Why take lessons from Majda Anwar?

  Growing up in a Jordanian family, Majda was surrounded by the music, dance, and culture of the Arab world. She brings her lifelong immersion in these rich cultural traditions to her instruction of both movement and music. As a dancer, she is uniquely situated in both the traditions of the Arab world and of American tribal and fusion dance stylizations. As a musician, she is also a student and scholar of early music and Middle Eastern musical traditions.

 Majda has nearly three decades of Middle Eastern dance experience, and has studied a diverse range of belly dance including classical Egyptian, American Tribal Style® (ATS®) and tribal fusion, making her a versatile dancer and instructor. She began dancing when she was five years old, imitating and learning from her aunts at family social gatherings. When other children might have been watching Saturday morning cartoons, Majda devotedly watched the great Egyptian dance stars, such as Nagua Fouad and Sohair Zaki, perform with their 40-piece orchestras. After seeing a belly dancer at the Georgia Renaissance Festival when she was 11, she sought out her first formal training. Since then, she has continuously studied a diverse range of stylizations and techniques. In April 2007, she earned her General Skills Certification in ATS® from Carolena Nericcio-Bolhman of FatChanceBellyDance®. In 2015, she began studying at the Salimpour School of Dance, where she holds a Level 2 certification in the Suhaila Salimpour Format and Level 2 in the Jamila Salimpour Format. 

 Majda picked up the violin at age 10 and played in school orchestras through high school. During college, Majda returned to the violin to study Arabic music with Dr. Wael Mahalowy at the American University of Cairo during a 6-month stay in Cairo, Egypt. She also studied the qanoon (zither) to deepen her understanding of the Arabic mode system of the maqamat while in Egypt. Majda loves to play at various belly dance shows for dancers. In 2013, she founded the world fusion band Alla-Yustur (May God Cover Their Faults) with fellow musicians and performed with them for two years. Her mission is to provide live music for dancers as often as possible. She has also been a member of the TribalCon live band for the last 7 years.

Majda is involved in the Society for Creative Anachronism and enjoys playing Medieval and Renaissance music. Her period instrument of choice is 16th century style vielle. She also performs a variety of percussion instruments such as the daf, sagat, and Egyptian tabla and may sing in Arabic on an occasional late night. She enjoys performing at any and all SCA events to spread the appreciation of Middle Eastern arts.