Troupe Member Bios
Aimee
Aimee Thornton, a founding member of Zivah Saphirah, began her exploration of dance in the 3rd grade. Since then, she has participated in tap, ballet. jazz, clogging, square-dancing, ballroom, swing, contradance, and zydeco. She teaches bellydance as well as costume construction. While she finds satisfaction in the performance of her original choreographies, she most enjoys the interaction that occurs when collaborating with her friends to create group choreographies. “Some of my closest friendships have developed through this process of sharing and playing off each other’s ideas. It’s a great feeling to generate such positive energy together; it perpetuates our enthusiasm and inspiration,” she says. Having worked in recreation with senior citizens for over 10 years, Aimee has seen that dance in general can help keep us young and that sharing in projects with friends enhances our quality of life.
Amira Al Sahara
Amira began training in Middle Eastern dance formally in 1999 with Aziza of Birmingham and since 2002 has performed in many Southeastern venues. In 2006, she joined Zivah Saphirah and began teaching with the troupe in 2007. Amira also forms one half of "Samar" -- a drumming/dancing duo composed of her and her husband, Rich Miller, who plays doumbek with the Middle Eastern percussion ensemble Out of the Darj. A Birmingham native, Amira also enjoys henna arts, composing music, travel, fine dining and spending time with her cats, dogs and her two young nieces. She also performs other styles of world dance and is a former member of The Malulani Dancers and Notinee Indian Fusion Group. Click here to visit Amira's website.
Anne Susan
As a baby ballerina, Anne Susan won full scholarships to School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet School, and Houston Ballet Academy. She attended North Carolina School of the Arts, wrote for Cartoon Network, became a hip hop dancer for the GSU Panthers, and worked as a casino showgirl and chorus dancer in Atlanta. She became an Aztec dancer at the Tijuana Cultural Center in Mexico, and now pledges allegiance to her ZS sisters. With two kids and a (very patient) husband, she is still working on her PhD.
Basma
Blessed with an energetic spirit and inviting presence, Basma has been dancing for most of her life. As a child, she studied ballet, tap and jazz dance before shifting to various forms of underground dance during her teen years. While pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Women's Studies, Basma discovered a love for teaching and performing as well as a fervor for improving women's lives through female empowerment. Combining these passions brought her to the world of Middle Eastern dance. Basma studied with some of the best instructors in her area and built upon this training by studying with international bellydance stars such as Ansuya, Mira Betz, Petite Jamilla and Sedona. Click here to e-mail Basma.
Gema
Gema has always loved dancing and was inspired to begin taking bellydance lessons after attending a local performance. She began taking lessons from Aziza of Birmingham nearly 10 years ago and has also studied with local instructor Irene Rimer. She is excited to continue her study of bellydance as one of the newest members of Zivah Saphirah. Gema finds bellydancing to be a wonderful way to express herself creatively as well as to reconnect with her Middle Eastern background. Gema is currently in Lebanon teaching English to elementary school children.
Jenna
Jenna has always loved to dance but did not find belly dance until about 13 years ago with former Birmingham instructor Aiesha Banu. She was immediately hooked by the intricate rhythms, passionate melodies of Middle Eastern music and the fun girls! She joined Zivah Saphirah in 1997 and is the troupe's communication coordinator. Since then, Jenna has attended numerous workshops to further her technique, musical interpretation and is a current student of Irene Rimer. Jenna's also a wife, a mother of 2 and an Interior Designer for a local construction company.
Kim
Along with travel and language learning, dance is one of Kim’s enduring passions. She has had the great good fortune to study Middle Eastern dance locally with such excellent teachers as Aisha Banu, Petite Jamilla, Aziza, Irene Rimer, and of course, the wonderful women of ZS. Kim is thrilled and proud to be a member of the Zivah Saphirah troupe and wants to thank her husband, Scott, and her parents, Patty & Don, for all their love and support. She recently traveled to Atlanta to study with Egypt's only professional male Oriental/belly dancer, Tito Seif. Choukrane!
Lu Lu Ah
Ashlyn has enjoyed performing Middle Eastern dance for the last 7 years. Each Middle Eastern country has a distinct style and history; over the years Cabaret has fused together elements of Egyptian, Turkish, Lebanese and even ballet movements to interpret the music. Ashlyn dances using her stage name Lu Lu Ah - meaning Pearl in Lebanese to honor her grandmother.
Majoun
Majoun is one of the founding dancers of Zivah Saphirah, and has studied and practiced modern, ballet, middle eastern, and swing dance. Her specialty in bellydance is gypsy folkloric dance, which relies heavily on earthy and communicative movements and is often performed to traditional rhythms that sometimes makes clapping along difficult.
Selma
Selma is originally from Tunisia, a beautiful country in North Africa. She learned oriental dancing in Tunisia, and started teaching it in the Spring of 2006 at the University of Alabama Recreation Center. Selma then moved to Birmingham and took classes from Irene Rimer, Aziza of Birmingham and Zivah Saphirah. She became part of Zivah Saphirah in March 2010. Selma still teaches belly dancing in Tuscaloosa and takes classes whenever she can from different instructors in Birmingham. She recently traveled to Atlanta to study with Egypt's only professional male Oriental/belly dancer, Tito Seif. She is very excited to be part of Zivah Saphirah and would like to thank her husband Malek for all his support!
For information on Selma's current classes, please click here!
For information on Selma's current classes, please click here!
Shamila
Shamila is a mother of three. She has been dancing Middle Eastern dance for six years. She first learned to dance in 2004 with Aziza of Birmingham and has been dancing ever since then. She became a member of Zivah Saphirah in 2005 and began instructing classes in 2006. In 2007 she began studying Modern Middle Eastern dance with Irene Rimer and continues to train with her style of dance.
