Saliima's love for music and dance was awakened by her parents who encouraged her to delight in music & movement
since she was born. Saliima is from Durham, NC; but she grew up in the Middle East and traveled throughout Europe
with her family. Dancing with her native friends at parties, weddings, and family gatherings were her first dance
classes. She moved back to the US as a teenager and studied dance in the public schools she attended. She went on to study
Modern, Ballet, Jazz, African, Brazilian, contract improvisation, and choreography at UNC Greensboro as a dance education
major. Saliima continued to study and teach different styles of world dance in Greensboro and Asheville,NC;
in Chicago, Sweden, and Vancouver, Canada. She has been teaching and performing for 10 years
to all ages and levels.
Saliima taught Hip Hop, Belly Dancing, Hula Dancing, Swing, Latin, Ballroom, Zumba,
Stretch, and World Dance Fusion classes in Raleigh, Durham, and Cary, NC for the past 4 years. She just moved to Charlotte,
NC and plans to teach dance in the public schools, and in the community.
Saliima has traveled to South and Central America, Europe, and back to the
Middle East to feed her passion for World Dance, and to better understand the essential healing role that music and dance
play in families and communities all over the world.
Saliima completed a ten month Massage Therapy program at the
North Carolina School of Natural Healing in Asheville, NC to add to her understanding of the body, mind, and spirit. She continues
to educate herself by reading books on the latest teaching methods and current research on how music and dance affect the
human brain and nervous system so she can continue to improve her teaching and dancing. She
is a strong advocate for all forms of art education, and environmental education-especially in the public schools. Saliima
loves animals, and spending time outdoors. She loves to read, write, and sing!
Her teaching philosophy is based on each dancer finding their own uniquestyle of dance, as well
as developing efficient, beautiful technique. She fills her classes with laughter, and fun interactive exercises that
makes everyone feel comfortable and at ease during their learning process.
