ANAHID SOFIAN
Anahid is of Armenian descent and grew up learning Armenian dances and listening to Middle Eastern music
She was trained in ballet, jazz, Afro-Cuban and modern dance.
In the 60’s, while recovering from a modern dance related knee injury, she learned belly dance through observation of dancers like Saliha who performed at the 8th avenue clubs in NYC.
Anahid says that they passed down what she likes to call the “Mother Dance” and she continues to carry on their tradition and lineage today. She teaches both Turkish and Arabic styles (pre modern-egyptian)
Anahid established her studio in 1972 and still teaches to this day!
She is one of the first dancers to take Oriental Dance out of the nightclub and onto the stage.
In addition to curating performances at Town Hall in NYC, Anahid has performed as a soloist and with her company at The Museum of Modern Art Sculpture Garden, The United Nations, The Uris Theatre and Carnegie Hall. She was also the first oriental dancer to be accepted into the New York Dance Festival at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.
Her lecture-demonstration, "Solo Dance of Armenian Women: A Comparative Study," was featured at the Museum of Natural History and the Anthropology Museum of the People of New York at Queens College.
Sources: Anahid's website and an interview in Bellydance Chronicles Magazine by Alay'nya