Crystal Silmi
| Background | |
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I started in 2000 taking classes with Rachel Brice. I then went on to study ATS and then began studying with Suhaila Salimpour in 2001. I’d just come back from living in India for a year when I started dancind and belly dance helped me establish a new sense of self as I tried to bridge east/west lifestyles. Most challenges were internal. Obviously I chose dance…What I love about belly dance is being able to express freedom through control. It’s also a way for me to feel a strong connection with my Arab roots. |
| Belly Dance Classes | |
| I learned many things from the almighty Suhaila Salimpour and her mother Jamila, but I also infuse my own style/flavor into my classes. I tinker with hip hop and jazz as well as other kinds of fusion both in my classes and the troupe I direct. I try to continuously expand as a dancer and a teacher and don’t stay glued to any particular “style” of belly dance. I dance what I feel. Sometimes it’s funky, sometimes it’s wistful… I try to keep a wide range of styles open to my students so I can enable them to explore themselves individually as artists. | |
| Performances | |
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I’ve been performing since 2001. I have danced with Suhaila Dance Company and Bal Anat and I now direct my own troupe RaksArabi. I also do a lot of solo work. I always say that I do “Belly Dance Fusion” to be broad and not limit myself but most of the stuff I read and hear about myself is that I do “Hip Hop Belly Dance Fusion” – whatever the style, the movement is rooted in bellydance. I performed in Suhaila Salimpour’s “Sheherezade” and have performed solo internationally in France, Taiwan and Thailand. I was also featured as a “Rising Star” on the BDTV DVD Volume III. I still get nervous before every show. |
| Contact and Class Information | |
| I teach regular classes in Santa Cruz county at Motion Pacific in Santa Cruz & Dance Synergy in Aptos.
My website is the best link: |
