Welcome to
Crystal Silmi Bellydance

Biography

Hello

website

Crystal is a belly dance and belly dance fusion artist, instructor and choreographer from San Francisco, California USA who has performed and taught throughout the world.
Skilled in both the art of classical Middle Eastern dance and modern fusion, Crystal puts her Arab American roots to the stage with a deep sense of rhythm and powerful athleticism and has become known for her unique and energetic style of fusion dance movement.
A long time student of master instructor Suhaila Salimpour and her mother Jamila Salimpour, Crystal was a member of both the Suhaila Dance Company and Bal Anat and in 2006 founded RaksArabi, a belly dance fusion company in California. RaksArabi has performed for audiences in the USA and Europe with a repertoire that draws upon hip hop, jazz, North African and other dance styles enhancing the art of belly dance with a vivid and contemporary feel.
Crystal resided in Madrid, Spain for nearly a decade, sharing her love for dance throughout Europe and the world while seeking to inspire students to explore themselves through this expressive art. In Madrid she directed the Dance Junkies a student fusion dance group. Now living in Washington, DC USA, she is teaching weekly classes both online and in the area and performs regularly with local venues.
Crystal is also a certified yoga instructor from Rishikesh Yog Peeth (Rishikesh Yoga Institute) and has been teaching hatha yoga and specialized yoga for dancers classes since 2012.
She holds a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California Santa Cruz. Read more here.

Reviews

Interview: Dance Doc

Interview: WILD the Vision the Journey

Videos

Workshops

Saturday, January 7th

Folkloric Belly Dance Basics with Finger Cymbals 
Introduction to finger cymbals combined with folkloric and modern belly dance movement. Dancers will learn a variety of finger cymbal rhythms and coordinate them with dance movement; we will also applying the movement and cymbals to create a short combo. Open to all levels. *Strongly recommended for dancers in Saturday Cymbal technique and performance classes.

$30-$50

1:30-3:00pm Eastern

Sahara Dance
4433 Wisconsin Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20016

Events

Saturday, April 29th

Sahara Dance – Under A Desert Moon
American University Greenburg Theater
4200 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington, DC 20016
9:00pm

Classes

In-Person + Online Classes – Saturdays, January 7 – April 28

January – April 2023

11:30-12:30pm (Eastern)

Belly Dance Technique with Finger Cymbals (all levels)

Dancers will learn finger cymbal technique and master a variety of finger cymbal rhythms, coordinating them with belly dance movement. Open to all levels. *Mandatory enrollment for Finger Cymbal Choreography class.

January – April 2023

12:30-1:30pm (Eastern)

Finger Cymbal Choreography (all levels) 

Dancers will put a variety of finger cymbal rhythms into action with this fun and elegant finger cymbal fusion dance. Combining the patterns learned in the technique class we will bring dance to the stage showing off our skills with zills! *Must be enrolled in finger cymbal technique class.

Contact

Blog

Performing Arts in a Pandemic

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7 Years in España

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A WILD RESISTANCE

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