Sandra
graduated with a bachelors' degree from UC Berkeley and a
Masters from Stanford University. Although she greatly
enjoyed her time as a field geologist in Argentina and Central
Alaska, her desire to devote herself completely to Middle
Eastern Dance became too strong.
Sandra is involved internationally
in every aspect of bellydance from performance, instruction,
competitions, DVDs, music videos, modeling, and community
outreach. Sandra
is a popular entertainer in Arabic nightclubs in the San
Francisco Bay Area, and also travels to perform for audiences
world-wide.
Her
natural musicality and understanding of Arabic movement and
culture combined with a playful sensuality keep her in high
demand.
Sandra
travels around the globe to help students learn advanced
technique for Middle Eastern dance.
Known
for her clear and communicative teaching style, Sandra's
experience with multiple dance forms along with years spent
working in authentic Arabic and Persian nightclubs, helps her
give students a professional polish with traditional style.
Sandra began her study of bellydance with
Nanna Candelaria while a student at UC Berkeley and continued
studying and performing with Nanna through her graduate work at
Stanford. Sandra's
understanding of Arabic belly dance is enriched by studying
ethnic dance forms from many cultures, including Flamenco and
Classical Indian and Classical Persian dance.
Sandra
spent 6 years pursuing the study of classical Indian Baratha
Natyam, most recently with Shreelata Suresh's Vishwa Shanti
school of Indian dance.
Sandra
studied classical Persian dance with Lorna Zilba and performed
with her LifeDance Theater company and studied Classical Persian
and Central Asian dance with Ballet Afsaneh.
To
keep things groovy, Sandra keeps up her jazz/funk/hip-hop skills
with Lisa Navarro at Dance Visions in Palo Alto, along with
traditional ballet technique with Eric Bourman at Western Ballet
Academy.
