About Mirage

Anuka

Photo by Sarah Skinner

Anuka is the founder, choreographer and artistic director of Mirage. An elegant and engaging dancer, Anuka shares her love of music by making it a visible entity. She frequently dances at public and private events throughout the GTA and has been teaching specialty workshops and weekly classes in Toronto for over four years with meticulous attention to technique. She was a senior faculty member at Hannan's Bellydance Studio, and has also taught classes at Om Laila.

Drawn to express the rich and variable music of the Middle East, she studied intensively with Hannan and Mayada, and has also taken classes and workshops with Yasmina Ramzy, Roula Said, and other Toronto teachers. Anuka takes several workshops with world-class instructors every year to broaden her dance knowledge. Dancers she has studied with include Aziza, Bozenka, Aida Nour, Randa Kamel, Tito, Jillina, Ansuya, Hadia (Level 1 teacher training), Sahra Saeeda, Nath Keo, Rachel Brice and Sharon Kihara.

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Zahira

Photo by Rod MacPherson

Zahira is a dancer popular for her charisma and powerful stage presence. She is a protégé of Hannan Sultan and Roula Said and As a highly sought after soloist she currently performs at private functions, weddings, restaurants, festivals and corporate events. Her contact with dance started at an early age, learning the fundaments of Classical Ballet, Contemporary Dance and Mexican Folklore. With a strong background in drama, music and movement, she began her Middle Eastern Dance training in 2002 and has been studying and performing ever since.

Zahira studied intensively with Hannan Sultan and Roula Said in Toronto and she has developed an impressive C.V. of dance training including notable influences from Shazadi of Mexico, Saida and Amir Thaleb of Argentina, Randa Kamal, Aida Nour, Tito and Yousry Sharif, Rachel Brice, Aziza, Mira Betz, and many more luminaries. Zahira has completed Hadia's Level 1 Teacher's Training Program. Zahira has taught at OmLaila Bellydance and was a founding Faculty member at Hannan’s Bellydance Studio, where she shared her passion for dance with numerous students for over 4 years.

She was a lead dancer with Rhythm of the Nile Dance Company, a founding member of the Sultannettes Troupe and collaborated with Roula Said’s Roulettes.

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Carolina

Photo by Marcus Brubaker

Carolina had been enthralled by the beauty of oriental dancing for years, and began formal instruction in the summer of 2003. She has been studying intensively with Mayada, where she has broadened her knowledge of Brazilian and Latin dancing, as well as Egyptian Oriental and Folkloric Dance. She also had the pleasure to study with Hannan for years, and has taken classes with Roula Said, Denise Mireau, and other Toronto teachers. Carolina has taken workshops and classes with world-class instructors (Aziza, Aida Nour, Tito, Jillina, Hadia, Nath Keo). She was a founding member of Banat el Sharq and Cairo ala Nar. Over the years, Carolina has explored Oriental Dance, Brazilian Dance, Latin Dance, yoga and fitness. These experiences led her to explore fusion dancing such as samba-belly dance. She is currently a member of Mayada’s newest troupe which has a focus of Latin/Brazilian/Belly Dance fusion.

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Danielle

Danielle started dancing ballet at the age of three, and has since studied jazz, tap, modern, hip hop, salsa and bellydance with several teachers in Toronto. She danced modern, jazz and cabaret with the University College Silhouettes dance club in 2003 and 2004. She currently studies cabaret bellydance with Mayada and Tribal Fusion bellydance with Audra. She has taken workshops with Bellyqueen, Rachel Brice, Mardi Love, Kami Liddle, Moria Chappell, Ariellah, Carolena Nericcio and three workshops with Suhaila Salimpour. Danielle holds a Level 1 certification with the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance, is in Audra's Dark Side Studio teacher training program, and holds an ATS General Skills certification.

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Kalika

Photo by Brian Lin

Kalika's love of dance began at the tender age of 3, when she discovered the joy of flitting and twirling around the living room. She soon discovered this was her true passion, and she has studied all her life, having taken classes in ballet, jazz ballet and hip-hop, and finally discovering the world of bellydance when she began taking classes with Hannan Sultan in 2007. Since then, she has studied with such notable teachers as Anuka, Zahira, Abigail, Emilia, Maha and Nada in Toronto and was a member of the Sultanettes performing dance troupe. Kalika is drawn to the passion and beauty of dance, and continues to study various forms of belly dance and hip hop (when she has the time). As her dancing abilities grow, she never forgets her roots and always take the time to twirl and dance around her living room. She has been a member of Mirage since June 2010 and hopes that everyone finds their passion in life and never lets it go. Always find the time to reconnect with the child inside you and the dreams you once had.

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Mariana originally hails from the Colonia Roma neighbourhood of Mexico City where her initiation to dance began at a young age with a devotion to ballet. Being of Lebanese and Mexican descent, her love for dance developed from the discovery of the Latin styles of bachata, cha cha, merengue, and salsa. Destiny would carry her north to Canada, where she would reunite with dance through the exploration of bellydance and jazz. She has trained under several master instructors, including: Hannan Sultan, Aziza, Rayna Renee, and Nada El Masriya. Currently, she is enjoying taking classes with Emilia, Maha, Zahira, and Anuka. As well as Mirage, she is a proud member of Sultanettes. Mariana practices both occidental and oriental approaches to belly dance and is appreciated for her natural ability to transmit her passion for dance to her audience.

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