Our Story
Shimmy Love SF started in 2019 as a way for Bay Area dancers to come together to share their love of Middle Eastern dance. Founded by Heaven and Shaddia, their goal is to create an event where dancers could learn and from top talent and grow in a welcoming environment.
2021 Guest Artists
This year we are excited to present three dynamic and passionate artists to share their art and knowledge with us:
Lebanese Simon, Shahrzad, and Marshall Bodiker.
Lebanese Simon, Shahrzad, and Marshall Bodiker.
Lebanese Simon
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Shahrzad
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Marshall Bodiker
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Lebanese Simon was born and raised in northern Lebanon. With a natural passion for cultural arts, he found himself drawn closer to dance. Simon has traveled internationally to teach, perform and learn, and has had the privilege to study with the legendary Amani of Lebanon, Yousry Sharif, Lubna Emam and Inspiring Caracalla Folklore Dance Teachers Sammy Khoury and Francois Rahme.
His style of Lebanese Folk Dabke is described as strong, captivating, and deeply heartfelt. Through oriental dance, Simon reveals his personal creative approach, drilling combinations with a focus on technique and rhythms. Most importantly, he focuses on executing the moves yet staying emotionally connected to the melody and the story line. His versatility in dance has brought him very close to the heart of a wide range of audience and followers around the world. Since 2010, Simon has served artistic director and manager for the Al Awtar Zaffa Group based in Houston, Texas. He is also the Executive Producer and Artistic Advisor of the yearly Gulf Coast Raks (formerly the Houston Oriental Dance) Festival. Settled in Houston, Texas, Simon is a Structural Engineer and enjoys horseback riding and great long walks in nature. |
Shahrzad has been enchanting the stage since she discovered her passion for Arabic dance and music at the age of 11. Since then, she has immersed herself in a variety of dance disciplines–including Modern Egyptian belly dance and many regional and folkloric dance styles from North Africa and the Middle East. Her professional career started when she was 17, working full time as a performer at shows with live bands at top venues and events in the United States. Most of Shahrzad’s technique and choreography is influenced by her training in Egyptian dance.
Shahrzad has been mentored by some of the top Egyptian dance instructors in the world including Madame Raqia Hassan, Nourhan Sharif, Faten Salama, Habiba, and many more. She has traveled extensively to do in depth study about the music, dance, and cultural traditions surrounding both so that she can give students a deeper knowledge of the roots of belly dance as well as its modern uses. Inspired by her interest in teaching, Shahrzad underwent a 2 year Pilates apprenticeship. Now as a fully certified Pilates instructor with extensive training in anatomy and movement she is able to bring a new level of education to her students by breaking down technique in detailed terms right down to what each muscle of the body is doing. Shahrzad currently travels across the USA and internationally to teach and perform and continues to inspire students and audiences all over the world with her deep passion for dance. |
Marshall got his professional start in Washington, DC by teaching and performing in conjunction with Sahara Dance Studio. He began playing music at an early age and soon found a passion in percussion. This would lead him through a deep pursuit of Middle Eastern, North African, and Turkish musical traditions as well as folklore. Since then, he has dedicated more than a decade to his craft with various Egyptian and international drummers, and enjoys sharing these musical traditions with his audience.
Often accompanying, the star-studded Shahrzad on stage, Marshall is booked for a variety of events and festivals in both in the United States and internationally. He composes, performs, and records drum solos and teaches rhythms and techniques by way of a variety of methods of counting and musicianship. Other avenues teaching include online classes and instructional DVDs. |
Your Organizers
Heaven and Shaddia are dedicated to making this an event that is centered on love, dance, and connection!
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Shaddia is originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her love of Middle Eastern music began at a young age, when she used to listen to contemporary Arabic music and Golden Era classics. The incomparable voice of Yemeni singer, Ofra Haza, opened the door to a lifelong interest that eventually led her to her first belly dance lessons.
She began studying bellydance in Los Angeles in 2006 with Layla and Zahra Zuhair, and continued her training with dance artist Malia DeFelice of Half Moon Bay, California. Malia’s mentoring led her to the discovery and appreciation of a variety of dance styles from different dancers and eras that formed the basis for American Cabaret. Shaddia has also trained with numerous international instructors, including Raqia Hassan, Mohamed Shahin, Tito Seif, Saida, Amir Thalib, Pablo Acosta, Jilliana, Sadie Marquardt, Mira Betz, Simon, Florence Leclerc and Jill Parker, just to name a few. Today, Shaddia performs professionally at restaurants, community events, private events, and bellydance festivals in the US and Latin America. She loves to incorporate folkloric dances in her performances in addition to shamadans, sword, cane, veil and fan veils. Shaddia is a principal member of Asheq Collective, an award-winning San Francisco-based professional dance company (2017 Group Champion at Bellydancer of the Universe, 2019 Group Champion at Bellydancer of the Year). Since 2019, she has been co-producing Shimmy Love SF. |
Heaven Mousalem was drawn to the beautiful art of bellydance out of curiosity to explore the dance forms of her Lebanese heritage. Ten years later and she continues to be amazed at how much she continues to learn about the music and dance form that she fell in love with.
Heaven earned the titles of 2015 Drum Solo Champion and 20017 Taqsim Champion at Bellydancer of the Universe Competition. In 2018 Heaven co-founded Asheq Collective, a modern, professional bellydance collective based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With Shaddia, she created Shimmy Love SF in 2019 as a place to bring dancers together to train and have fun. Heaven continues to learn from the best artists in her field whenever given the opportunity. Recently she has been inspired by study with Sadie Marquardt and Lebanese Simon. She strives to stay current with the dance in the Middle East and beyond, by training with a diverse range of teachers. Currently Heaven is an in-demand performer throughout the Bay Area and has entertained at hundreds of weddings, birthday parties, and all other happy occasions. She seeks to create performances that leave audiences with a lasting appreciation of Middle Eastern dance. |
2021 Location
All events and show will all be held at Humanist Hall in Oakland, CA.
Photo used under Creative Commons from Jaykhuang
