer. She is the artistic director for the Brockus Project Dance Company founded in 1991, which operates as a self-contained company. Her style of choreography reflects both European and East and West Coast training, and blurs the line between modern and jazz. She teaches nationally and internationally at the pre-professional level with students going to the top five colleges in America, and working in national dance companies. She is the producer for the Horton award- winning Spectrum Dance in LA, New Perspectives High School Invitational, Split: Dance In & Out of LA, and Master Class Series with companies such as Hubbard Street, Alvin Ailey, Lines Contemporary, Paul Taylor, River North and Dayton Contemporary. Currently she is on the faulty at Idyllwild Arts Academy, Los Angeles School District Gifted and Talented Conservatory, and Huntington Academy. |
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Moti Buchboot informally began his Argentine tango training over fourteen years ago when he started to study martial arts. His interest in body movement brought him into contact with a variety of genres ranging from Tai Chi and Capoeira to Krav Maga and Muay Thai. This experimentation with physical art forms eventually led him to dance. He began taking lessons in ballet, African dance, and Brazilian street samba. But his preferred dance style was Argentine tango. Moti has appeared in numerous venues across Los Angeles including the Ford Amphitheater, the J. Paul Getty Museum, and the Conga Room. He lectured about tango's history and performed at Pasadena City College. On weekends, Moti dances at Olvera Street in Downtown Los Angeles and at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. Moti has taught tango across the country in cities such as New York, San Diego, and San Francisco and currently teaches in Los Angeles. Moti's approach to teaching prevents students from relying on rote memorization of dance steps and instead allows them to develop the skills essential to mastering this highly improvised dance. www.organictango.info |
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Karim Chieck-Ali was a principal dancer and assistant choreographer for the Karacalla Dance Theatre of Lebanon, a troupe based in Beirut that has toured to the major cities of Europe, North Africa and North and South America. He was the choreographer for the Long Beach Opera's Trois Operas Minutes (2003 Season) and the dancer for the Opera's Lagrime al sepolcro. He has provided movement training for opera performers and most recently formed the Lebanese folk dance company, Ali Ali, based in Southern California. |
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Deborah
Greenfield has choreographed extensively for film, theatre, and musicals in Europe and the U.S. She spent six years in Madrid, Spain performing in dance-theatre and film projects and running her modern dance company, Fuga, founded after her piece Fuego Quieto (Still Fire) won 1st Prize at the Madrid International Choreography Competition in 1991. Fuga appeared at Seville's World Expo'92 and toured Europe's festival circuit to much critical acclaim. In Los Angeles she presented concerts with her modern flamenco company, Rosa Negra, performed in several films and plays, and choreographed feature films and theatre productions. Presently she teaches flamenco dance at the Music Center of LA, Education Division and is developing a multimedia flamenco-theatre production with a prestigious COLA Fellowship from the City of L.A. www.home.earthlink.net/rosanegra/ |
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Jenevieve has been training and performing in various forms of dance since childhood. After jazz and ballet, her passion for dance took her to hip hop and belly dancing. For the last 10 years she has studied with world renowned teachers and achieved acclaim from her performances in Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East. Jenevieve has been featured in various music videos and shows for the W.B., U.P.N and fox television networks. She has also been featured on several news and entertainment shows for her hip teaching and choreography styles. Her magical creativity is manifested in her strong, unconventional, funky style. Jenevieve is currently directing her dance company "X Magica" which synthesizes her unique urban flavor with belly dance roots. |
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Anthony
Johnson has danced for many prestigious ballet/modern/opera companies including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, International Ballet Rotaru, Ballet Theatre of Chicago, the Chicago Festival Ballet, the Lula Washington Dance Theatre, and the Los Angeles Opera Company. He recently toured the United States performing with the legendary Paul McCartney. He has won the award for "Best Choreography" at the Black Theatre Alliance Awards. He has choreographed and danced for many recording artists. He trained at several universities and colleges and has been coached by some to the greatest masters in Ballet. Johnson teaches ballet classes all over the United States and is also a private ballet coach to several Hollywood celebrities. His students have received scholarships and acceptance to School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Boston Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey. Anthony's newly created Ballet Magique was created to explore cultural fusion beyond dance. |
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Zahra Zuhair has been performing and teaching the dances of the Middle East for 25 years including dances of Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, & Turkey, specializing in Egyptian classical and folkloric styles. Her first research tour to Egypt began in 1979 and most recent included participation at the 2000 Oriental Dance festival sponsored by the Egyptian government. She has performed extensively across the U.S. and Europe, and is a sought after workshop instructor. She has received awards for her performances. Zahra is the founder and artistic director of Po Na Na Dance Theater, featuring the stories, music and dances of the Middle East as well as the founder and artistic director of the Eshta Dance Company. She currently produces Bal Arabiana, one of the hippest weekly club-nights in Hollywood. Her local weekly classes are offered to beginners through professionals. www.members.aol.com/zahra |
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Aleya started her training in New York with Bobby Farrah and Yousry Sharif, two of the most respected professionals in the bellydance community. From them she gathered a respect for keeping the art technically Egyptian while adding boldness and fire to the dance. She also trained with some of the best teachers in the US and the Middle East including Nagwa Fouad, Mona Said and Ragia Hassan. She was the 1998 Peoples's Choice Award winner of the "Belly Dancer of the Universe" competition and has performed in major theatres including the LA Coliseum and the Greek Theatre. She has performed in top nightclubs and in music videos, movies, and news shows. She is currently leading the "Nejma" dance troupe. |
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Charletta
Fry graduated from Orange Coast College's dance program with an honorary scholarship for her dedication to dance performance and high caliber instruction. She has studied with some of L.A.'s best: Christine Baltes, Linda Sohl-Donnell and Dennon Rawles in classical jazz, modern dance and other styles. Recently she directed and choreographed African and Jazz movement for the prestigious D.A.R.E. Dance Scholarship Program within an inner-city public school to give back to the community. Her performing experience includes shows with the Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre Gala Production for the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific in 1998. |
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Licia Perea
is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico and is of Spanish, Mexican and Native American descent. Licia holds an MA from the University of New Mexico in choreography and performance and also is certified in the Authentic Pilates Method. She has been awarded several Choreographer's Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. She has taught and performed professionally throughout the United States, Germany, Mexico and Russia. She is now on the CA Touring Artist Directory and has been on the WESTAF Touring Roster, the International Arts Programming Network and was a member of the Yellow Springs Chester Group (national group of choreographers doing research, experimentation and dialoguing in Yellow Springs, PA). She was a recipient of the prestigious City of Los Angeles Performing Arts Fellowship (COLA) and premiered her new solo evening ORLANDO of a Thousand Years based on Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando. www.liciaperea.com
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