PRESS QUOTES
“It was a concert where Zuleikha spun her joyous dance, turning the evening into something special.” —Denise Kusel, Editor, Santa Fe New Mexican Pasatiempo
To describe Zuleikha as only a dancer would be like describing the Grand Canyon as only an arroyo. Zuleikha combines music, philosophy, anthropology and storytelling in a rich theatrical experience.. —Joseph Portal, from Caught Up in Whirlwind Fusion of Spirit, Santa Fe New Mexican Pasatiempo
“For Zuleikha, a storydancer and performance artist who’s trained intensively in several spiritual and musical traditions, spirit and breath are inseparably interwoven in them all.” —Jean Macleod Le Cheminant, Spirituality and Art, Conversations with Artists on Spirit
“Zuleikha weaves elegant humor, sumptuous music, costumes and dance into stories from nature, world and life itself.” —Janet Eigner, Dance Magazine
“Zuleikha is a singular figure on the horizon of sacred theatre and dance, a mistress of countless faces who moves effortlessly through space, telling her stories from old and new traditions by means of movement and rhythm.” —Ksenija Horvat, Edinburgh Guide
“The tasteful delicacy of performance artist, Zuleikha’s concert created a mood of meditative harmony and whimsical humor, though the questions asked through short poems—questions about why the earth is unraveling—were profound, so were the answers offered by Zuleikha’s mythic storytelling. Her sumptuous Eastern costumes, sparkling fabrics and bold colors matched the warmth of the archetypal stories she presented.” —Janet Eigner, Dance Reviews, on Origin / Heart Streaming Concert
“Zuleikha is constantly creating a contemporary rhythmic language, which embodies an expressive form of spontaneity and improvisation through movement.” —Eldorado Sun
“Sometimes the simplest movements can open a gateway to the soul…. When you work with women who are shut down and traumatized, they start to smile and feel better. There is a feeling of safety.” (Zuleikha) —Kathaleen Roberts, Journal Staff Writer, Zuleikha’s benefit performance with musicians Michael Fitzpatrick and Issa Malluf, for Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families and Solace Crisis Treatment Center
“The story weaver, dream-dancer, trance-mistress Zuleikha, through her performance “Storydancer and the Gateless Gate” really stripped away the veil that seems to separate that everyday world from the sacred world of religious experience. Zuleikha, with classical eastern music and gentle guidance in the art of allowing the body/soul to dance its prayers, took me and a hundred others by the hand, foot, elbow, shoulder, back, the top of the head, the eye and the ear, and led us dancing into the Garden of the Divine.” —John F. Luca, Portals of the Sacred Conference, Pacifica Graduate Institute
“It is not easy to describe the work of “storydancer” Zuleikha. Her performances filled with spirit, humor and creativity are a pastiche of dance forms and musical genres of theatrical expression and storytelling. She’s created an art form that is entirely her own…” — Zelie Pollon, freelance writer, Meaningful Movement article
“Think Meredith Monk blended with Marcel Marceau and any rubber-faced female comedienne—Lucille Ball, Martha Raye, Carol Channing. Think native people’s magical realism, and East Indian ankle bells set tinkling by stomping, bare feet and serpentine, diagonal arm gestures…. Zuleikha used subtle repetitive motion of arms and legs like a moving haiku that added to her words and visuals” —Janet Eigner, Dance Review, The Spirited Dance
