Suhaila Salimpour Workshop

This past weekend I had the pleasure of meeting the world-renowned dancer Suhaila. I had heard that her workshops are very intensive and I should be prepared to hurt at the end of the day. Although I was a little sore, I didn't feel too bad as I am a frequent flyer at my local gym and would consider myself "healthy". Suhaila's foundational technique focuses on isolation of muscles combined with initiating the contraction of the gluteus muscle for hip work. I've never had experience in her format before and found it to be fascinating. My mind is usually structured and ordered in it's approach to learning so I responded well to her method of teaching. It put the movements in an order for me and enabled me to understand them better.

The two day workshop started off on a Saturday with a basic overview of her format followed by isolations and drills. Suhaila had a few stories that she shared about her experience as a dancer, which were informative but more importantly made everyone laugh. The workshop was followed by a show Saturday night at the Greek Palace. I was excited to bring my husband along so I could show him who I was learning from. Unfortunately we did not get a good table and were pretty much craning our necks to see the whole time. I was thankful my friend and teacher Talia was there, as she offered me a ride home so he could leave. He was tired and unimpressed by the venue. Suhaila's assistant Kendra, and her daughter Isabella both danced before her and were wonderful representations of her teaching. And then Suhaila danced and the enchantment was not overrated. She was mesmerizing and reminded me of what I love most about bellydance.

Although another dancer Aziza is coming in June and I would love to see her show, I doubt I will ever go see another show at the Greek Palace. The restaurant itself was shabby, there was no service (food, drinks, or otherwise) at our table, and the sound system was horrible. Unless you were among the first people in the restaurant and were able to grab a table around the dance floor, the view was horrible.

Sunday I continued learning the Suhaila format and also a short drum solo. I had a great time and a lot of fun participating in this workshop and would definitely like to learn more from Suhaila.

The Last Show

Sunday night at the Greek Oasis was Talia's last performance in San Diego before she moves to Washington. I had to get there a little bit early so I could have dinner because the first round of the Dealer Series was the next day and I had to get in the gate before they closed it at 10 pm.

I got to see the first two performances before reluctantly leaving to get on the road. It was really fun but my feeling was not as upbeat knowing I won't have her talent at my fingertips. It's a great loss to the dance community in San Diego and I'm sad to see her go. As usual Talia's isolations are hypnotizing and even though I know how she does it, it's still an amazement to see her perform, even after 4 years of observing her technique.

Most of my bellydance friends were there which made it all the more fun. We just have a blast when we're together and I always make an extra effort to be available when there is a get-together happening because I don't get to see them that often.

I have a feeling this will not be the last time I see Talia dance. Good luck and I'll see you soon Talia!

Talia's Last Workshop

This last weekend I attended the last workshop being held by my teacher Talia. She's moving in July back to Washington and taking all of her beautiful dance and teachings with her. How will I possibly be able to find another teacher who can challenge me like her? I don't get to dance much right now anyway with the young boys so maybe by the time I can start dancing again seriously she'll have decided that she just can't stay away and move back.



Talia's workshop was a Drum Solo choreography taught to a track off of Middle Earth's new album called Lavender. It was a fun and cute dance but I think I got more out of seeing the movements attached to the rhythms than anything else.

The picture was taken at a friend's baby shower that morning before the workshop.