Group classes
Beginner through performance level. Technique, repertoire, finger cymbals, and port de corps — the carriage of the body that separates a dancer from someone doing steps.
Miami’s Queen of Baladi
Jihan Jamal
Be a queen. Move like a goddess. Dance like a diva.
Artistry · Tradition · Expertise · Elegance · Esteem
The Jamal Method
Classic elegance in the fine art of Egyptian dance
For more than forty years I have performed, taught and researched the dances of Egypt and the Near and Middle East — across the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Egypt and the Czech Republic.
My teaching combines tradition and regional colloquialism without sacrificing form or technique. Students learn the structure of each dance alongside its cultural and regional background, and the social, religious and political history that has shaped it over the centuries.
It is a structured, no-nonsense training in dance and corporal development, handed down by my teachers and mentors — among them Dahlena, Mahmoud Reda, Raqia Hassan, Ibrahim “Bobby” Farrah and Evelyn “Azeeza” Hamsey.
The truest expression of a culture is found in its music and dance. Jihan Jamal
What I teach
Three ways to study
Workshops & master classes
Intensives for studios, festivals and dance communities: Cairene milaya liff, extreme baladi, dances of the Awalim, khaleeji, Egyptian folk, theatrical dabke.
Coaching
One-to-one development and performance coaching — choreography, stage presence, and preparation for competition or professional work.
Selected recognition
Forty years on stage and in the studio
- 1987 Miss America of the Bellydance First Miamian to win the title. Crowned by Magaña Baptiste, San Francisco.
- 2000 Best Instructor of the Year Zaghareet Magazine, by popular vote.
- 2002 & 2005 Ahlan Wa Sahlan, Cairo Performed at Raqia Hassan’s festival in 2002; returned in 2005 to teach and perform.
- 2014 RAKSTAR Hall of Fame Inductee.
Mission
To represent the beauty of the Arabic dance cultures with dignity, elegance and pride — and to execute the dance as closely as possible to its native styles, while emphasising form, technique, professionalism and ethics.
Available now
Workshops and master classes
I am currently available to teach workshops and master classes for studios, festivals and dance organisations, in Miami and on tour.