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Anna is a US born, Bristol based dancer, percussionist, educator and producer.

She celebrates her diverse ancestral roots across Central and Southwest Asia, North Africa, Eastern and Western Europe through the music and dance of these areas. She is especially drawn to music of marginalised and "between" places and people, where labels and boundaries blur. She is a master of incorporating finger cymbals with dance and passionate about representing and promoting this ancient instrument as a living, breathing and developing artform. Her finger cymbal technique is improvisational, rooted in Turkish and American styles and highly influenced by her studies in Egyptian Toura.

 She has trained and travelled extensively around the SWANA region, been performing for over 3 decades and taught SWANA dance since 1997. She toured with Turkish fusion band Oojami, shared headlines with Bellydance Superstar Sonia Ochoa, produced and performed in shows with English/Egyptian band Beledi Blues and US dance institution the Salimpour School, and been invited to perform and teach across the UK, Europe, India and the US. She taught at London's Morley College from 2008-2021, been commissioned by the city of London local authorities to perform and teach within communities and outreach organisations including the London 2012 Summer Olympics, CRISIS UK 2015 , The Big Dance and Lambeth Council and performed and taught inclusive workshops at outdoors festivals including the Croydon Mela, Bristol City Sounds and the Bristol Harbour Festival. She has taught lessons at secondary schools, including Bristol Grammer School 2025, and primary schools, including Hargrave School in London 2004. She received Arts Council England funding for producing the London leg of Bal Anat's 60th Anniversary Tour in 2018 and for founding, producing and performing in the SWANA/Mediterranean folk music and dance ensemble Chalguh Chengi from 2020-now. She founded and ran one of London's first and most critically regarded SWANA dance schools "Small World Bellydance" from 2002-2021 before relocating to Bristol.

Her current project Chalguh Chengi is a vibrant celebration of the diverse folk songs and dances of the SWANA and Mediterranean regions.

Anna is a master dancer/percussionist and studies Egyptian Toura (finger) cymbals with renowned Epyptian percussionist Hany Morgan. She is the only dancer in the UK to incorporate this technique with her dancing.

She began teaching dance in 1997 and has taught thousands of women from New York to Mumbai. In 2002 Anna moved to south London where she started Small World Bellydance, one of the UK's leading SWANA dance schools. She opened a studio dedicated to Global Majority dance in 2011 which she managed until the international pandemic moved her on to the greener pastures of Bristol in 2021. She has sponsored and produced numerous workshops and shows with Suhaila Salimpour, Sabriye Tekbilek, Bozenka and other international leaders of SWANA dance at ROH, Rambert and Sadlers Wells. She is dedicated to promoting the art of SWANA dance in its many guises and to supporting local students and professionals.

Anna earned a B.A. in Dance and Film Production from Bard College, New York in 2001. She has spent her life travelling the world, studying with master teachers, absorbing languages, histories and cultural contexts of various branches of this diverse dance form. In 2017 she earned Level 4 certification in Suhaila Salimpour Format and Level 3 in Jamila Salimpour Format. At the time Level 4 was the highest performance level certification available at the school.
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Anna teaches introduction through advanced as well as open level lessons. Her classes have a strong technical and physiological focus, revolve around music and rhythm, and often include historical references and cultural anecdotes to broaden students' experience and appreciation of the art form. 
International Experience
As well as teaching in London, Anna instructed at Bard College in New York, USA from 1997 to 2001. In 2006 and 2008 she taught dance classes and workshops in Mumbai, India where she was featured in National tv and print magazine. This international experience helped her develop a very accessible teaching style to people from all corners of the world in all walks of life
Training
Anna's has trained extensively with many of the world's leading dancers, dance ethnographers and musicians. They include: 
Suhaila Salimpour (USA), Jamila Salimpour (USA), Fat Chance Bellydance (USA), Jill Parker, Zoe Jakes, Heather Stantz, Kami Liddle, Sharon Kihara (California, USA), Bozenka (Forida/Greece), Raqia Hasan (Egypt), Serena Ramzy (UK), Aida Noor (Egypt), Mona el Said (Egypt), Loubna (Egypt), Hossam Ramzy (UK/Egypt), Abd el Fattah Naeem (Egypt), Nesrin Topkapi (Turkey), Yousrey Sharif (Egypt/USA), Nourhan Sharif (USA), Anahid Sofian (USA), Morocco and Tarik abd al Malik (New York), Anasma (France/USA), Soraya Zaid (Brazil/Egypt), Tina Sargeant (USA), Delilah of Visionary Dance (USA), Yasmila (USA), Habib (Washington, USA), Suzanna Del Veccio (Colorado, USA), Maleeha (Ibrahim Farrah dancer USA), Virginia (Florida, USA) and many more.

She travels regularly to the Middle East, North Africa and the USA to study different styles of technique, 
choreography, history and percussion.

Related studies include Guinean drum and dance, Senegalese sabar, Flamenco, Afro-Cuban dance, Contemporary dance, Ballet, Capoiera, Yoga, Pilates, Alexander Technique,  Anne Bogart Technique/Kinetic Response, Anatomy and Physiology.
For most recent video visit Anna's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/annakdancer/

Useful Links


Middle Eastern Music
"If I can't dance, I don't want your revolution" -- Emma Goldman