Professional profile
Karlos Khalil
InnovatorChoreographerPerformerArtistic DirectorShow ProducerEvent Producer
San Juan, Puerto Rico · active since 2003 · English, Spanish
Career
Highlights
- Around 2003, began his long-term work in bellydance; by 2026 he described himself as having 23 years of experience.
- Trained initially in ballet and modern dance before bellydance became his principal dance discipline.
- Competed internationally and has spoken about traveling for dance competitions to places including South Korea, Germany, Las Vegas and Santo Domingo.
- At the 2013 Bellydancer of the Universe Competition, represented Puerto Rico and placed 2nd Runner-Up in Fusion, while also receiving the People's Choice award in that category.
- Appeared as an international guest at Dominicana Goes Tribal 2014 in Santo Domingo.
- Co-founded Estudio y Formación Actoral (EYFA) with Ángel Manuel, combining acting, dance, movement, emotional interpretation and professional stage experience. EYFA celebrated roughly a decade of work by 2024.
- Developed his own approach connecting bellydance with acting and theatrical interpretation, which is now visible in his Bellydance Drama Fusion work and the workshop Bajo la piel / Under the Skin.
- Created the Puerto Rico Bellydance Fusion Fest, whose first edition was presented in 2023. The festival mixes bellydance, modern fusion and theatrical staging and has since developed into an international multi-day event.
- Is also an established Puerto Rican playwright and theatre director. His first play, Sangre de mi sangre, was written, directed and performed by him; his later theatrical work includes Ruido en el Silencio.
- In 2024, the third edition of EYFA's theatre project Tributo was dedicated to Karlos Khalil, described there as a playwright as well as an Arabic-dance performer, choreographer and actor.
- In 2026 he co-wrote the large-scale theatre production Moisés with Migdalia Rosario and performed the title role, while Ángel Manuel portrayed Ramses.