Rena - The Art of Middle Eastern Dance

Pillar

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“Beautiful woman, daughter of grace and of joy, from where comes your art?

How do you master the earth and the air in your steps and the water and fire in your cadence?”

The dancer knelt before the prince and replied:

“Your highness, I’m not certain how to answer you, but I know that

The soul of the philosopher lies wake in their head,

The soul of the poet soars in their heart,

The soul of the singer vibrates in their throat, but

the soul of the dancer lives in all of their body.”

Khalil Gibran, The Belly Dancer

WELCOME TO RENA'S HOME OF RAQS SHARQI!

Born and raised in New York City, Rena embraces and is influenced by all styles of music and dance. She is a first generation Hispanic-American, proud of both her Latin heritage as well as having been born in the United States. She grew up knowing that dancing – particularly Latin dancing – was naturally in her blood and credits her parents with her ability to learn any dance form. This is evident in Rena's passion and discipline for Oriental Dance as she has very quickly absorbed the technique, emotion and professionalism unique to this art form as well as having gained respect from instructors and the dance community alike. A lover of the music industry overall, Rena is also an accomplished vocalist and currently sings with her local church's choir. [Click here to listen to her vocal demo.]

Rena has been studying and performing Middle Eastern Dance since 2002 when she began training with Miami-based Oriental Dance Artist, Virginia. Rena initially included belly dancing into her workout routine as part of her health and fitness regimen. Within days, she realized she was falling in love with the art form and caught the “performance bug”. Her performance style is mainly Modern Egyptian/American Cabaret, but she also incorporates elements of Classical Egyptian, Lebanese, Turkish, Latin, Greek, Flamenco and West African dances. She has been commended by both her mentors and colleagues for her precise hip and abdominal work, as well as expressive hand and arm movements. As with most dancers, Rena strives for personal excellence through consistent training. She is extremely grateful to Azhia and Valerie Rushmere - her teachers, mentors and two of the most knowledgeable and talented Oriental Dance Artists - whom she says helped sharpen her technique and deepen her love of Middle Eastern Dance. Additionally, she has taken intensive workshops with renowned Oriental Artists: Sahra Saeeda, Fahtiem , Jim Boz , Suhaila Salimpour and Momo Kadous.

Based in Philadelphia, Rena maintains a busy schedule as a performer/entertainer and instructor and has developed an affinity for choreographing. She hopes to continue developing her choreography skills to further both her artistic and emotional interpretation of Middle Eastern Dance. She is a member of The Shake Charmers Dance Company at Valerie Rushmere’s Studio 1831 in Philadelphia where she teaches Intermediate Level Belly Dance. Rena has appeared on Philly’s Channel 6 Action News as the featured belly dancer at the Annual Spring Festival Parade. Other performance venues include Atlantic City’s famed Cesar’s Casino, World Café Live, St. Maron's Annual Lebanese Festival, Drexel University, Rakkasah East Middle Eastern Dance Festival, The Free Library of Philadelphia, Raw Sake & Sushi Lounge as well as several other local venues and events.

Rena has performed with some of the best musicians in the area including: Roger Mgrdichian (Oud), Joe Tayoun (Doumbek/Riq/Percussion), Adeeb Rafela (Violin), Bill Phipps (Percussion), Chris Marashlian (Bass), WilliamTayoun (Doumbek/Riq/Percussion), Elliot Levin (Flute/Saxophone), Elias Sarkar (Violin/Vocals), Tito Rubio (Guitar), Haig Manoukian (Oud), Hafez Javier (Doumbek/Durbuke), Antonis Tsimounis (Bouzouki/Vocals), Gamal Shafik (Durbuke), Bill Koutsouros (Bouzouki/Oud/Doumbek) & Animus and Markd (Didjeridu). She can be seen performing every Friday evening at Konak Turkish Restaurant in Old City with live musical accompaniment by Roger Mgrdichian and Joe Tayoun. Rena also performs at haflas, cultural events and other special occasions.

Rena’s energetic spirit and positive outlook are strong factors in her determination to stay young, fit and at peace. However, she mentions that the greatest contributing factor is her loving family and spiritual connection with God.

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Photo by Gabriel Biencyczki