"A graceful and dynamic dancer with a unique look and comprehensive vision."

-Karim Nagi Mohammed,  musician, Turbo Tabla

“The dancer enters the room to the sounds of Arabic guitar gently opening the phrases of a classical cabaret song. Making her way to the Persian carpet in the center of the floor, all eyes gather to her. As the drums begin, and she moves with grace to the music, her spell begins, and the dance unfolds. Sparkling eyes and a bright smile charm her onlookers. A shimmering veil and gems and sequins move upon her costume, casting reflections of fractured light to the eyes of her audience with each effortless movement. For the moment, all else is forgotten, and there is only the dancer, becoming one with the song, becoming one with the audience, and becoming one with the dance! And all too soon it is over, and she bows, collecting applause before she glides away, leaving her spellbound audience behind…

Sonya discovered belly dancing in Spring of 1996 & quickly became a lifetime student of all things belly dance, from the history of the dance to its most contemporary styling, from folkloric to fusion, from the music in all its forms to the traditional costuming & makeup, from teaching it to the glorious performance of belly dance itself! Her firm grounding in Egyptian style Arabic dance would be the foundation she built on forever. 6 years as a principal dancer in 2 dance troupes she performed folkloric, traditional, cabaret, and themed or “interpretive” Mid-East dance in more than thirty-five choreographed theater shows in her first 8 years, a coalesce of her studies of Tahitian, Polynesian & Bollywood/East Indian dance with flavors of Oriental & Andulusian dance.

In Spring of 2006, with 10 years of technical dance training under her “belt”, Sonya traveled to Cairo, Egypt to intimately study the dance with legendary instructor & choreographer Mahmoud Reda, and with Egypt’s daughter of Middle Eastern dance Farida Fahmy. Sonya is proud to be one in the first group of professional dancers to receive a teaching certificate in Egyptian belly dance from Egypt. She continues to study and enrich her knowledge and skills in her art by staying current with all developments & new innovations to generously impart this knowledge to her students.

Never one to let the dance stop with her, Sonya acts as an educator; realizing the value of her knowledge, she subscribes wholly to the belief that her talents mean nothing if she cannot share them with others. Utilizing the anatomy of movement, Sonya taught full-time for 5 years in Chicago and abroad before founding her own school of dance in Fall 2004, called Arabesque, and continues to teach 9 weekly classes there (beginning through advanced) in addition to monthly workshops, sewing clinics and costume sales while also giving a home to other fun and feminine (and often misunderstood) dance forms for adults. She’s proud to produce fine dancers with similar missions to uplift the art to the highest standard.

Sonya often shares the stage with her own dance company Ro-He (Arabic for Soul) comprised of regularly attending advanced students of Sonya’s who share the commitment and love of sharing this dance with others. Troupe Ro-He enjoys invitation for group performances both locally & abroad, giving them the valuable live performance experience that Sonya swears by, with a deep & serious conscientiousness of promoting the dance with all the dignity & grace that it merits.

As an event sponsor, Sonya values the treatment and comfort of her fellow dancers, whom she employs for her own Concerts and Haflas (dance parties), as well as playing the role of Producer for her annual large scale seminar and feature showcase, affectionately named Where the Mid-East meets the Mid-West. This is where Sonya can offer to the diverse local dance community a unique Chicago experience in outstanding instruction from abroad, experienced by Sonya herself. Her theater show is also celebrated for the level of gifted and eclectic performers from across North America and overseas that are drawn to the well-planned weekend.

As a Golden Navel competition champion, costumer & respected performer with knowledge well beyond the cabaret style, Sonya had been sought out to evaluate others in the way of technique, as a friendly tool for betterment in the role of judge for many annual competitions, however she does not believe this dance form to truly be a thing to “judge” one against another. “One dancer is sweet like an apple, another is a tart orange; this one a beautiful pineapple, another is a banana…” is a favorite quote she recalls from one of her inspirational muses, denoting the beauty in all women dancing with the power of their heart.

Sonya enjoys the traveling to perform & teach her fluid style of the dance, adding the angular locks with effortless shimmies and stunning undulations, and welcomes you to visit one of her Upcoming Events to witness live her expression of the music to make your own determination.

 More About Sonya

www.SonyasSouk.com

www.ArabesqueChicago.com