Djahari, founder of Desert Sin dance company, is an 18-year theatre/dance veteran. She has a lifetime of training in theatre performance and production including tutelage at London's Royal Academy of Performing Arts and UCLA where she received her BA in the School of Theatre, Film and Television. She has also been studying Modern, Jazz, Ballet, West African, Indian, Flamenco, Persian-ballet and Middle Eastern dance. Although she performs solo and with The Pars National Ballet Company, Djahari's primary focus is on producing and directing the 20-plus member Desert Sin with her partner, Sa' Elayssa. Desert Sin is an artistic, spiritual, emotional, and business adventure where Djahari's dreams have become her reality.
www.djahari.com.

Anaheed is a well-known performer, producer, and teacher in the Los Angeles area. She directs the Perfumes of Araby dance company and has received numerous awards for excellence. Anaheed has been dancing professionally since the 1970s and shares her time with another career in Library Science. She is one of the early members of MECDA and also belongs to IAMED. Anaheed loves sharing the joy of Middle Eastern Dance and firmly believes we can elevate the public's cultural awareness through appreciation of this art form!
www.anaheed.com.

Amara is one of the most versatile dancers in the United States as her repertory includes traditional and experimental improvisations and choreographies. She has held long-term performing engagements and many nightclubs and restaurants and been highlighted in several videos including IAMED, BD-TV, and EEMED. Amara has taught accredited courses at UCLA and UCR and currently teaches on-going dance studio classes and is an instructor at Cal Poly Pomona. In addition to teaching, Amara is the Director of Ya Helewa!, Producer of EEMED shows, and Co-Producer of X-MED workshops. Amara holds a degree in Music History and Literature and a certificate in Ethnomusicology from FSU and worked towards an M.A. and M.F.A. in Dance Ethnology at UCLA. Currently she is a doctoral candidate at UC Riverside's PhD program in Dance History and Theory.
www.amaradances.com

Tatianna

Tatianna is an original Desert Sinner since its inception and is proud to perform a starring role in "Musée des Femmes" as MataHari and Medusa in "Sita's Fire." She has studied under a variety of dance instructors in belly dancing, jazz, ballet, tap, and Persian. She also has started the Desert Sin Sweat shop in her own living room where many of the costumes have been created. Having completed her MBA at Pepperdine, Tatianna can now be seen more frequently in the performance circuit. Tatianna not only has the frame for this dance, but the brains as well.
www.desertsin.com

Desert Sin

Desert Sin's objective is to weave narratives through movement while embracing the beautiful & the grotesque within ourselves, drawing every witness deep into the spectacle of the worlds we reveal.It is from continued experimentation and impassioned creativity that Desert Sin has become one of the most inspirational and ground-breaking dance companies in North America since its unveiling in 1999. Fusing the intricacies of Desert Sin's Middle Eastern dance origins with a wide array of other art forms, drama, and dazzling effects a style emerges like no other creating a superior theatrical experience that is as enlightening as it is entertaining.
www.desertsin.com

Ya Helewa

Ya Helewa! is a collection of lovely dancers who bring an exciting dimension to Middle Eastern Dance. The troupe performs most of the Traditional and Folkloric dances from the Middle East, as well as American Cabaret Belly Dance, and modern and experimental styles which will captivate any audience. They have held several regular dance jobs at Pars Restaurant and Moun of Tunis and are featured on several videos including IAMED's Belly Dance Rocks!, BDTV, and the EEMED series. Other appearances also include Musée des Femmes, Cafe Beledy, One Enchanted Evening, The Knitting Factory, Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball, and An Evening of Experimental Middle Eastern Dance. www.amaradances.com/yahelewa

Sa'Elayssa

Sa' Elayssa, Co-Director of Desert Sin, has worked closely with her creative partner, Djahari, to realize their common vision of a dance company where creativity flourishes and dreams are realized. A third-generation Middle-Eastern dancer of Russian-Gypsy descent, she is also professionally trained in numerous other styles of dance, such as Jazz, Modern Dance, and Persian Ballet. Elayssa's diverse dance background, coupled with her affinity for character, narrative, and costume design, allow her to create a style that is both rooted in tradition and wholly modern. An award winning and world-renowned performer and choreographer, she is featured internationally on television, in films, and in several performance DVDs, as well as in live performances in exciting locales such as Madras, India. She offers private dance lessons to students of any level by appointment only. www.elayssa.com.

Laurie Buenafe Krsmanovic

Laurie Buenafe Krsmanovic is a San Francisco-based artist with eclectic influences. Past ensembles include Gulistan Dance Theater, Ya Amar Middle Eastern Dance Company, Don McLeod's Butoh Theatre, Open Gate Theatre, and Pinoy Playback Theatre. Currently she performs with Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble and Alleluia Panis Dance Theater. She also enjoys Balkan singing, ukulele strumming, and jamming. This summer she will be dancing in a collaborative work with Andre Custodio at Edgetone New Music Summit. Laurie is grateful to be part of the wonderful creative interaction at X-MED. www.laurie.buenafe.com

Cera Byer

Cera Byer has been studying dance, music, and theater since the age of 4. Her dance experience includes Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, Afro-Haitian, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, Kathak of India, Dunham Technique, Salsa, Samba, Tribal Bellydance, Creative Movement, and classical and contemporary Persian dance. Cera holds a BA in Dance Performance & Choreography from San Francisco State University, and is currently attending New College of California's MFA program for an Interdisciplinary Arts degree in Dance & Poetics. Cera is the artistic director of Damage Control Dance Theater, a Bellydance & Modern Fusion dance company in San Francisco.
www.damage-control.org

Meleah

As a professional Belly Dancer, Meleah always tried to add something unique. She began to study West African dance and soon realized the similarities to Middle Eastern dance. If you look at North African dance it is very connected to Middle Eastern Dance. West African dance is more energetic, raw and wild, but many of the movements can be modified to make for a very exciting Belly dance style. Meleah has been performing and teaching Afro-Belly style since 1994 and has produced an instructional video “The Afro-Belly Workshop”. This style is also seen on her performance DVD “Meleah Live” and on Hollywood Music’s DVDs “Evolution” and “Shake It Up”; with two more new releases due this year. Afro-Belly is the latest twist on belly dancing. A high-energy, aerobic, invigoration new dance mix, Afro-Belly combines the control of belly dance with the earthiness of African dance for something decidedly “primal”. Her troupe, Urban Vibrations, performed throughout Southern California, leaving audiences at once energized and breathless. You just can’t sit still watching this performance. The driving beat has everyone dancing in their seats.