Sahira Zedare, Director

Sahira Zedare performs and studies a variety of dance forms and has taught bellydance in Bloomington-Normal since summer 2005. She has nearly 30 years of training and performance experience in many dance forms, beginning with jazz, tap, and modern. Since 2003 she devotes most of her dance energies to bellydance, with its deep beauty and boundless joy.

Sahira dances to embody the music, honoring and entertaining the audience, as each performance provides an opportunity to be an ambassador for this art form. Her main styles are Raqs Sharqi and Tribal Fusion, often merged with her background in jazz and modern dance.

Sahira Zedare's skills include drumming with tar (frame drum), riqq, and doumbek. Dancing and drumming generate a joyous synergy! Click here to learn more about Sahira Zedare.

Aliah

Looking for something new to learn, Aliah encountered a community education session featuring belly dance in 2005. After performing in a showcase with her class, she wanted to learn more of the art of bellydance and joined one of Sahira's classes in 2006.

It has become a major part of her life and she looks forward to studying the different facets that make up modern bellydance. Not having a dance background, she appreciates how simple and elegant bellydance is and that all women, regardless of backgrounds, are able to join in this form of expression.

Aliah also teaches our BellyFit class on Mondays and Mother/Daughter Bellydance on Wednesdays.

Ashira

Ashira is thankful to have experienced many different dance forms in her life.  But it wasn’t until she moved to Bloomington in 2007 that she had the opportunity to try belly dance.  After finding Synergy RaD and Sahira, she enrolled in a class, and has since been working on broadening her skills in this dance form.

Belly dance has been a positive experience for Ashira.  She enjoys the fun atmosphere of performances and classes.  And she appreciates the encouraging attitudes of other dancers.  She would tell those interested in trying this style of dance for the first time to go ahead and do it!

Inaya Nawar

Inaya Nawar began belly dancing in 2007 at the start of her final semester at Illinois State University.  Having recently completed all the requirements for her minor in music, she found herself with a lot of free time and in need of a new creative outlet.  While looking for alternative fitness classes, Inaya came across a flier for Sahira’s classes and decided to give belly dance a try. After just a few classes she was hooked and has been studying with Sahira ever since.

Belly dance continues to provide Inaya with new challenges while allowing her to forge a deeper connection to her first love, music.  Dancing allows her to explore the visual and kinetic facets of music. She recently began taking drumming lessons with Sahira and continues to focus on building her collection of belly dance music.

When not dancing, Inaya enjoys studying, playing and listening to music, reading and traveling.

Photo: Tumbling Leaves Photography

Apprentice Moirne

Moirne's introduction to bellydance began at a game convention in Indianapolis in 2005.  Looking for an opportunity to get up and get some exercise on a vacation that consisted of alot of sitting, she signed up for an introductory class along with some friends.  She repeated the experience the following year taking two classes. After that came some DVD's.  She has her husband to thank for encouraging her and locating Synergy Rhythm and Dance here in Bloomington in Fall 2007.  Moirne signed up for Beginner classes with Sahira (honestly I can't recall the actual date, if you have records to confirm that would be terrific!), and hasn't missed a session since then! 

Moirne's dance background is limited with a just one college Modern Dance class, a Ballroom dance class, and informal lessons with her Salsa dancing sister.  She has found bellydance, and in particular the Synergy Studio, to be a great way to experience alot of different dance and music styles. As a former Drama student in high school, Moirne enjoys incorporating "storytelling" in some of her dances.  She also enjoys the creative endeavor of sewing, beading, and assembling costumes from a wide variety of materials.

She highly recommends Bellydance as a great way to improve your balance, posture, muscle tone, and flexibility.  She has found it has greatly improved her spinal and core strength, eliminating joint popping and "creaking" completely in her neck and lower back.  Bellydance is a fun way for anyone of any age, body type, or fitness level to get out there and "move it"!