SUHAILA SALIMPOUR IN AL ZAMAN WITH FADI ISLAMBOULI

Al Zaman (The Era)

Al Zaman (“The Era”) is a live music, dance, and storytelling production by Suhaila Salimpour and Fadi Islambouli, inspired by the Golden Era of Arabic nightclubs. Celebrating SWANA artistry through rhythm, narrative, and movement, it evokes memory, identity, and legacy in a vibrant, emotionally rich performance.

Suhaila Salimpour is of Sicilian-Greek descent and a first-generation Kurdish-American on her father’s side. A second-generation belly dancer, she is widely regarded as a pioneer in her field. Suhaila was the house dancer at the famed Byblos nightclub in Beverly Hills and toured with her own band for over a decade, performing in prestigious nightclubs in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Taiwan, France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As the visionary creator of the first systematized pedagogy and certification program in belly dance, Suhaila revolutionized both performance and teaching methodologies. She built a global community of dancers inspired to engage with the art form through embodied discipline, anatomical knowledge, and cultural sensitivity. As the director of the Salimpour School of Dance, Suhaila carries forward the legacy of her mother and expands its reach globally through a robust online instructional platform and a network of licensed instructors.

Suhaila has choreographed three full-length productions and recorded over twenty-three albums with pro/minent Arab musicians. In 2024, Suhaila received the prestigious Gerbode Foundation's grant for dance and movement and the Isadora Duncan Special Award for Outstanding Production for Dancing with Hafez, created in collaboration with Parya Saberi. Suhaila serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, and sits on the boards of World Arts West and Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance. To support equity, access, and sustainability in the Bay Area dance community, she produces YALLAH Arts Festival with Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center. Suhaila also remains deeply committed to academic growth and will complete her MFA in Dance at Saint Mary’s College of California in 2026. Through teaching in-person and online classes, providing workshops and lectures, choreographing performances, and producing festivals, she continues to inspire and educate students across the globe.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Fadi Islambouli is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, and arranger whose career spans over four decades. Inspired by the golden age of Egyptian cinema, he began playing guitar at twelve and later mastered the oud at Beirut’s Institute of Beautiful Art. By fifteen, he was performing with some of the Arab world’s most celebrated artists, including the legendary dancer Nadia Jamal.

Throughout his prolific career, Islambouli has collaborated with icons such as Sabah, George Wassouf, Ragheb Alemeh, and Suhaila Salimpour, bridging traditional Arabic music with contemporary expression. Since relocating to Los Angeles in 1990, he has been a central figure in the city’s Arabic music scene, performing for years at the famed Byblos nightclub in Beverly Hills.

Today, as a “one-man orchestra,” Islambouli continues to share his artistry on stages around the world—from the Middle East to Europe, Africa, Asia, and beyond—celebrated for his deep musicality, lyrical phrasing, and ability to evoke the emotional heart of Arabic music.