SHEBA is bringing you Live Middle Eastern and North African music and a bellydance experience in a funky, speakeasy style spot in the heart of New York City!

Come enjoy the show and party with us-

Sunday, October 30th

6:30pm doors open

7:00pm dabke lesson

7:30pm show starts

9:00pm-End dance party

@ Secret Room

707 8th ave, NYC

(Between 44th & 45th streets. Look for the big copper door)

**For table reservations text: 917-740-5059

***Be sure to wear your Halloween costume to enter the costume contest!

Music by EL ASDIQAA band:

Samer Najm Vocals/Oud Mo Nabawy Accordion Said Fahmy & Yousef Daibes Percussions

Featured Dancers:

Janelle Issis

Katherine Perez

Lizza

Salit

Zaki Saoud

Additional Dancers:

JBelly Jewels of JBelly School or RAQ

SHEBA Troupe

Camila Pena

Maddi Ocampo

Zakeya Warren

And more

Bios:

Mo Nabawy

Nabawy grew up immersed in the Egyptian popular and classical music emanating from Mohamed Ali street, the Cairo neighborhood celebrated for its professional musicians, dancers and music stores. Nabawy has performed with superstar Egyptian dancers including Nagwa Fouad, Soheir Zaki, Lucy and Fifi Abdou. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1990, he became a well-known figure in the New York City Arab music scene, performing regularly at venues such as “Cleopatra” and “Cedars of Lebanon”.

Said Fahmy

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Said has been playing percussion for more than thirty-five years. He has played with dancers Aida Nour, Dina, and Fifi Abdo and with singers such as Mohamed El Helwa, Ali Haggar, and Iman Darwish, the grandson of the great composer Said Darwish. He has toured with Kazem El Saher, and plays in clubs and on stages from Cairo to New York City. In addition to Tabla, Said is an expert at the Riq, Tabl Baladi, Dof and Sagat. You can find him playing at New York hot spots for Arabic music such as Layaly, the Nile restaurant in NJ and now at the Secret Room in midtown.

Samer Najm

Samer comes from Syria. He has been playing the oud since he was 16 years old and has performed with famous singers.

Yousef Daibes

Yousef is Palestinian. Although he was born and raised in America his roots are very deeply tied to his culture. He plays the darbuka, also known as the tabla and has worked with all musicians in America and outside of America as well.

Janelle Issis

Janelle Issis is a fun loving, full blooded Palestinian-American born national touring belly dance artist, certified yogini, nutritionist and CESD signed model and performer. She studied belly dancing as protégé to Aziza of Birmingham and earned a BA in dance at the University of Alabama. As the first belly dancer ever on the show, Janelle danced her way to the Top 6 on Season 9 of SYTYCD. Her most recent credits include The Wendy Show, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, dancing with Derek and Julianne Hough on Good Morning America, and with J Balvin in an international T-Mobile commercial. Janelle currently resides in New York City educating dancers with JBelly’s School of RAQ: Bellydance LLC. , Broadway Dance Center, Ailey Extension and faculty for Showstopper On Tour. She also enjoys her time with NY based professional Egyptian company Raks Al Zahra under the direction of Natalie Nazario. Janelle truly believes Everybody is a Bellydance BODY!!

Instagram: @jbellyburn https://www.JanelleIssis.com

Salit

Salit is a creative and unique entrepreneur with over 15 years of studying, performing, and teaching the art of bellydance. Born and raised in Israel, now based in New York city, she is the founder and president of SHEBA (the Sisterhood of Eclectic Bellydance Art)- a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing bellydance education to all focusing on female empowerment, cultivating a community, and promoting positive body-image.

Salit holds multiple certificates of fitness and dance instruction and is a member of the folkloric dabke troupe “Afrah Events”.

Recent career accomplishments include teaching and performing in the 2021 “Art of the Belly” festival in Ocean City, MD, and dancing in Ayeci’s 2020 music video “Actitud”. Salit brings passion, musicality, and a unique flavor to the stage and to her classes.

Instagram: @sheba_belly_dance & @__salit__ www.salitdance.com

Zaki Saoud

Zaki has been dancing and performing dabke for the past 16 years. For 5 years, he was part of a wedding zaffeh dance group. He also teaches dabke with other instructors at NYC Dabke, which has dance classes every Thursday in NYC.