Live Wires Gallery of NAJLA
Najla's love and fascination with oriental dance began 10 years ago.
As a child she studied ballet, tap and jazz. After her first
belly dance class in 1995 she was instantly hooked. Within two years
she began dancing at restaurants, nightclubs, and private parties in the
Seattle area. She used her skills to work as a dancer and travel
in Europe many times, but continued to be based in Seattle. After
several years she became frustrated with the lack of opportunities for
dancers in Seattle and decided to take her skills to Greece.
Within two weeks of arriving on the island of Rhodes Najla began dancing
at the beautiful Taj Mahal ethnic fusion discotheque. She performed
seven nights per week for the summer. In the fall she went to Athens
and after only three days she was hired at Red Marrakech Moroccan restaurant,
one of the most upscale and atmospheric restaurants in Athens. Her
schedule became very busy and she found herself working at seven restaurants/clubs
simultaneously. After a few months in Athens she danced briefly
in Manchester, England, and then returned to Seattle for more training.
Her experience had paid off and she was instantly successful at the top
nightclubs in Seattle's extremely competitive dance scene. She decided
to follow in the footsteps of another Seattle dancer who moved to Egypt
and began dancing at the top Cairo Hotels. She purchased her ticket
to Egypt, but sadly soon after that a ban on foreign dancers was declared.
Regardless, she decided to go for the experience.
In Egypt Najla attended performances of the top dancers, including Dina
and Lucy, and got a feel for the style of an Egyptian belly dance hotel
show. She trained intensively with renowned choreographer, Raqia
Hassan. After a performance at the Ramses Hilton she got up to dance
with the band. The manager of the restaurant, who has worked with
such names as Suhair Zaki and Fifi Abdou, was very impressed with her
dancing and said she would go far with her dance career.
After returning from Egypt Najla began working with Resortdancers.com
doing performances at five star hotels in the Carribean. In the
fall she moved to Paris, France and soon had a tightly booked schedule.
She performed frequently at the top restaurants and cabarets including
Au Pied De Chameau and Hammam Club. She danced at the premier of
Disney's Aladdin II, and was featured on French television. In Paris
she auditioned for the Belly Dance Superstars and was selected.
She returned to the U.S. to prepare, and then joined Jillina and company
for rehearsals before the 2005 Fall tour. But after rehearsals she
decided it would be better to return to Seattle and begin her own company,
and try to get settled after three and a half years of traveling.
Today Najla continues to dance in Seattle. She is the founder and
a member of Arabic Beat Dance Company. She teaches group and private
lessons, and performs at numerous venues. She is available for weddings,
birthdays and other parties, corporate events, and resort performances.
She is always searching for opportunities to further her career
as an oriental belly dance artist.
Call Us at (206) 526-5483 or Outside Seattle at 1-800-325-5483OR CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL US FOR A BOOKING ! |
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