about

Bringing a bit more glitter to the world.

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about

Bringing a bit more glitter to the world.

Hot As the Desert Wind

Khamsin is the name of the desert wind that brings hot, dry sandstorms. We've adopted the name to describe the vibrant dynamicism of our performances. Swirling veils, syncopated finger cymbals, and luscious hipwork transport you to another time and place.

Khamsin is a professional bellydance performance group based in the San Francisco Bay Area, directed by Sandra Heiser. Since 2008, we have brought a fresh, powerful energy to an ancient tradition. Our group prides itself on the individualism of our performers. Each dancer is an accomplished soloist, each with a unique style and perspective on our art form. The result is a creative blending of many facets into a cohesive and explosive whole - mindful of our ethnic tradtion, but always looking toward the future.

Past Accomplishments

2014 - 1st Place Troupe, RakStar Bellydance Festival - Miami, Floria

2013 - 1st Place Troupe, Bellydancer of the Year Pageant - Danville, California

2012 - 1st Place Troupe, Jewel of the Sierra Bellydance Competition - Placerville, California

Principal Dancers

Experienced in the Art of Entertainment

Principal Dancers

Experienced in the Art of Entertainment

Featured

Sandra

Sandra is the founder and artistic director of Khamsin. She has been performing and teaching in the SF Bay Area for nearly 25 years. Sandra fell in love with Middle Eastern Dance while a student at Berkeley, and continued to study dance while earning her Masters at Stanford. She is also a popular model for bellydance, appearing on over 30 cd covers.

Lara

Lara is an award-winning bellydancer in the San Francisco Bay Area whose exciting performances bring delight to audiences around the world. Although a seasoned solo artist in her own right, Lara is half of the award-winning duet Sassafras in addition to dancing with Khamsin. When she’s not dancing her heart out, Lara puts her Stanford doctorate in Computer Science to good use as a software engineer.

Jillian

Jillian is a dynamic dancer from Palo Alto, CA. She began her journey of Middle Eastern dance with Sandra in 2008, and since then she has never stopped exploring and learning as much as she can about all the aspects of the dance. When not dancing she devotes her time to her other passion, painting and drawing.

Alma

Alma has an exhaustive history of stage performance and brings radiant warmth whenever she dances. She holds a bachelors of science in chemistry from the University of Michigan and a masters in medicine from Stanford University School of Medicine. Alma also loves getting lost in new places, languages, yoga, pizza, and recently - kombucha.

Lauren

A Miami-native, Lauren is an award-winning belly dancer performing on stage and in San Francisco Bay Area restaurants. Drawing on her varied dance experience to enrich her technique, Lauren’s love of dance began at a very early age, when she begged her parents to enroll her in ballet classes.When she’s not working on her dance education, Lauren makes good use of her BA in International Studies and MA in East Asian Studies.

Aazura

Studying everything from ballet to funk, ballroom to belly dance, Aazura’s dynamic style reflects her diverse background. She has been a featured dancer in top venues on both coasts, but now calls the Bay Area her home.