Jillina Bellydance Superstar – Belly Dance Super Star Jillina

Jillina – 21st Century Dancer

“Jillina is the most innovative dancer we have in Los Angeles, every time I see her there is something new and exciting in her performance.” An incredible mix of technique, stage presence, artistry, choreography, professionalism, costuming and star quality make up the dynamic performances of Los Angeles’ hottest nightclub performer Jillina.

Jillina started her dance career by studying Jazz, Ballet, and Hip-Hop. She has developed and directed her own Hip-Hop Dance Company and toured with them in Europe, Japan, Australia and Brazil. During this time she performed at Prince’s nightclub in Hollywood called Glam Slam.

While she was actively performing, she started looking at other forms of dance and started studying bellydance with Diane Webber. Taking classes and dancing occasionally at showcases eventually lead to performing at parties and nightclubs. Anaheed booked Jillina for her first professional gig on New Year’s Eve at a Greek restaurant. Her first regular job as a belly dancer was dancing at the nightclub Casablanca in Hollywood.

At the time, Jillina was still performing Hip-Hop and Jazz. She made the decision to focus her entire dance career on Oriental dance because her bellydance performances were in more and more demand. Jillina found the movements of this dance to be more natural than the others she had studied. She started training more seriously in Oriental dance to further her career in it. Among others she has studied with Hallah Moustafa, Zahra Zuhair, Sahra, Feiruz, Angelika and instructional videotapes. Watching and learning from the videos of Egyptian dancers lead to her first study tour of Egypt. That tour solidified the commitment she had made to devote her dance career to Raks Sharki.

While in Egypt she studied with Raqia Hassan, went to all the tourist stops, and went to see Fifi Abdo, Dina and Lucy. Jillina had a revelation about the eastern approach to the dance; the feeling, emotion, attitude, internal energy – feminine and powerful, not sexual, “delua.” Jillina now travels to Egypt annually.

Wanting to bring the dance to another level, Jillina developed a dance company called “The Sahlala Dancers.” This wonderful troupe combines the heart and soul of Egypt with the glitz of a Las Vegas show. Jillina and the Sahlala Dancers have been the featured performers throughout Los Angeles – The Middle East Connection, Byblos, Carousel, Aladine, and Al Amir. Jillina has also been a featured dancer at such prestigious venues as the Hollywood Palladium, Universal Amphitheater, The Luxor in Las Vegas, and the John Anson Ford Amphitheater in Hollywood.

Jillina’s solo number at IAMED’s Second Awards of Belly Dance garnered her a Gamal Award for Best Raks Sharki performance. Since that time, she has appeared in numerous IAMED productions as a soloist and with her very popular Sahlala Dancers. She is also the Director and Choreographer of Miles Copeland’s famous “Bellydance Superstars,” which keeps her very busy with travel, workshops, video production, and concerts all over the world.

And as if that didn’t keep her busy enough, Jillina also has her very own school of dance – Evolution Dance Studios in Los Angeles. Evolution Studios is well respected in the entertainment industry, and some of its clients include high-profile celebrities such as Beyonce, Omarion, Lucy Lawless, Leila Ali, Lisa Rena, and more. As one of Jillina’s students puts it, “We don’t just learn how to dance, we learn how to be a dancer.”


Jillina and the Sahlala Dancers are featured in several of IAMED’s productions which are available in the IAMED store, such as:

Performance:
* The 2nd Awards of Belly Dance
* The 3rd Awards of Belly Dance
* The 4th Awards of Belly Dance
* The 5th Awards of Belly Dance
* Hollywood Babylon
* Rockin’ the Casbah
* Belly Dance Spectacular
* Belly Dance Rocks (Sahlala only)
* Belly Dance Revolution (Sahlala)
*

Instructional:
* Drum Solo – Technique & Choreography
* Egyptian Pop Choreography

Bellydance Superstar Jillina

 

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