About Saliima
Dance education, teaching, choreographing, & performing
Saliima studied Modern, Ballet, Jazz, African, Brazilian, Contract Improvisation, Choreography, and Dance Education at UNC Greensboro as a Dance Education major from 1995-1998. She completed her BA in Dance at UNC Charlotte. Outside of her University training, she has also studied & taught: Hip Hop, Belly Dance, Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing/Jitterbug, Salsa, Mambo, Bachata, Merengue, Cha Cha, Rumba, Waltz, Foxtrot, Zumba, and Kids Ballet, Tap, & Creative Movement. Saliima has been teaching a variety of dance styles to all ages since 2000. She has been studying Hula since 2010 and continues to study & teach this beautiful Hawaiian art form. She is also the Artistic Director and founder of “Aloha in Motion” Contemporary Hula Dance Company that performs at private and public events throughout the year.
Saliima has taught, choreographed, and performed throughout NC including: Greensboro, Asheville, Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and Charlotte. She has also taught, choreographed, and performed in Sweden, and Vancouver, Canada.
Saliima’s love for music and dance was awakened by her parents who encouraged her to delight in music & movement at a very young age. Saliima was born in Durham, NC; but she grew up in the Middle East and traveled throughout Europe with her family until the age of 13. Dancing with friends at parties, weddings, and family gatherings in different countries around the world were her first dance classes. She moved back to the US as a teenager and studied dance in the public schools she attended. As an adult, she continues to feed her passion for World Dance and learn about the essential healing role that music and dance play in families and communities all over the world.
Saliima is always expanding her knowledge and skills as a student and as a teacher of Hula and Tahitian Dance. Saliima will always be a student of Hula, and she shares the Hula traditions and style of Kumu Pattye Kealohalani Wright who founded the Halau Hula (school of Hula), Na Puakea O Ko;olaupoko, in 1973. The Hula school is located in Kailua on the isalnd of O’ahu.
Kumu Pattye Kealohalani Wright is a traditional Kumu Hula and teaches a specific Hula lineage. Her Kahiko (traditional style) teacher was Aunty Lani Kalama. Aunty Lani’s teacher was the well reknowned Lokalia Montgomery of Kailua, O’ahu. Her ‘auana (Modern Hula) dance teacher was Bella Richards of Kailua, O’ahu. Aunty Bella came from the Hilo tradition of ai ha’a style dancing, characterized by a deep bend on the knees and rolling of the feet. For more information about Kumu Pattye Kealohalani Wright and her Hula school go www.realhula.com
Saliima’s Tahitian dance style follows the style and technique of Tumata Robinson and Lorenzo who lead and direct “Les Grands Ballets de Tahiti” on the island of Tahiti.
Teaching Philosophy- “Take it one sway at a time!”
Saliima’s teaching philosophy is based on each individual finding their own unique style of dance that mirrors and allows their unique spirit to shine through; as well as developing efficient, beautiful technique in each dance style that she teaches. She believes that people were made to dance, just as much as birds were made to fly! She fills her classes with laughter, and fun interactive exercises that makes everyone feel comfortable and at ease during the learning process.
Massage Therapy and Herbalism Education
Saliima completed a ten month Massage Therapy program at the North Carolina School of Natural Healing in Asheville, NC to add to her understanding of the body in 2005. She also completed a 70 Fundamentals of Herbalism course at the North Carolina School of Holistic Herbalism in Asheville, NC in 2013.
