Donna Eileen:
Performer, Choreographer, & Instructor

Known for her fiery charisma and sophisticated cymbal work, Donna Eileen has a history of stealing smiles from an unsuspecting audience. Her dance, both powerful and precise, is an experiment in truth as she brings her whole self to the stage, passionately and unapologetically. She is a dynamic performer and instructor specializing in belly dance, West African dance, and hip hop. Drawing knowledge and inspiration from both Western and Eastern dance forms, she strives to create innovative expressions of emotion through movement with honesty and respect. Donna Eileen seeks to cultivate the conversations of the soul for which our minds do not have language.

An Intermediate 2 certified dancer and the Group Leader for Salimpour Collective DC, Donna Eileen is pursuing her professional teacher license with the Salimpour™ School. With a strong commitment to supporting the growth of her students, she guides dancers towards building a strong foundation of body alignment and dance technique while integrating movements with emotional intelligence and cultural awareness. A detail-oriented and articulate instructor, she is simultaneously compassionate and demanding with a gift for addressing the needs of students at any level.

Performance Experience

Company Member:

• Salimpour Collective Washington, DC (Collective Leader), Baltimore-DC Metro Area
• Suhaila Salimpour’s Bal Anat, Berkeley, CA

Dance Performances (Selected Events and Venues):

• Rakkasah East
• Spring Caravan
• Art of the Belly
• Jewels of the Orient
• East Coast Classic
• Raven’s Night
• The Austin Belly Dance Convention
• Mosaic Dance Festival
• Hunterdon County World Music Festival
• Dance New Amsterdam (NYC)
• Bickford Theater (Morristown, NJ)
• Players Theater (NYC)
• Kumble Theater at Long Island University
• The Julia Morgan Theater (Berkeley, CA)
• Yvonne Theater at Rider University
• Newark Arts Alliance
• Art All Night (Trenton, NJ)
• Jebon NYC (NYC)
• DROM (NYC)
• Mexicali Live (Teaneck, NJ)
• Roxy & Duke’s (Dunellen, NJ)

Past Classes and Specialty Workshops

• Drum & Dance Learning Center, Lawrenceville/Princeton, NJ
• Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
• Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ
• Garden of Healing Yoga, New Brunswick, NJ
• Robert Wood Johnson Fitness & Wellness Center, Hamilton, NJ & Plainsboro, NJ
• Princeton YWCA, Princeton, NJ
• Maryland Bellydance Convention, Baltimore, MD
• Pure Onyx Movement Bellydance Expo and Fundraiser, Brooklyn, NY
• The Boutique by ShimmySista, Columbia, MD
• Art of the Belly, Ocean City, MD
• Roxy & Duke’s Roadhouse, Dunellen
• Bellydancers Of Color Collective, College Park, MD

Education

Certifications:

• Intermediate 1 & 2 Certified – Salimpour School, Berkeley, CA
• Level 1 – Apprentice in Belladonna’s Bohemian Blade Balancing Training and Certification
• Level 1 in Gypsy Caravan Tribal Bellydance Collective Soul with Paulette Rees-Denis

Middle Eastern Dance & Music:
Kim Leary, Suhaila Salimpour, Jamila Salimpour, Donna Mejia, Linda Faoro, Sabriye Tekbilek, Artemis Mourat

Middle Eastern Dance Workshops:
Ahmet Ogren, Amy Sigil, Anasma, Angelique, Ansuya, April Rose, Arianna al Tiye, Ariellah Aflalo, Asharah/Abigail Keyes, Aszmara, Autumn Ward, Aubrey Hill, Chelsea Martin, Cassandra Fox, Dalia Carella, Ebony, Fahtiem, Irina Akulenko, Jamilla Al Wahid, Jill Parker, Jillina Carlano, Jim Boz, Kaeshi Chai, Kami Liddle, Karim Nagi, Leila Haddad, Mira Betz, Nyota, Ozgen, Ranya Renee, Rashid (Tom Ryan), Rayhana Caruso, Reyhan Tuzsuz, Sera Solstice, Sharon Kihara, Silvia Salamanca, Tasha, Zoe Jakes

Other Dance Forms:
West African Dance – Audrey Davis, Modern Dance – Randy James, Julia Ritter (Mason Gross School of the Arts), Hip Hop – Broadway Dance Center, Koresh School of Dance, Modern Jazz – Koresh School of Dance, Persian Dance – Shahrzad Khorsandi, Street Jazz/Heels – Aisha Francis, Experience with Zouk, Salsa, Puerto Rican Folkloric Skirt Dances, Hula/Polynesian, Samba

Music Education:
10+ years of formal Vocal Training, Solo and Choral, 10+ years of Percussion & Music Theory Training

References available upon request.