Fusion World Musical & Dance Festival will feature a wide variety of stellar performers and we are delighted to introduce you to them! Christina Rizkallah is one of our lovely belly dancers.
One of the qualities that makes Christina such an enjoyable performer to watch is that she bridges the gap between Egyptian culture and American culture. She has a large extended family in Egypt, speaks Arabic and understands the soul of the music to which she dances, but she lives here in California and knows how to make Egypitan music and dance translate for American audiences, who might otherwise miss the emotional nuances or subtle humor of the music.
In addition to teaching classical and modern Egyptian styles of belly dance, she also specializes in Nubian dance (she has family from Assuit which is considered the uppermost region of the Nubian area.) Christina will be performing and teaching Nubian at FUSION!
Christina Rizkallah is one hundred percent full-blooded ethnically Egyptian- a rare quality in today’s “American” belly dance saturated niche! She has been belly dancing and performing Middle Eastern dance for over 10 years. Born into an Egyptian family living in California, Christina was exposed to the music, rhythms, culture, dance, and language of Egypt since childhood.
Christina is blessed to have family from the Shoubra and Madinet El Elam districts of Cairo and Fleming, Alexandria, and grew up steeped in the cultural aspects of the regions. She recalls hearing first-hand accounts of her parents listening to live concerts of Oum Kalthsoum on the radio and hearing anecdotal stories of the prominent composers and musicians of the day, such as Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Farid Al Atrash and Abdel Halim Hafez.
In addition, listening to her family reminisce and recount stories about seeing Souhair Zaki, Lucy and other legends of Egypt perform live has given her an unparalleled insight into the world of belly dance since childhood.
Perhaps, then it comes as no surprise that her interest in dance and music sparked at a very early age. Christina has studied with many master dancers and instructors from Egypt, including: Momo Kadous, Faten Salama, Dina, Raqia Hassan, Aida Nour, Magdy El Leisy, Lucy, Randa Kamal, Nagwa Fouad, Mo Geddawi, Fifi Abdou, Mahmoud Reda, Farida Fahmy, Diana Tarkhan and Tito Seif. She has also studied with Khaled Mahmoud, Camellia, Dandesh, Osama Emam, Ahmed Hussein, Leila Farid and Mona El Said. In the US, she has studied with Farhana Masri.
She visits Egypt frequently to reconnect with her roots and with her extensive family in Cairo, Alexandria and the Red Sea. This has established a strong connection that gives her the advantage of knowing what the dance is about. It is more than just movement and mimicking the words.
Her many years of dedication have enabled her to produce an unmatched and innovative style. Her dancing is characterized as dynamic, high energy, yet soulful, graceful and elegant. She is a very technically precise dancer with a deep and innate understanding of her culture that she infuses into her dance performances. Exquisite musical interpretation is also a trademark of her style. She is also known for her cutting-edge designer costuming -she regularly works with Egypt’s top costume designers to create visually stunning and one-of-a-kind creations- and her incredibly beautiful hair!
Christina can relate well to the needs of both Western and Middle Eastern audiences as belly dance has immediate relevance and accessibility to a wide range of people. As an award-winning dancer, she is in high demand and she regularly performs at venues all over Southern California and the USA, and has also performed in Egypt. Christina is able to offer an authentic performance that has intrigued audiences worldwide on two continents.
Along with performance, Christina is an instructor who has the best of both worlds, that of an authentic Egyptian heritage and that of being in California, a hotbed of ingenuity and innovation in the belly dance scene. As an Egyptian, she understands the lyrics and the cultural meaning that is being conveyed. This enhances her as a performer. As a teacher, she can bring this additional information to her students. She can translate the beauty and feel of the dance while at the same time is able to communicate and convey technique in a manner that is easy to understand.
She offers classes on technique, choreography and coaching. Christina can address the needs of students at the beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. She also offers language translations and understanding cultural contexts and help in overcoming stage fright. In addition, she offers special courses for safe belly dance during the pre-natal and post-natal/post-partum recovery periods as well as in utilizing belly dance for weight loss after pregnancy.
To contact Christina Rizkallah for private and semi-private classes, workshops or performances, please see her website.
FUSION: World Music & Dance Festival 