Roula Said

Roula Said is a Palestinian-Canadian multidisciplinary artist whose career combines dance, music, theatre and poetry. Based in Toronto, she has studied, performed and taught Arab music and dance for more than three decades. She is also a vocalist and musician who plays instruments including the qanun and percussion. Roula developed educational approaches such as Om Laila: Bellydance for Body and Soul, Seven Waves Movement and Embodied Voice. Her work does not treat belly dance as an isolated stage technique but connects movement with music, identity, embodiment and Arab cultural practice. This multidisciplinary approach has made her an important figure in Canada's Middle Eastern and world-music arts communities.