JANIM (the Steel City Bellydancer) is a professional performer and Director of the Pittsburgh Bellydance Academy at Art in Motion Pittsburgh
Janim has dedicated herself to the study of Middle Eastern Dance, its traditions, nuances and deeper meaning and expression through performance, instruction, and continuing education. Her love of the dance can be seen in her dynamic performances and within her thoughtful instruction of her students in both workshops and classes where she presents the fundamentals of bellydance as well as the nuances of zilling and veil work. Join her at her studio Art in Motion Pittsburgh to discover the love of the dance!
As an experienced, personable, and respected performer and instructor, “Janim infuses classical styles with individual grace and charm, expressing the essential feminine in dance,”- Angele Ellis, Pittsburgh PA. Her understanding of dance movement and technique and her training in Egyptian, Lebanese, and Turkish Oriental styles lends spirit, spontaneity, and heart to her dancing, captivating audiences where ever she performs. To round out her dance education and to infuse a special twist, she currently studies Ballet, Tahitian, and Samba. Janim also organizes events in town including the Pittsburgh Bellydance Festival now in its 7th year!
When not performing, organizing, or instructing, Janim is a landscape architect at her award winning firm, Studio for Spatial Practice. She was an adjunct faculty member of Carnegie Mellon’s school of Architecture and holds her architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame. Go Irish!
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The Pittsburgh Bellydance Academy offers a comprehensive training program for amateur and aspiring professional bellydancers. The class program includes flexibility and strength training, toning, head to toe technique, combinations and choreography. Classes also include training in musicality, interpretation, improvisation, and performance skills. Prop classes include single and double veil, cane, zills, and fan veils. We strive to offer high quality instruction and to create beautiful dancers. Students are encouraged to participate in biannual showcase performance opportunities.
“Excellent! Would hire again and again! Janim performed a Belly Dance at my sister’s wedding. We had almost 400 people in attendance and everyone was captivated by her. We received compliment after compliment. She was classy, graceful, and personable. If you’ve ever hired a belly dancer you know that being a good dancer goes beyond the dance moves. Janim connected to the music, the audience and made the whole wedding more fun and authentic! My whole (Lebanese) family was so pleased with her performance and presence at the wedding!” 
“As a bellydance student, the most valuable lesson I learned from Janim can’t be directly seen – it rests internally. From Janim I learned to liberate the fun, flirty, and fearless qualities that all of us women (deep down) possess. As someone who has struggled with self-esteem issues all of her life, I continue to feel my confidence grow, little by little, every time I step into the dance studio. In the few months that I have been dancing, I already feel like a new person; it’s almost unrecognizable. Someday I hope to possess the same ethereal-like aura and charming confidence that Janim has – until then, she continues to be an inspiration and role model to me!” 