English Biography
Curriculum Vitae of Experience in Dancing and Teaching
– since 1984: freelance dancer and teacher for Middle Eastern dance and folklore
– further training in the following dance disciplines and traditions: ballet, jazz, afro, modern, flamenco, various oriental styles, gypsy dance and others (teachers: Tosca Zech/Germany; Sybille Schaudt / Germany; Carmen Diana Flechtner / Germany; Sheik Tidiane / Senegal; Nesin Topkapi / Turkey; Momo Kadous / Egypt; Laurel V. Gray / USA; Kadir Muminov / Uzbekistan; Gustav Ballasz / Hungary)
– 1986: founder of the dance ensemble „Raqs Sharqi“ (in existence from 1984 to 1995)
– since 1986: sponsor and creator of various dance programmes and (to date) twelve of the annual (or biannual) „Oriental Dance Nights in Memmingen“.
– video documentation of the Dance Nights in Memmingen: „Silk Road Dances“ (1990), „North African Dances“ (1991), „Tradition and Fantasy“ (1992), „Rose Petals of Oriental Dance“ (1993), „From Tashkent to Cairo“ (1995), „EGYPTA“ – A Dance History of Pharaonic Egypt“ (1997), „ZAUBERGARTEN“ („Magic Garden“) (1999)
– since 1986: Soloperformances, guest performances and tours – including the following: with the dance ensemble „Raqs Sharqi“, Bassiema, Sayed El Joker / Cairo, Laurel V. Gray / USA, Hamid Baroudi / Algeria, Haissam Salah-Eddine / Lebanon, national folklore ensemble „Bachor“ / Uzbekistan, Dance Ensemble Arabeska, dance Show „Fantastica – the most beautiful dances of the world“ (two tours through Eastern Germany 1999), 5th International Dance Festival in Turku / Finnland, as well as others in Germany, Switzerland and Austria
– important dance dramas :
EGYPTA (1996 and 1997) – co-regie/production/choreography
ZARO (1997 and 1998) – female principal performer
ZAUBERGARTEN („Magic Garden“) (1999 and 2000) – regie/production/choregraphy
– since 1988 teaching abroad: Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Italy and Finland
– author of numerous articles and publications on dance an Middle Eastern culture in German and English-language specialist magazines, including the following: „Tanz Oriental / Germany, „Orient Magazin / Germany, „Halima“ / Germany, „Karawane“ / Germany, „Bastet“ / Germany, „Kemet – Magazin for friends of Egypt“ / Germany, „Saida“ / Austria, „Habibi“ / USA, „Jareeda“ / USA, „Afsana“ / Finland
Havva has been studying various styles of Middle Eastern dance, classical Central Asian dance and folklore dance of Middle Eastern and Western countries for many years. Numerous excursionss to Middle Eastern countries habe deepened her knowlegde and her ethnological research on the connections and differences in Middle Eastern vocabularies of movements. In her teaching, she focuses on didactic and methodically structured explanation of and instruction in this vocabulary of movements and also on the cultural background of a specific body expression. In the artistic field of expression, she experiments with a combination of Eastern and Western tradtions of movement.
List of locations where Havva has tought:
– since 1984 Teacher for Middle Eastern Dance and folklore in adult evening classes and at dance studios in the countries of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy and Finland including among others the cities of
Memmingen, Ulm, Markt Oberdorf, Eislingen, Münsingen, Heidenheim, Stuttgart, Freiburg, Kempten, Mindelheim, Konstanz, Bad Camberg, Dachau, Günzburg, Laupheim, Ehingen, Biberach, Aulendorf, Garmisch, Augsburg, Markdorf, Kaufbeuren, Grönenbach, München, Diessen, Weilheim, Kaiserslautern, Pfullendorf, Leutkirch, Ravensburg, Aachen, Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Sylt, Flensburg, Karlsruhe, Regensburg, Erlangen, Deggendorf, Passau, Ingolstadt, Bamberg, Nürnberg, Schweinfurt, Bielefeld, Minden, Solingen, Köln Hannover, Düsseldorf, Weingarten Gelsenkirchen, Mainz, Chemnitz, Erfurt, Jena, Baden- Baden, Fürth etc; Wien, Innsbruck, Zürich, Winterthur, Turku etc
Travel to the Middle East for study of dance / partly involving teaching
1986: Turkey, dance training wirh the dancer Nesrin Topkapi / Istanbul
1987: Turkey, dance training with the dancer Nesrin Topkapi / Istanbul
1989: Syria, dance training with folklore ensemble „Zenobia“ / Damascus, Syria
1990: Morocco, dance training the dancer Morocco / Marrakesh, Morocco
1992: Uzsbekistan, dance training with the dancers Kadir Muminov und Erkan Sultanov, both of Tashkent
and both members of the national folklore ensemble „Shadlik“
1995: Uzbekistan, dance training wiht the dancer Vica Akilova / Tashkentf, member of the national folklor ensemble „Bachor and with Kadir Muminov/ Taschkent
1998: Egypt, dance training with the dancer Sayed El Joker / Cairo, member of the national folklore ensemble Mahmoud Reda-Group
1998: Egypt, dance lessons at the Nubian Centre / Cairo
1999: Egypt, excursion to Upper Egypt
2000: Hungary, excursion (research for Gypsy dance)
2000: Egypt, dance study trip including dance training with members of Reda- Group
2001: Egypt, excursion to Upper Egypt, with dance lessons from native Nubian folklore dancers
2002: Egypt, excursion to North-West Egypt – Marsa Matroh, Oasis Siwa and Cairo, including dance lessons from native Bedouin dancers
2003: Egypt, excursion to Northern Sinai and Cairo, icluding dance lessons with regional folklore Ensemble „El Arish“
Further and / or related training
– afro dance (1988/89) with Sheik Tidiane / Senegal and Denis Hathornbey / USA
– jazz dance (1 year 1991/1992) at Ballet- and Jazz Dance School Tosca Zech / Memmingen
– classical ballet ( 6 years, 1992 -1998 at Ballet- und Jazz Dance School Tosca Zech / Memmingen
– modern dance (intervals 1996/ 1997/ 1998) with Sybille Schaudt / Ulm
– since 1984: Middle Eastern dance with Momo Kadous / Ägypten; Nelly Masloum (Egypt & Greece); Feyrouz / Germany & USA among many others
– Persian Dance with Bezad / Abdan, Iran (musician, now resident in the USA); Laurel V. Gray / USA; Ostad Farrokh Alipour / Teheran, Iran & Berlin / Germany among others
– since 1992: choreography and Central Asian dances with Laurel V. Gray / USA
– choreography und Middle Eastern dance with Momo Kadous / Egypt
– instructor´s certificate for rhythmic physical education, gained 1995
– (1 year) rhythm and drumming with Martin Doll / Memmingen (1996 / 97), Ibrahim Abu Hassan / Jordan, Marika Falk / München;
– since 1998 (in intervals) flamenco dance with Carmen Diana Flechtner / Ulm and Karma Leyds, Ulm –
– Reiki , 1. Grad bei H. Schmidt/ Lindau
– 1995 Co-founder of the school „ORIENTAL DANCE ART„, a school for Middle Eastern dance teaching and training, performance, stage technique and choreography
– 2000 Sole director of the school „ORIENTAL DANCE ART“
– 2001 School „ORIENTAL DANCE ART“ in Zürich, Switzerland
– 2002 School „ORIENTAL DANCE ART“ in Vienna, Austria
– 2002 Publication of book „Raqs Sharqi – Belly Dance – Oriental Dance“, practical advice for teachers (in German)
– 2003 Publication of book „Oriental Dance – Folklore and Court Dances“ ( in German, English translation in preparation)
– 2004 Opening of Dance Studio in Ulm / Work on book „Iranian Dance“ with Ostad Farrokh Alipour and June Neuberger
