PART I

Jatila, with Ajde, Macedonian Wedding Band

Alexandra King School - Beginning Class - American Tribal Style dance

Genisa - "Habibi Ya Aini" - Egyptian Cane dance

Cris! Basimah School - Beginning class

Shannon Meyer – Multiple Veil &: Drum Solo

Elvan – Cabaret Solo

Alexandra King School - Advanced Class – "Shisha" - Fan dance

Cris! Basimah - Cabaret Solo

PART II

Jatila, with Ajde, Macedonian Wedding Band

Judeen – Cabaret Solo

Alexandra King Intermediate/Advanced Class – Drum Solo & Loca, Loca

Cris! Basimah School - Intermediate students

Nadhira al Sagida – Cabaret Solo

Alexandra King School – Advanced/Professional Class - Improvisation

Alexandra Solo – Cabaret Solo

PERFORMERS:

Alexandra King is an award-winning dancer, instructor and the former Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the UCSB Middle East Dance Ensemble. She has been a professional dancer, instructor and choreographer since 1981. This is her retirement show and party. She will continue to dance as an avocation but will focus on her new vocation as a decorator, organizer and event planner. Coming soon is her new website, an online consignment store for dancers and musicians: DanceandMusicExchange.com Her dance site is: www.alexandraking.com Also coming soon, her design site www.alexandrakinginteriors.com

Cris! Basimah is a performer, teacher and choreographer based in Santa Barbara. She is the director for the UCSB Middle East Dance Ensemble and a house dancer at Restaurant Zaytoon. She and her beginner and intermediate belly dance students will perform to traditional and pop songs from the Middle East. More about Cris! at www.beIlydanceland.com

Elvan is a Middle Eastern dancer based in Santa Barbara. She is currently a soloist with the UCSB Middle Eastern Dance Ensemble and performs throughout southern California.

Genisa Moving home after college, Genisa discovered her mother Blandine had taken up belly dance with the legendary Serena Wilson of NYC and began taking lessons also. She has produced and directed a number of dance events in Santa Barbara and currently directs Hip Blessings, a dance collective that provides opportunities for students to perform and share the beauty and joy of the dance with the community at senior homes, local festivals and dance recitals.

Jatila van der Veen is an ethnic dancer and choreographer who grew up in NYC and began dancing when she was eight. She studied ballet and later classical and folk forms of Europe and the Far East, including South Indian, Balkan and Turkish dances. She was a soloist with the UCSB Middle East Ensemble for 8 years, and has performed with Chicago-based Ensemble Balkanske Igre. She currently lives and works in Santa Barbara, California and teaches belly dance at the Santa Barbara YMCA, directs her own troupe "Dzhamala!" and performs regularly with Balkan and Middle Eastern musicians: www.jatiladance.com.

Judeen has been a professional dancer, teacher, dance researcher and costumer for over 30 years. She has a studio and boutique in Santa Ynez. Ask her about her upcoming sale and workshop! www.judeen.com

Nadira al Sagida primarily studies with Judeen and performs with the Yeni Dunya & Desert Delights dance troupes. She also enjoys traveling to study with the masters of Egyptian Dance whenever possible.

Shannon Meyer - Shannon has been studying Middle Eastern dance for 4 years in Santa Barbara, under the tutelage of Alexandra King, and as a member of Seher and the UCSB Middle East Dance Ensemble.