About
Biography
Aisha Ali is one of the most important American researchers and practitioners of Middle Eastern and North African dance. She began dancing professionally in the late 1950s and later developed a strong interest in documenting regional traditions at their sources. Beginning in the early 1970s, she undertook field research in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and North Africa, recording music, movement and community practices that were poorly documented at the time. She directed the Aisha Ali Dance Company for more than two decades and incorporated her research into both performance and teaching. Her recordings and archival projects preserved material from communities that were undergoing rapid social and economic change. Aisha's work is therefore fundamental not only to American belly-dance history but also to the preservation and contextual understanding of several regional MENA dance traditions.