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ABOUT KANINA

When Kanina began dancing in the 1970’s Boston was already a hub for Middle Eastern music and dance in the United States.  Club Zahra, one of the nation’s first ‘belly dance’ dinner clubs had opened its doors in the 1950s, attracting a steady stream of musicians, aspiring dancers and excellent teachers to the area.   Her early studies began with Adonna and Morwenna Assaf in Boston, and were soon complimented by workshops and seminars with internationally recognized teachers:  the late Ibrahim Farrah and Sereena Wilson, Elena Lentini, Riskallah Riyad, Morocco, Yosri Sharif, Mahmoud Reda, and more recently Randa Kamel. Travels to Greece, Morocco, Istanbul and Egypt have enhanced her knowledge and appreciation of the art.  She has dedicated much of her life to sharing her love of dance with her students.


 

 

Kanina has taught classes in folkloric and belly dance to thousands of women since the 1970's.  Her classes emphasize respect and understanding of the dance, music and culture of the Middle East.  Her annual productions of Arabian Nights, A Thousand and One Nights, and Night at the Casbah promote the beauty and artistry of Middle Eastern dance and music and provide the perfect performance atmosphere for both student and professional dancers.

 

From 1972 to 2020, Kanina served as director and choreographer of the Beledi Dance Company, which performed the cabaret and folkloric dances of the Middle East.  From 1985 to 1988 she was a Board member of the Boston-based Near East Dance Theatre, where she also performed and contributed choreography.  The NEDT presented performances at Boston College, New England Life Theater, Boston, and Zeiterion Theater, New Bedford, and earned the praise of such luminaries as Mrs. Anwar Sadat who attended a performance while visiting from Egypt.As a soloist, Kanina has performed at Middle Eastern night clubs and cultural events throughout New England.  She was the featured performer at Arabian Nights, Holiday Inn, Aruba and a guest artist at A Tribute to Mahmoud Reda, Boston, honoring the famed Egyptian choreographer as he toured the United States. 

 

More recently she performed at the Turkish Delight Festival in Istanbul Turkey (2010) at the Randa Kamel of Course workshops, Cairo, Egypt (2012) and at Journey Through Egypt , Cairo (2019) where she spent a month studying the music, culture and dances of Egypt.

 

Throughout her long career Kanina has supported local arts, education, medical research and social service agencies with numerous benefit performances.:   In November, 2014, Kanina produced A Billion and One Nights, an afternoon of Middle Eastern dance and music, in memory of her late husband, Bill Hague.  The event raised $10,000 to support research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

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