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Middle-Eastern Dance
with Miriam Peretz
Traditional and Contemporary Egyptian & Turkish Dance styles.
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Tuesdays, 7:30 - 9:00PM
$15/class or $50/month
Classes begin February 5th, 2008!
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Miriam’s passion for dance and movement has led her on an extraordinary life-long journey. As a child, and later as an adolescent, she received intensive training in dance, gymnastics, and Capoeira. Her main focus as a dancer has been the dances of the Middle-East, Silk Road (Persia & Central Asia,) and Roma “Gypsy” Trail. Growing up in the uniquely diverse Bay Area, California, Miriam studied numerous ethnic dance forms such as, Flamenco, Afro-Haitian, Dunham Technique, West African, Hawaiian, Tahitian, and several folk dance styles. She has been privileged to study with master teachers including; Sharlyn Sawyer, Mahea Uchiyama, Nanna Candelaria, Katarina Burda, Suhaila Salimpour, and Yaelisa.
Miriam holds a B.A. in performing arts with a dance emphasis from St. Mary’s College in California. For her thesis she completed a three-part DVD documentary, costume study, and research paper on dances of the Roma “Gypsy” Trail (Rajastan, Egypt, Turkey, Balkans, and Spain.) Her research was published by the Dom Research Center, an organization that supports the preservation of Gypsy Culture throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
In Israel, Miriam immersed herself in Middle Eastern dance and music. She studied at the Jerusalem Academy of Oriental Music and Dance for three years specializing in percussion (darbuka, riq) and Central Asian dance with Galia Akilov. She also traveled to Egypt, Morocco, Spain, Turkey, and Tajikistan to study with master teachers. Miriam completed an artist in residency with “Padida” Dance Theater of Dushanbe, Tajikistan. In Egypt, she studied with Raqia Hassan and Mahmoud Reda, and attended several Middle Eastern dance festivals in Cairo. Miriam has taught Middle Eastern and Persian/Central Asian dance classes and workshops internationally. She performed with “Arabesque” Oriental Dance Company under the direction of Yael Moav and “Pasos” Flamenco dance Company directed by Michaela Harrari, as well as a soloist at various events.
Over the past ten years, Miriam has traveled back and forth between Israel and the Bay Area teaching and performing and bringing new knowledge and inspiration to both dance communities. In the Bay Area Miriam has performed with “Ballet Afsaneh” directed by Sharlyn Sawyer, “Aywah” Ethnic Dance Company directed by Katarina Burda, and “Shuvani” directed by Amy Luna Manderino. |
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Miriam continues to perform as a principle dancer with “Ballet Afsaneh.” Sharlyn Sawyer was one of Miriam’s first dance teachers and continues to be her most valued mentor, artistic consultant, and director. Ballet Afsaneh is a professional non-profit performing arts company that presents traditional dances from the Silk Road regions of Central Asia: Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. Miriam’s work with Ballet Afsaneh has inspired her work as a soloist performing with the acclaimed Persian Ney player, Amir Shahsar.
Miriam has been a featured soloist in the highly selective San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival (2005), and with Ballet Afsaneh at the Montgomery Theatre in San Jose. Miriam is currently a member of Inbal Dance Theater (Tel Aviv,) teaching classes and workshops and touring with Amir Shahsar and Ensemble following the release of his new CD “Botechin.” |
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Click here for more information about Miriam. |
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