Adriane - Artistic Director

Adriane Whalen (Jameela) is a highly accomplished professional dancer, choreographer, and multidisciplinary Dance Instructor. Adriane is the Co-Director of the Nomad Dancers and the Director of Raqs el Hob Dance Company both located in the Washington DC area.
Adriane believes that a dancer and choreographer is always learning and expanding their knowledge, she continues to pursue opportunities to grow attending workshops, conferences, and events in Washington DC, New York City and around the World

Karen

Karen Kate is a student of many dance styles including Polynesian, Salsa, and Central Asian Dance. She started her Middle Eastern training in late 2014 with her dance mentors at Saffron Dance, Sahara Dance, and Joy of Motion. She is currently training with Victoria Teel.

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Amani

You can take the girl out of Egypt . . . . Need I say more? Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Amani adores Egyptian culture and its many expressions in movement and dance. Her belly dance training comes from hours spent watching and dancing along as a kid to classic Egyptian films featuring Nagwa Fuad, Samia Gamal, and Suheir Zaki. She is also a student of Ballroom, Latin, and Swing dance and enjoys dances that fuse these art forms. She joined Raqs el Hob dance company in 2016, and she is delighted to share the joy, playfulness, and passion of raqs sharqi in range of venues and with a variety of audiences. Yalla, let’s dance!

Patricia

Saher

Ashlee

Ya Meena

Ya Meena grew up dancing. Her love of world music drew her to study eastern styles of dance. Moving to the Washington DC area after college made it possible for her to study with many talented world dance instructors. Ya Meena has extensive dance background in Middle Eastern Dance, Persian Dance and Central Asian Dance. She has performed nationally and internationally with Raqs El Hob and Nomad Dancers.

Rena

Rena studied with Adriane - our director for many years and became a full time member of Raqs El Hob, when she returned to the DC area after college. Rena is a gifted drum solist and fusion style dancer.