About Sabah

Sabah is a professional dance artist. Her dance career has ranged from performing in professional dance companies and folkloric troupes, to choreographing and educating new generations of dancers on the different styles of ballet and belly dance through classes, lecture demonstrations and workshops, both locally, nationally, and world-wide.

Early Training

Sabah’s early training focused on classical and modern ballet, under the tutelage of many well-known ballet masters and prima ballerinas.  Her main mentors in Chicago are Homer Bryant and Sherry Moray. She is a former member of several prestigious dance companies including Momenta, Chicago’s Festival Ballet Company, and the Alabama Ballet Company.

While pursuing a dance education degree at Columbia College of Chicago, Sabah discovered her true passion - raqs sharqi, also known as Belly Dance.  She joined the Turkish Troupe Aman Aman, while taking any belly dance class she could find.  Sabah soon became highly influenced by the Egyptian music and dance enthusiast Teri Souri, who strongly encouraged her attend The American University in Cairo.  She also credits her Moroccan friend, Amel Arhda as a “hidden gem” of inspiration in Chicago.  Sabah completed her degree from Columbia College in 2005, as a Cultural Studies major.

Travel to Egypt

An important step in Sabah's dance journey has been her experiences living and working in Egypt.  In 2004, taking Mrs. Souri’s advice, she attended a semester at the American University in Cairo.  She was invited to join the university’s folkloric troupe directed by Kamal Naeim, and honored to be the first foreigner to perform with them at France's International Folkloric Festival.  During Sabah’s stay in Egypt she studied with famous Egyptian dancers Mahmoud Reda, Aida Nour, Raqia Hassan, Najwa Fouad, Dina, Tito, Gabie, Yasmina of Cairo, and Hallah Moustafa. She also attended two of the Ahlan wa Sahlan Festivals, summer intensive week-long seminars hosted by Raqia Hassan.   By the end of her semester abroad, she was awarded a contract as a Belly Dance soloist on the cruise ship Nile Pharaohs. She also performed at various 5 star hotels for weddings and private parties.

Bellydance Superstars

Sabah's most recent accomplishments include performing and teaching in Iceland, and becoming a member of The Bellydance Superstars.  In 2005 and 2006, she was featured as a Master Instructor in Reykjavik, Iceland, performing for the former Prime Minister and being featured on Icelandic television.  With the help of master instructor Hallah Moustafa, Sabah auditioned for and was invited to join America’s only full time touring belly dance company, The Bellydance Superstars, in 2006. As a Bellydance Superstar, Sabah has introduced the world to a modern twist of ballet-belly dance fusion, complete with pointe shoes. Recent tours have included the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, England, Ireland, France, Taiwan, and South Korea.