Asala is a Classical Middle Eastern dance artist in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. She specializes in Egyptian style raqs sharqi, aka bellydance, and performs weekly at various restaurants and special events.

It all started when she saw a flyer for the new Middle Eastern Dance Organization on her college campus in the fall of 2002. Heavily active with bellydance throughout her college years, Asala trained with talented artists such as Pele (Rochester, NY), Amira Jamal (Boston, MA), and members of the internationally acclaimed Bellydance Superstars. After moving to Washington, DC following graduation, she continued to polish her art, studying intensively with Nazira, a master bellydancer with 25+ years experience. Asala is now an active professional, performing weekly at restaurants and other events such as weddings and fundraisers. Frequently, she has the honor of sharing the stage with the area's most talented musicians, including Shawkat Sayyad (www.shawkatsayyad.com), Mohamed Amir (www.mohamedamir.com), and Munir Alasheg. Occasionally, she also performs Tribal Fusion bellydance, and video footage of both her Classical Egyptian and Tribal Fusion work can be found on the Gallery page. She is also a current member of the Silk Road Dance Company (www.silkroaddance.com), directed by Dr. Laurel Victoria Gray. Asala has been noted for her high degree of musical interpretation, dynamic storytelling, boundlesss energy, and playful artistry.