At our monthly guild show last weekend we revealed our Fall Festival headliner as none other than the amazing Abigail Keyes Dance! We are so excited to host her! More details on workshops to follow, but in the meantime, here is a little about her:
Abigail Keyes is a lifelong performer with a passion for education, cultural awareness, and the movement arts of the Middle East. She has taught on five continents and is also an esteemed and respected dance writer.
She began her studies of Middle Eastern, North African, and Anatolian dances with Kim Leary, continued her core studies with Artemis Mourat. She currently studies under the guidance of master instructor Suhaila Salimpour.
She holds a B.A. in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University, has studied the Arabic language at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Recently she earned an M.A. in Dance Studies from Mills College in Oakland, California, with a focus on the mind-body connection, creativity and composition, and teaching methodology. She is Assistant Director of the Salimpour Collective Berkeley, Suhaila Dance Company, and Bal Anat—the longest running Middle Eastern dance company in the world. Abby has Suhaila Level 5 and Jamila Level 5 certifications, and is a staff instructor at the Salimpour School in Berkeley, California. Visit her website and read her writings on dance at akeyesdance.com/blog
