Qabila Foundation

Alia

Alia Gamal grew up in Orange County, California surrounded by her Arabic family, as well as other Arabic immigrant families. This influence created a love for history, art and music and inspired her to study Arabic music, dance, and cultural anthropology as an adult. Through her studies, Alia continues to find Arabic dance connecting her back to her roots and heritage. This connection has been further fostered by studying and working with Aubre Hill and the Qabila Folkdance Company. She is inspired to share the Arabic art that helped her explore her own identity in ways that can also represent the culture to others.

Janan (Dancer)

Janan started learning bellydance in the 1980s in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri, where she studied with Simone's Seventh Veil Dance Troupe, of which she was a member for about three years. She continued learning (with Sadia Camille) and performing while living for several years in Tokyo, Japan. She has trained with a number of instructors in the Bay Area including at the Suhaila Salimpour School (where she was Level 2 certified) and has been a student of Monica Berini for several years, concentrating mainly on Egyptian styles. She is a founding member of troupe Khamsa, which also focuses on folkloric dance. She has also been a student of Middle Eastern percussion with Mary Ellen Donald for more than 10 years.

Melody Burns (Dancer)