Meet Shamira -- dancer, teacher, drummer, and RCA recording artist, who has been performing since childhood. She began with ballet and concert piano at the age of four and was the soloist and assistant dance instructor for an Armenian folk dance company by age 16. She has lived a career dancing, playing keyboard, singing and drumming with various bands and has appeared in numerous clubs as well as concert halls such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Radio City.

Her first role model and biggest influence was cousin Katherine, a wonderful professional bellydancer who would also dance at all the family parties. Being from an Armenian family (their grandparents immigrated to the USA from Turkey), family gatherings were always centered on music and dance. Shamira's formal bellydance training continued with Serena Wilson (NYC) and later on privately with Jehan Kemal (NYC). Shamira gives all the credit for her amazing skills on finger cymbals to her years of middle eastern drumming. Her teacher is the famous Gabby Tawil, who now resides in Phoenix, AZ.

Shamira began her teaching career by establishing dance and drum classes at the New York Open Center, the largest urban holistic learning center in the United States in order to bring her unique experiences as a dancer and drummer to these art forms. Her dance classes expanded to New Jersey and out-of-town workshops. She created the weeklong bellydance camp at the famous Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY and taught there for 3 years, establishing bellydance as a highly popular program (now being carried on by other teachers). Shamira believes that bellydancing, with both its high energy and soft sensuality, can transform a woman's life.

By 1995, she had released her first instructional video called "Bellydancing: The Sensuous Workout." It was a runaway hit on amazon.com and in 2000 was remade and cut to DVD. Most recently, she released her Sensuous Workout 2 "Pure Technique" DVD, which is quickly flying into homes all over the world. Her companion choreography DVDs are also extremely popular with students, teachers, and professionals.

In 2000 Shamira was hired by Christina Aguilera to choreograph and dance an "Arabian Nights" opening for her MTV Music Video Awards performance, seen by millions all over the world. After that, bellydance exploded onto the MTV culture with Britney Spears and Shakira featuring it too. What the MTV generation doesn't realize, though, is that bellydancing has been around for centuries. Now, more than ever, Shamira feels a calling to keep the art of bellydance grounded in what she calls "All Woman."

"I'm all for the primal, pure female energy, that raw sexuality you find in, say, hip-hop dance. But that's just a piece of the bigger picture. I would hate for the rest of the story to get overshadowed by all those shaking, gyrating hips. Don't get me wrong, I love all that stuff! But there's so much more!! Bellydancing is not only hot and sizzling, it's soft, sensuous, feminine, rhythmic and deep. Hypnotic undulations and mesmerizing isolations characterize this ancient dance, but let me tell you what else is going on. Bellydancing is a bridge that connects a woman's profound mystery to a modern-day world, bringing her back to the sensuous, passionate female she is, no matter what age, body type, or background. It's beyond 'who' you are -- it links you to 'what' you are - All Woman."

In the summer of 2003, Shamira was commissioned by Lincoln Center to create and direct a show using New York City's top middle-eastern dancers and musicians. The show was called "The Divine Divas of Oriental Bellydance" (the title was given by Lincoln Center). On August 14, to a sold-out crowd, during the sound check, the great Blackout of 2003 occurred! This meant no electricity, which meant...no sound. The troupe decided to "go on with the show" anyway. The enthusiastic crowd fully appreciated the non-cancellation with wild applause. The following year, Lincoln Center invited them back. There was no blackout, and the troupe enjoyed success to a standing-room-only crowd.

"It is my true belief that bellydancing can change lives. I have witnessed all kinds of wonderful transformations in class, including in myself. I get numerous emails from women of all ages from all over the world telling me how much my videos help them discover themselves. Teaching also teaches me what I want to learn. I chose a road that allows me to express my innermost soul. Bellydancing gives a joyful meaning to my existence, and continues to act as the great balancing force in my life."