Monday, August 25th @ 6:30-8PM
Belly Dance: Sacred, Social, Sensual
Teacher: Suhaila Salimpour
Style: Belly Dance
Level: All levels
Location: Bandaloop Studios, Oakland
Register for Class
Class Description
Discover the many layers of belly dance—its sacred roots, social traditions, and deeply expressive potential. This class combines foundational technique with a focus on presence, intention, and connection to self. Whether you’re new to belly dance or returning to it, you’ll leave feeling grounded, energized, and more fully at home in your body.
About the Teacher
Suhaila Salimpour (she/her), a first-generation belly dancer from the SWANA region, is a pioneering force in her field. Her work as a choreographer and dancer is rooted in the cultural and somatic traditions of her heritage, exploring identity, belonging, and the body as ancestral knowledge. She continues the legacy of her mother, Jamila Salimpour—whose groundbreaking Salimpour Method established the first certification program in belly dance. Suhaila is currently pursuing her MFA in Dance, deepening her commitment to dance as a living archive of cultural memory and transformation.
Please pre-register to take a class. The first 30 pre-registered people to show up will get to take class.
What should I bring?
• Danceable clothing that you’re comfortable in!
• We recommend taking class barefoot or in socks, some styles in clean sneakers
• Water bottle
Accessibility:
The class venue, The Joe Goode Annex, is ADA compliant and equipped with two private gender-neutral restrooms.
To ensure a comfortable environment for all participants, we kindly request refraining from using scented products in our classes.
In response to COVID-19, we strictly adhere to guidelines from state and city authorities, prioritizing the safety of our community. Masks are optional in our classes, following current regulations.
If you have any concerns about meeting your accessibility needs, please reach out to us at boe@kristindamrow.com or fill out this anonymous form.
BOE Community Agreements:
• Sharing names and pronouns of each person in the space.
• Come as you are. Be the best advocate for yourself in class that you can be.
• Strive to maintain an open mind and sense of curiosity.
Striving for a harmonious and equitable dance space:
To us, equity signifies empowerment through respect, fairness, and unwavering support for all, ensuring that every individual is seen, heard, and valued. We recognize that mutual dignity and respect between each individual is vital to and promotes a healthy, productive, and harmonious space to dance. Collectively, individually, and responsibly adhere to this ideal.
At Bodies of Empowerment, we value making movement accessible to everyone, celebrating diverse bodies of all abilities and ages in our inclusive spaces. Equity is core to our teaching philosophy, emphasizing shared leadership and amplifying individual voices in the classroom. We recognize cultural diversity through physical expression, embracing all dance forms as a means to connect us through movement.