Yusefina Bellydancing

dancer’s veil

at the hem of
an open smile

fragrance
skirts wind

we approach
to feel the colours

dancers beat the air back
with butterfly wings

eyes dart
lips part

rain flowers
petals into skye

Yusefina starts her belly dance career in 1994 in Arcata, California, where she is a primary member of
the troupe, Lailaa Chandani, led by renowned belly dancer, Shoshanna. After several years under
Shoshanna’s tutelage, Yusefina relocates to the south of France to continue her study of Danse
Orientale and realize a degree in French.

In Europe, within and throughout, the world expands. The sun shines brighter on the blue green seas of
Mediterranean isles from France and Spain onto a camelback sojourn through Tunisian Saharan Africa.
Yusefina begins to structure her own unique style of belly dancing.

you have

gypsy dancers have no homes
only their hearts can hold them
only the wind can move them
only your passion can soar

I thrust my hands
into earth
pull cold sand
into violet sky
fill the silk veil
with orange
add fire sticks
warm bread of coals
I feel dancers as poets

we become the passion
dance as women as one in
an arched palace of stars as
wings of gold dust veils

around my hands is sand
around my head is gold silk
around now the moon is full
so I empty it

just one line here
just two lines there is...
you have
you are the night

Returning stateside, Yusefina spends two years in New Orleans where she works as an assistant
instructor to teacher Betty Karam and performs regularly at the Tunisian bistro Jamila’s. From New
Orleans, Yusefina flies to New York to study under the internationally known instructor Dalia Carella.

In 2002, Yusefina relocates again to Anchorage where she begins her belly dance teaching career. She
performs throughout Alaska as a solo artist and as a member of the American Tribal Style Bellydance
troupe, Meyva, led by Kelly Xuan. In 2004, Yusefina co-choreographs “Ishwari” a modern/belly dance
fusion for Alaska Dance Theatres’ Annual Mobius Performance and choreographs for West High’s
Dance Troupe, Contempo.

Yusefina’s work is a passionate fusion of many belly dance styles derived from a variety of teachers and
personally experienced cultures, lending itself to both the timeless tradition and the innovative artistry
that is the core of belly dance. Yusefina currently teaches and performs as a solo artist in Houston,
Texas and is a member of Urban Gypsy’s Sister Troupe.