B I O G R A P H Y

"I have the gift of beauty within me. I've always known that my only
duty was to express the truth of my being in gesture and movement.
I've always known that was what I was put on earth to do."
-Isadora Duncan

Now booking workshops for 2008!

Ahava, meaning 'Beloved' in Hebrew, became infatuated with ethnic dance when she was nine years old. She began her dance journey with West African dance in elementary school and continued to learn and perform through out junior high. As she entered high school she began to venture out into other dance forms. She began to study Ballet, Tap, Modern and Hip Hop. But at the age of fourteen her dance career was put on hiatus.

In May 2000, Ahava suffered terrible injuries from a pedestrian hit and run accident. Between all the surgeries and physical therapy, it took almost two years for her to fully recover.

At the age of sixteen she stumbled upon Belly Twins Veena and Neena's instructional videos and became infatuated. It was then she realized her true calling. Raks Sharqui had immensely helped her with her self confidence. She says, "I used to wear long sleeved shirts and jackets all the time because I was embarrassed about my scars. I didn't like it when people would stare at my arms. But after I began to study Raks Sharqui, I was no longer embarrassed. I am now confident and happy with my body."

In 2003, she began to study Tribal Fusion with Bay Area instructor Frederique. She then later moved to study American Cabaret with Leea Aziz.

Now, years after she first stumbled upon Veena and Neena, Ahava has met and taken workshops with the likes of Nagwa Fouad, Randa Kamel, Dr. Mo Geddawi, Jillina and Judeen just to name a few. She is also a multi award winning performer with numerous titles under her belt, including 2006 Queen of Raks Sharqui.