Bio | Samira Shuruk | Belly Dancer in Baltimore & Washington, DC

  • ...I wish you had seen the looks of the band members behind you when you went down to the floor in a split with the sword on your head - one of the singer's mouths was open so wide, had we been outside, he would have caught a ton of flies... ~Alexandra (VA)
  • You were perfect! Your were perfect last time. You were MORE perfect this time. Thank you.”~Dr Rajpara (MD)
  • ...Everything about your performance was amazing... I’m very glad that you were able to attend and hope that you will return for future engagements.~Arutha (DC)
  • Your website is wonderful and I feel even more impressed than when I heard back from the Turkish Embassy with your recommendation!" ~Laurie (MD)
  • Thank you very much for the beautiful performance on my daughter's wedding..Your were beautiful and our guests were happy and had a great time. I will definitely request you to perform in any of our future events.”~Sarah (NY)
  • Samira performed at our wedding May, 2011. My wife is Armenian and retaining her cultural heritage is important to us. Having Samira perform was a great surprise for both our families. Her beauty and grace made our special day even more special. Its been several months and our friends and family still want to know who she is and were glad they were there for the experience.~Brandon and Rita
  • Samira we loved your performance! We shall have you again in near future" (Chicago)~Siroj and Yogi (Chicago)
  • i wanted to thank you for your wonderful performance at my henna party. your performance left everyone in the room breathless... ~Mosami
  • You are obviously very talented... we were so taken by your act from head to toe and the amazing dance. Should we have another gathering we will definitely call on you." ~Carol (DC)
  • You will not believe that two months after my wedding; guest are still talking about you; I'm so happy that I hired you, thank you for being so marvelous...and doing such a wonderful job!!" ~Lyvette (VA)
  • "We thank YOU so much for providing us with a truly mesmerizing performance...My friends and neighbors are still talking about how wonderful you were... thank you for making it so memorable for all of us." ~Shea (PA)
  • Can't sing enough praises about Samira! She was friendly, responsive and extremely professional. She performed at my husband's birthday party and everyone had a fantastic time! Thank you Samira!!!!~Jenny
  • "I have been meaning to thank you for your performance at our wedding four months ago-you were fantastic!  We are still receiving compliments from family and friends...the Tower Club staff was really enthused about your performance, too! ~Alexandra (VA)
  • ... Thank you again for helping to make my/our wedding such a fun party and memorable event.~Alexandra
  • Samira did a workshop and performance at our annual women's week at Ball State University and she is and was phenomenal.~Andrea (IN)
  • ...you truly captured the meaning of the song in your expressions and movements. you are truly the best bollywood mujra dancer i have ever seen. I know all of our guests would agree!~Mosami
  • You really made my party an event to remember. My friends are still talking about your performance, especially the sword… ~Arutha (2008 - DC)
  • I've seen you a few times at Cazbar and each time is always entertaining and fun. You always grab everyone's attention...and you are also very gracious when the audience decides to participate; it has been memorable every time.~Chris (MD)

Samira is a premiere belly dancer based in the Washington DC/ Baltimore region. After studying dance at the University of Connecticut, while she was in high school, at the age of 17 Samira was offered a full scholarship for modern dance to the University of Utah. At that time her dance dreams lay in jazz dance and she attended the Philadelphia University of the Arts.

She followed this 2 ½ years of professional dance training with an honors program theatre production Bachelor of Arts Degree, specializing in costuming. Samira combines her love of dance with her talent in costuming and intense interest in historical research to create authentic performances that bring joy to the sharing of cultures. If you are interested in a show or workshop contact Samira.

This early education laid the foundation for her belly dance career. She has danced for royal families, ambassadors, diplomats, is recommended by the Turkish embassy in Washington DC, sponsored for both belly dance and folklore by the Egyptian embassy, has performed at Smithsonian museums and on military bases. Samira is a sought after performer throughout the DC region and is invited regularly to perform in top NYC venues.  Event planners, peers and party goers alike love her vibrant performances and hire her again and again.

Highly respected for her cultural knowledge and professionalism Samira is “the real deal” with her stunning shows.

Long term study with renown teachers (Artemis Mourat, Yasmin of DC, and more recently Faten), Eqyptian folkloric troupe work, live musician work, workshops, videos and abundant research is the basis of building top-notch quality. As a teacher, Samira is generous and fun, while sharing knowledge and joy. Samira’s belly dance workshops, Bollywood workshops and university programs with Georgetown, Ball Sate University, University of Delaware (and more) received glowing reviews for both educational components and gala performances.

 

After being vastly impressed with Samira’s belly dance performances, a DC venue sponsored Samira to learn Bollywood Mujra for their restaurant and special events. They were kind enough to invest in her training and her first Bollywood costumes. Samira continued to pay this gift great honor by also studying Kathak and extending her own education. Samira’s Bollywood Mujra shows bring item numbers to life and her Bollywood workshops create cultural understanding.

Samira has had the unique honor of hosting a weekly belly dance show on Persian satellite TV and taking privately from Shoo Shoo Amin and continues her dance and musical studies both in the US and abroad. Samira’s 2011-2012 projects include new belly dance instructional video productions, a Pilates CD and playing sagat (finger cymbals) in an Arabic band, Saltanah.

Live music and belly dance creates an incredibly exciting performance.  The traditional styles require a great amount of knowledge and high skill set with improvisation.  Samira has performed in live music venues with these highly talented musicians, many renowned in the field: Elias Sarkar, Chris Marashlian, George Stathos, Amir Naoum, Umut Yasmut, Gamal Shafik, Carmine Guida, Scott Wilson, Pangia, Shawkatt Sayyad, Mohamed Amir, Souren Baronian, Souhail Kaspar, David Buchbut, Rashid Halihal, Mike Stoupkakis and more. She is frequently invited to New York City to perform at their prestigious clubs with their astounding live music and she regularly travels to teach and perform.

~Contact Samira~

Hire Samira for a ~Belly Dance Performance~

Learn more about ~Samira’s belly dance classes~