Dance Biography A San Francisco native, Kimberley Michelle has studied ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance since her early childhood. In her early teens she pursued her passion of Middle Eastern dance and music handed down to her from her mother. Kimberley trained extensively with the eminent Suhaila Salimpour, with whom she was a principle dancer in the Suhaila Dance Company for five years. She has also been a principle dancer with Ballet Afsaneh, directed by Sharlyn Sawyer. Interweaving Middle Eastern, contemporary and classical dance, Kimberley’s dance is inspired by her eternal gratitude for her ability to move again after surviving a life-threatening spinal cord injury, and by her unending passion to give to those whom for reasons of war, poverty, or physical limitations do not have the ability to dance. Since 1988, she has performed her solo works, and in the last five years she performs and teaches internationally (France, England, Austria, Wales, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Scotland, Hungary, Israel, and Canada). Since 2002, she has collaborated and toured with world-acclaimed Iraqi/Israeli composer, master violinist and oud player, Yair Dalal and his accomplished ensemble, including master musicians Erez Monk, Avi Agababa, and Yotam Haimovitch. Currently, Kimberley lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Israel, and travels often throughout Europe and the Middle East. Some of her most Influential dance teachers have been world-renowned teachers such as Suhaila and Jamila Salimpour, Horacio Cifuentes (former San Francisco Ballet soloist), Yannis Adoniou (Artistic Director of Kunst Stoff, and former principle of Lines Ballet), Gabrielle Thompson (Ballet Counterpointe), Margaret Swarthout (Artistic Director, Marin Dance Theatre), Nancy Gallenson (Ballet West, Adult Division Director/Marin Dance Theatre), master teacher Alan Scofield (Jose Limon Master Teacher), and Yoram Karmi (Artistic Director Fresco Dance Company, Tel Aviv). http://www.suhaila.comhttp://www.suhaila.comhttp://www.dancesilkroad.org/ballet_afsaneh/http://www.yairdalal.comhttp://www.oriental-fantasy.com/http://www.transmitmedia.com/kunststoff/yannis.htmlhttp://www.kunst-stoff.org/http://www.linesballet.orghttp://www.rocodance.com/adults/ad_instructors.html#gabriellehttp://www.mdt.org/faculty_pics_and_bios.htmhttp://www.mdt.org/faculty_pics_and_bios.htmhttp://www.alanscofield.com/http://www.fresco.org.il/newsite/en/management.aspxshapeimage_1_link_0shapeimage_1_link_1shapeimage_1_link_2shapeimage_1_link_3shapeimage_1_link_4shapeimage_1_link_5shapeimage_1_link_6shapeimage_1_link_7shapeimage_1_link_8shapeimage_1_link_9shapeimage_1_link_10shapeimage_1_link_11shapeimage_1_link_12
Kimberley Michelle