Biography

The Eastern / Arab music is very familiar to me as I come from a southern country. Since my early youth I loved to dance to Eastern Music. When I was 10 years old, I joined a youth-folklore group. In 1986 I started in Sinsheim with Jazz-Dance, and since 1988 I was fascinated by the Eastern Dance. One of my first teachers and my big idol is Zahra Bent al Amar from Algeria, who has her dancing studio in Munich and is still one of the first-class and best dancers in Germany. She has fascinated me because of her natural charism and her amazing Schimmys. She moves softly and her tender way of dancing is full of emotions. Furthermore, she always dances without rigid choreography.

Shortly after I met for the first time Raqia Hassan from Egypt/Cairo at a workshop with Reyhan and Djamila in Frankfurt. Today, Raqia ranks among the most well-known, best teachers and choreographers in Egypt and the whole world. It was a very big honour to me that I could enlist Raqia several times for workshops in Sinsheim. Annually I have been travelling to Cairo in order to learn and to study with Raqia.

I was trained by brilliant and world-famous teachers such as:

• Momo Kadus, Egypt
  
• Mahmoud Reda, Egypt
  
• Isam Abo Al Nasr, Egypt
• Sahra Saida USA/Egypt
• Hoda Ibrahim, Hurgada Egypt
• Beata und Horacio Cifuentes, Berlin, Germany
  
  

Besides, I attended numerous workshops with various teachers, both at home and abroad:

• Hadia, Calgary, Canada
• Caroline, Sydney, Australia
• Reyhan Steward, Frankfurt, Germany
• Hava, Memmingen, Germany
• And many others
  
  

I love Egyptian dances and culture, and therefore the Arabic language became my large passion. Since approximately 15 years I have been travelling continously to Egypt. Many wonderful friendships with Egyptian families have been arisen during this long time. Egypt has become my home from home because of these close relationships and due to my spontaneous performances at weddings and family parties in Egypt.

In 2002 the Egyptian magazine "REPORTER" in Cairo reported about my activities in the Eastern Dance in Egypt and Germany, as well as about my dance festivals in Germany.

Together with 6 women I founded in Sinsheim the Eastern Dance Company “OTV e. V.” in 1992. Since then I am the first chairman, teacher and choreographer, and I organize annual dance shows in Sinsheim with very large success.

I took part in the well-known musical HUMAN PACIFIC by Richard Geppert in the CAPITOL-Theatre in Mannheim as a dancer. (dance for the KING BEL ZAZAR played by Bernd Nauwartet).

MORE ABOUT THE EASTERN DANCE HERE