Autobiographical Information

Jamila Zahran has been involved in Middle Eastern dance since the late 1970's. She has studied with numerous internationally known instructors-Mahmoud Reda, Lala Hakim, Nadia Hamdi, Cassandra, Dahlena, Susanne del Vecchio, Ibrahim Farrah and has developed from their input her own distinctive style - combining the preciseness of Egyptian style hips with lyrical presentation and emotional depth of expresssion.  She is dedicated to presenting Middle Eastern dance as the art form it is in performance venue and also by  presenting informances at educational institutions and cultural events in the tri-state area as a soloist and along with her company, Rakesaat al Nejoum.

Sandra de Estrella began her study of Spanish dance in the late 1970's drawn by its historical and artistic ties to her primary form, Middle Eastern dance. Beginning her study with the director of Ballet Español, Mara Maldonado, she was a member of that company from its inception until Spring, 2001. She has also studied through workshops with Ballet Espanol and independently with masters in the field of flamenco such as Maria Benitez, Maria Alba,Jose Molina, Victorio Khorijian, Vida Peral, Dame Libby Kamaiko Fleming. As a member of the company , she has performed at numerous venue. Although versed in Spanish classical and regional, her primary form is flamenco with a particular interest in Arabic/Spanish fusion - danza mora, zambra and avant-garde forms.

Rakesaat al Nejoum Ethnic Dance Troupe, directed by Jamila Zahran, is based in Louisville, KY and Evansville, IN. Formed in l985, the troupe includes members with a wide variety of backgrounds in the arts, educational, health and business fields.   Their common goal is to increase public awareness of Middle Eastern dance as an art form and in attaining that goal have performed to enthusiastic audiences at numerous civic, multicultural and arts events in their  tri-state area.  Although their repetroire includes a wide variety of dances , their specialty is in women's dances of North Africa and the Middle East.