Jamila Salimpour

Jamila Salimpour was one of the most important figures in the development of belly dance in the United States. She began teaching in 1949 and created a structured vocabulary for movements that influenced generations of American dancers. In 1968 she founded Bal Anat, a theatrical company whose costuming and presentation became enormously influential on later American “tribal” aesthetics. Her teaching system formalised terminology, finger-cymbal patterns and technical concepts at a time when few comparable codified programmes existed. Her work directly influenced later FCBD Style, Tribal Fusion and the training system developed by her daughter Suhaila.