About Amira
"By far, my favorite thing to do as a child was put on a costume and perform ... and I'm still doing that today!" A performer since a very young age, Amira discovered Middle Eastern Dance in 1998 through a friend. In 1999, she met and began studying with Aziza, a veteran of Middle Eastern Dance since 1974 and one of Birmingham's finest. "Middle Eastern Dance was a perfect fit for me," she said. "It's an improvised and highly personal dance, and the costumes are fabulous! But more than anything, I've met some wonderful people through the dance community." Amira first performed for friends and family at a school recital in 2001. In May 2002, she had her debut at the Friday night show at Egyptian Nights VII in Atlanta, Georgia, one of the largest dance workshops in the Southeast at the time. From there, her performing career took off. That fall, she and two fellow dancers performed at the Miss UAB Pageant at the renowned Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. That same year, she also had the honor of being one of two dancers to perform for an Arab-American audience at the Ramallah-American Club's New Year's Eve party. During her years of performing, Amira has had the distinct honor of performing in distinguished local venues such as the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Birmingham International Fair's Magic City Arts Connection, and the McWane Center. She has performed for numerous private events as well such as birthday, corporate and bon voyage parties. Amira also has become a well-recognized performer among the dance community in Atlanta. In 2004, Amira was invited to perform in the prestigious Saturday evening show at Egyptian Nights IX, which was held at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. (Not bad after having her debut there just two years earlier!) For three consecutive years, she appeared in the Saturday evening show at Jechileah's workshops in Atlanta. In March 2006, Amira joined Zivah Saphirah, a Birmingham-based Middle Eastern dance troupe. She performs with Zivah Saphirah as both a solo artist and in group dances. Amira continues her studies with master teachers in workshops and seminars. She has studied under some of the brightest stars on the Middle Eastern Dance scene, including Cassandra, Jasmin Jahal, Jillina, Margo Abdo O'Dell, Ramzi El-Edlibi, Zahra Zuhair, Mira Betz, Aziza Nawal, and the legendary Egyptian dancer Raqia Hassan. In September 2007, Amira began teaching dance as part of the "Goddess Squad" of instructors from the Zivah Saphirah dance troupe. (See Web site for details.) When she is not dancing, Amira enjoys working as a professional henna artist. She also enjoys composing music, spending time with family and friends, computers, reading and writing. An Anglican, she also is a passionate student of Reformed theology. In April 2007, Amira married Rich, a computer programmer, budding author and her biggest fan, who in 2008 began studying Middle Eastern percussion and is now a member of Out of the Darj, a local Middle Eastern percussion ensemble. They live in the Birmingham area with their dogs, Tank and Shasta, and their cats, Calvin and Chloe.
Updated 8-16-2009
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Photo courtesy Martha Ivey.
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