Who is Joana Saahirah
Joana Saahirah is one of the most respected and well known Oriental Dancers in Egypt and in the world.
She has performed with her orchestra in the best venues of Cairo for the last 8 years and has, more recently, travelled the world as a guest artist & teacher in major Oriental Dance Events where her deep and genuine knowledge of Egyptian Dance is much appreciated.
Actress, dancer, choreographer, teacher of Egyptian Oriental and Folkloric Dance - also a columnist for magazines and newspapers with which she often collaborates in articles related to Egypt and the Middle East. Her first book about Dance and her life-career in Egypt will be published in 2013.
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 those years, she covered 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 almost a decade with great success.
After studying with some of the best master teachers in the area of Egyptian Oriental Dance and Folklore ( Shokry Mohamed, Souhair Zaki, Nagwa Fouad, Mona El Said, Azza Sheriff, Mahmoud Reda and Farida Fahmy –both known for the “Reda Troupe”, among others) 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 rooted in the Egyptian Essence.
Joana has researched and meticulously studied all kinds of Egyptian Folklore from the hands of the Master Mahmoud Reda, Father of Egyptian Dance and founder of the “Reda Troupe” and then worked as Mahmoud´s assistant of teaching and choreography.
Due to the recognition of her artistic success in Egypt, Joana has been invited to perform, choreograph and teach all over the world (United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, etc )as well as the Galas of "CAIRO AHLAN WA SAHLAN" and "SALAMAT MASR" FESTIVALS in Egypt.
Although Egyptian Oriental dance is not yet recognized as an ART form – as once happened with other ethnic dances such as Flamenco and Tango – it is Joana´s dream to put this Art on place it deserves: on the artistic and spiritual level that belongs to it.
Bringing back the SOUL*, Ancient Knowledge, Magic, Healing properties, Beauty and authentic Richness of Oriental Dance is Joana Saahirah´s goal and mission.
To watch-documentary of Joana Saahirah in Cairo please follow the link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=__cpkzelRFE
Find more about Joana Saahirah of Cairo on her BLOGS:
www.joanabellydance.blogspot.com & www.joanamagica.blogspot.com
Facebook (Official Joana Saahirah Fan Page: www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Joana-Saahirah-of-Cairo-Fan-Page/183318258358726
On the Youtube and on Joana Saahirah´s channel on "TheBellydancers.Tv": thebellydancers.tv/view_channel.php?user=Joana%20Saahirah%20of%20Cairo
