A little BIOgraphy of mine...

Joana Saahirah of Cairo *

Joana Saahirah is, currently, one of the most respected and well known Oriental Dancers in Egypt and in the world.

She performs with her orchestra in Cairo and travels around the world as a guest artist&teacher in major Oriental Dance Festivals.

Actress, dancer, choreographer, teacher of Egyptian Oriental and Folkloric Dance and World Dances *(flamenco, latin american dances, Argentinian tango, African, classical ballet, etc).

Also a columnist writing for magazines and newspapers with which she often collaborates. Her first book about Dance and her life as a dancer in Egypt will be published this year.

Joana Saahirah was born in Portugal and received a wide education both academically and artistically that included several art forms *( dance, music, singing, acting, etc).

Aside from her regular studies, Joana S. entered the Classical Ballet Conservatoire at the age of 5 and there she studied Classical and Modern Ballet till the age of 16.

During these years, she covered the study of many other dance styles (jazz, African, Latin American, Flamenco) and applied for the Cinema and Theatre Conservatoire to which she entered with honours, earning a scholarship to deepen her acting studies at the “Real Escuela de Arte Dramatico” in Madrid, Spain.

She started working on television and theatre while discovering the Art of Egyptian Oriental Dance which took her to visit Egypt in a series of study trips that would change and determine her life.

She left Portugal and headed to the Middle East where she performed in Lebanon, Qatar, Oman and Egypt where she has been living and working for the last five years.

After studying with some of the best teachers of the world in the area of Egyptian Oriental Dance and Folclore ( Souhair Zaki, Nagwa Fouad, Mona El Said, Azza Sheriff, Mahmoud Reda and Farida Fahmy –both known for the “Reda Troupe”, etc) and mixing her personal and professional experiences in the stages of the Middle East and Egypt, she has created her UNIQUE style, both personal and deeply Egyptian.

Joana has studied all kinds of Egyptian Folclore from the hands of the Master Mahmoud Reda, Father of Egyptian Dance and founder of the “Reda Troupe”.

She has travelled around the world to teach with Master Mahmoud Reda, assisting him in his teaching  as well as in his choreography challenges.

Due to the recognition of her artistic success in Egypt, Joana has been invited to perform, choreograph and teach all over the world for the past two years (United States, Latin America, Europe,etc)as well as the Galas of "CAIRO AHLAN WA SAHLAN" and "SALAMAT MASR" FESTIVALS.

She has also written articles about Egyptian culture and art for several Portuguese magazines and newspapers.

Although Egyptian Oriental dance is still not recognized as a form of ART – as once happened with another ethnic dances such as Flamenco – it is Joana s dream to bring that knowledge into the world and present this ancestral, magical Dance in all its true beauty and richness.

Joana Saahirah´s dream is to see Oriental Dance recognized as the ARTISTIC/HEALING tool that it really is. Bringing back the Soul of Oriental Dance!

Find Joana Saahirah of Cairo at the Facebook and Youtube.