Sarah Al Nour
| Background | |
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I have been bellydancing for about nine years, though I have been a dancer all my life. My mother taught me to dance as a little girl, and I always loved freestyling to any kind of music. After exploring Swing, Country Western and Latin dance, my sister talked me into taking a bellydance class with Angelika Nemeth and I’ve been in love with this dance ever since! Everything about it resonates with me- the femininity, strength, joy, passion and music are all very integrating and restorative for me. There were definitely times I longed for more support from family and friends than I received, but I do feel that the most important people in my life believe in me even if they don’t quite understand my obsession  . Most of the challenges I’ve faced in becoming a dancer arose from other people’s inaccurate perceptions of this dance and my fears of their judgment, but I have learned to educate the people who really want to understand, and not worry about the ones who don’t. I also had no serious formal dance training before I began studying bellydance, which created some challenges. But each difficulty gave me a chance to grow as a woman and as a dancer and I am grateful. |
| Belly Dance Classes | |
| I have been teaching for about 3 years. I began as an assistant to another dance teacher and was later offered my own class. Later on, an additional teaching position opened up after the owner of the studio saw me perform. In my classes, I focus on layering various elements of dance technique and artistry into each lesson so that students come away with more than just “moves.” I had some of the most amazing teachers and I feel so privileged to have been given such a great understanding of musicality, dance movement of all different kinds, and how everything is interconnected. I’m grateful to my teachers for that, and I try to give all of that to my students as we drill and learn and dance. I do bring one other extra element to class to aid learning: silliness! But don’t tell anyone…. I teach at the Anaheim Family YMCA on Wednesdays and at Fit4U Women’s Studio on Fridays: see website for all the information:www.bellyssimadancer.com |
I’m the one with the dreads and the flowers in my hair. |
| Performances | |
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Several years ago, I began performing with Angelika Nemeth’s Dance Ensemble (Oriental) and then danced with Ban-Dal (Tribal Fusion), and talking about the wonderful shows we all participated in would take a small book! I have been dancing solo for a few years now, and I perform and teach Oriental and Tribal Fusion Bellydance throughout Orange County and occasionally LA. I will dance in just about any venue where I can really give an artistic performance. Every time I dance, it is a unique moment because I depend on the music rather than choreography to inspire my movements.. so even I never know what will happen next! One theatrical dance show I did in LA ran for four days, and each performance was utterly different- it really kept me on my toes! I do still get nervous before I dance, but I have learned to channel all that excess energy into more zest for my dancing! |
