ABOUT ZULEIKHA

ARTIST – INNOVATOR

International performer through the art of Storydance and creator of Self-Care works, Zuleikha inspires dynamic creativity and rejuvenation. Innovator and educator, she shares the gift of movement medicine through simplicity of movement, expression and feeling, to engage an open heart and to live a life of well being.
 

“I was always trying to weave harmony through space with my body,” she says. Though her formal education in contemporary and traditional Western and Eastern dance and music gave her the basics, she sought to create a feeling-based artistic dance practice. “What I do is to deconstruct movements to see the feelings they come from.”

Trained in music, movement and mysticism by Master teachers of eastern and western lineages, international Storydancer and educator, Zuleikha is an ambassador for Unity in artistic expression. I work to explore core movement through the body, heart and spirit, creating new weavings for myself,” she explains. Spending time in indigenous and world communities—from New Mexico, to Afghanistan and beyond—has enabled her to absorb culture, customs and spiritual traditions.What’s inspiring about her life and work is how she formed her own style, a magnificent tapestry of rhythm, dance, music, spirit and philosophy—a free-flowing dance theater that mingles poetry, dramatic gestures, humor and spontaneity.

As a Storydancer/performer, Zuleikha has been described as a singular figure on the horizon of sacred theater and dance (Edinburgh Guide, Edinburgh Fringe Festival). Her collaborations with the renowned poet and translator of Rumi’s poetry, Coleman Barks, across America in the Rumi Concert, along with award-winning world musicians are loved among her many heartwarming performances. Zuleikha has been invited to bring her special art of Storydance, awareness and Self-Care practices through the text of movement for audiences in theaters, conferences and retreats with artists and leaders from many traditions.

As a practitioner and teacher of movement awareness practices, she is renowned for creating TAKE A MINUTE® – Transformative Self-Care Exercises; TAKE A MINUTE® For Palliative Care – for palliative cancer patients, their families, and caregivers; 5 ENERGY GEMS – Everyday Self-Care; DANCE FOR GOOD – A Science of Moving Freely; and BODYLISTENING – Inner Movement Research.

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