Safa
| Background | |
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I started belly dancing when I was thirteen years old! One of my friends in eighth grade, her mother was a bellydancer and I started taking classes…then liked it so much I kept going. I started out performing in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) and taking classes there, when I met more and more professional teachers and just kept enjoying myself more and more. I went to Pennsic (www.pennsicwar.org)and took classes from everyone there, and then discovered Ghawazee. Since I found bellydancing when I was thirteen, I was lucky enough to have a solid group of supportive, enthusiastic women supporting me through the pretty difficult adolescent life of a girl — instead of getting self-conscious about my body or getting a negative self-image, I felt so comfortable and grounded! I haven’t really faced any challenges, except the basic challenge that every bellydancer faces of many people assuming that you’re some kind of adult entertainer. I spend a lot of time fighting for bellydance to be accepted in the cultural vernacular, and doing the best I can to ensure that other teenaged girls can have the same positive experience that I did. Ballet is wonderful, but it doesn’t exactly promote healthy minds and bodies the way bellydancing does. |
| Belly Dance Classes | |
| I’ve been teaching for about seven years, I think? I opened my own studio, the Khafif Studio, in Pittsburgh, PA back in 2002, and taught regular classes there until I left Pittsburgh in late 2008. I also taught at the University of Pittsburgh (a for-credit course), Chatham University, and at small events, private parties, and wellness centers. Last year (2008), I went on a multi-stop teaching tour through Canada and the US, staying with local bellydancers and teaching small workshops and master classes…that was super fun! I met sooo many fun people! My teaching style focuses mostly on instilling the foundations in people (so drills, drills, drills) and then offering them tools to take it up to the next level so they’re dancing and not just exercising. I like to make sure that everyone learns something new in every class that I teach. | |
| Performances | |
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I do perform, as a solo artist and also with my troupe. I feel like my performances have a lot of emotion and playfulness in them, because I had a great foundation for having expressiveness in my dancing from my dance partner and teacher Neefa. I also took a lot of acting exercises and use a lot of those techniques in my dancing to really interact with the audience. If I had to put a “label” on the kind of dancing I do, I’d call it tribal fusion, but I take pieces of everything I like and mix it together, and I don’t like labels. I’ve taken classes from a long list of teachers, and used a little bit of each style to add to my own; I particularly like Urban Tribal and Frederique and Mira Betz.I’ve performed all around the country, and in Canada, and in Australia. I really love dancing, so I always take the opportunity to do it! I’ve performed in little Greek restaurants, at birthday parties, onstage at art festivals, and in my own basement. I once went to a birthday party for an 80 year old man; his daughter hired me to entertain the guests and as a special surprise. I thought, “Surprise? I’m gonna kill him!” Instead, he LOVED it. I came out and he got up and danced with me, and then insisted that I stay after and dance to the BeeGees with him. I don’t get nervous anymore, but I think that’s because I’ve been teaching fro such a long time — when a crowd of fifteen people stand in front of you every week and expect to teach them something, you better be able to say something! I do find that being a teacher and a bellydancer have seriously improved my public speaking! I’m not afraid of making toasts or giving speeches anymore! |
| Contact and Class Information | |
| Since I’ve only just moved to Los Angeles, I’m not teaching anywhere solid yet. I’m talking to a couple of places, and trying to work something out. You can always check my website at www.khafif.com/safadancer for an updated list of places where I teach. |
