Monica: Middle Eastern and North African Dance

Monica: Middle Eastern and North African Dance

Monica is a San Francisco based performer and instructor who has been studying Middle Eastern dance since her teens, with training in San Francisco, New York and Cairo. Monica has an extensive performance history that includes improvisational solo work and award-winning choreographed troupe experience. Her dance style is based on both vintage American "cabaret" belly dance and Egyptian raqs sharqi and raqs baladi, with a foundation of solid folkloric roots from various regions.

Monica currently lives, teaches, and performs in San Francisco, California.

Dance Education and Background
Monica is interested in and inspired by the folk dances that are at the root of raqs sharqi (Arabic for Eastern dance). For over fifteen years, she has followed a disciplined study that includes modern American and Egyptian belly dance as well as folkloric Arabic and North African dances. She has trained in San Francisco, New York, and Cairo.


Company and Troupe Work
Monica was a principal dancer in the award winning Ya Habibi from 1993 to 1996. Monica then formed her own troupe in August of 1997. Raks Sahibat danced together until 2004. Currently Monica choreographs for and dances with with the collectively run Raqs Habibi and is a performing member of North African folkloric company Danse Maghreb.

Monica's Classes
In 2002, after teacher training and support from two of her primary instructors and mentors, several successful Bay Area workshops, and numerous requests from private students, Monica began teaching group classes. Teaching dance has become a passion for Monica, and she holds several multi-level weekly classes in San Francisco.

A proponent of the value of a cross-disciplinary education, Monica has also pursued studies in several dance and fitness related areas to augment her dance expression and for the health and safety of her students.

Related Studies
While receiving her bachelor's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California at Berkeley, Monica studied Arabic in the Near Eastern Studies department for two years. She continued her Arabic language study with intensive language classes in Cairo, Egypt and with with weekly classes in San Francisco up until 2006. Today she works with a tutor regularly to keep her language skills up. In preparation for teaching dance, she has also studied human anatomy and physiology at City College of San Francisco in order to understand safe movement practices, as well as to prevent injury. Monica recently completed her masters degree at San Francisco State University with a focus on adult education.

Monica has traveled to Cairo, Egypt three times to study dance, and has done extensive personal academic research into the regions her dances are inspired by.

Monica is also a dedicated flamenco dance student, and has studied Middle Eastern drumming (tabla, duff, and riqq).

Current Activities
Monica continues to study the traditional dances of the Near East and North Africa, as well as modern movement influenced by the region, with local, national and international master instructors. She takes weekly dance classes in a variety of styles, and maintains a daily practice.

Monica performs regularly at select private celebrations and parties as well as at most of the major Middle Eastern Dance festivals on the west coast.