Rhea
Rhea doesn't do email, but it is easy to call her:
In California, call her at 650 558-8265. Her cell is 781 786-1413.
Her number in Greece is 011 30 210 323-1289. Just remember that in Athens,
it is 7 hours later than on the East Coast of the U.S., 10 hours later than the West Coast.
So that's 011 (Europe) 30 (Greece) 210 (Athens) 323-1289 (Rhea's number).
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| Rhea in her home studio in Athens, Greece |
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| Rhea: American Belly Dance Pioneer, Master of the exciting Greco-Turkish style! Rhea began her dance career with Jamila Salimpour’s Troupe Bal Anat in 1968. In the early '70s, Rhea became a sought after solo performer and instructor in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1977, Rhea left the U.S. to explore the various sources of dance in the Middle East, finally settling in the ancient city of Athens. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Rhea headlined at Athens top nightclubs, performing five shows a night, seven nights a week. Now, Rhea teaches and performs all over the world. In Greece, she is regarded as the country's premiere expert in "Χοροσ Οριενταλ" and regularly featured on television and in magazines. Rhea welcomes guest dancers and students from around the world to study in her Athens studio and perform with her troupe. Come and soak up the magic of Greece with Rhea!
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Rhea's journey in dance began with her teacher and mentor, Jamila Salimpour.
Jamila Salimpour speaks at the 1997 International Conference on Middle Eastern Dance
exerpt from above article by Jamila Salimpour
"I created a variety show where each number was no more than three to five minutes long and represented a cross-section of old styles from the Middle East. ...I had a student dance with a real Turkish sabre, balancing it on her head. For her finale she did a backbend and plunged the sowrd into the wooden stage where it stood upright as she retreated to make room for the next dance. That was, I believe, the first time the sword dance was seen in America. Suhaila at age 3 opened the show. We had a Ouled Nail dancer from Algeria ....
That student, dancing with a real Turkish sabre, was Rhea!
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| Rhea with Bal Anat at the 1971 Renaissance Pleasure Faire |
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In this photo, you can see Jamila Salimpour on the left, and famed drummer, Vince Delgado, just to the right of Rhea.
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When Rhea was a baby dancer at the Bagdad Cabaret in San Francisco, she was influenced by the experienced dancers working there, especially Fatma Akef amd Aisha Ghul. Click HERE to see video clip and read an article in Gilded Serpent about these two great dancers, written by Amina, the sassiest dancer on Broadway in San Francisco.
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If anyone out there
has photos of Rhea
at the Bagdad, please
send them to Piper!
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The above photos by Jules Kliot were kindly contributed by Najia Marlyz
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Articles about Rhea
- Rhea of Greece: Fisty, Funny, and . . . Fearless?, by Karla'a, WAMEDA Newsletter September 2007
- Rhea, a life like a movie, in Greece's AnyTime, the magazine of Athens, March 2005
- Rakkasah East 2001 Report, by Zulieka in Gilded Serpent
- My Greek
Transformation, by Barbara Grant in Gilded Serpent
- Austin Meets Athens Show,
by Sherry Smith in Bahaia February 1996
- An Interview of Rhea of Athens, Greece, by Phaedra Ameerah in Gilded Serpent
- The Gilded Serpent presents
Rhea of Greece
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Articles by Rhea
- Rhea's Adventures by the Nile, part 1, Gilded Serpent
- Rhea's Adventures by the Nile, part 2, Gilded Serpent
- Rhea’s interview with Omar
Faruk Tekbilek, Habibi Magazine 1996
- My Belly Dance Baptism, or A Tale of Armpit Hairs, Gilded Serpent
- Of Hips and Hippies - Rhea Recounts, Gilded Serpent
- Of Dancers, Bullets, and the Men in Blue - Rhea Moves to
Greece, Gilded Serpent
- Rhea's Adventures - Egyptian Dance Festival, Gilded Serpent
- Flying Saucers, Gilded Serpent
- Reminisces, Gilded Serpent
- Rhea's adventures! Mount Sinai, Gilded Serpent
- The Search for the Soul in All Things, Gilded Serpent
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