Suraya Hilal

Suraya Hilal was born in Cairo where she learned to dance in the traditional way at family celebrations as a child. She researched contemporary dance and eastern traditions, among them Indian dance. She was also trained in Afro-American dance in the USA, where she completed her education, and finally settled in London in 1980.

Supported by the British Arts Council from 1983 to 1992, with her ensemble of musicians, Suraya has created and toured over fifteen productions, showcased throughout Europe including Sadlers Wells’, the Queen Elizabeth Hall London, Edinburgh Festival, Tanzhaus Düsseldorf, Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin, Dansens Hus Stockholm. Over a twenty-year period of creative work, research and teaching, Suraya has refined and re-developed many of the traditional forms of movement in Egyptian/Arab culture and given them a modern presence. By the year 2000, the totality of her practice became known as Hilal Dance® which has found strength and international presence through the work of Hilal Dance Company and Hilal Art Foundation.

What do you teach? I teach Hilal Dance to everyone, from beginners to professional dancers and teachers. This form or system came to me in a ...