Dream Nights Dance Company

Denise Arias

Director and Soloist

Denise Arias is the director of the Dream Nights Dance Company. She's known for dancing from the heart.

Her dance career began in Argentina. As a teenager, she enrolled in the Arabian Dance School of Amir Thaleb afer being introduced to Middle Eastern Dance by Sarat. She got a degree as a teacher, and was also the first dancer in the Arabian Dance Company owned by Amir. During this period she started to travel giving workshops and shows in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Spain, eventually ending up here in LA where she currently resides.

In Los Angeles, she starred as a soloist with Jillina's Sahlala Dance Company performing many shows per week all over Los Angeles. Later she opened her own center for dance - Madrasat al Raqs, and formed Dream Nights Dance Company to bring her artistic visions to life.

Dancing has always been her 1st love. Her natural sensuality and sensibility of expression takes her performance beyond just beautiful to watch and elevates it to a true art form.

Denise was featured in the DVDs Instructional Belly Dance with Amir Thaleb (Vol. 1) and Jillina's Shape Up n' Hip Out.

She is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Aricely

Aricely fell in love with belly dance at a MECDA show in Oxnard in 2007. She took classes with Anja Christy and did a few performances with Anja's troupe. She's been dancing and taking classes with Denis Arias from Argentina at Madrasat Raqs Denise. She loves belly dancing and her goal is to improve her technique and to be able to dance in a group or solo. She takes pride in her dance and thanks everyone who's helped her improve. "Dancing is my passion and makes me feel free."

Claudia

Claudia is a dancer, actress and model from Venezuela. She’s been studying the traditional dances of the Middle East for the past 10 years in Venezuela, United States and Egypt. She has trained with teachers from many different countries including Egypt, Iran, Spain, Argentina, Venezuela and United States. She has studied Raqs sharqi (oriental dance) and Raqs baladi (folk dance), as well the Middle Eastern culture, religion, music and traditions. She has also trained Traditional Persian Dances (Baba Karam, Bandari, Persian Classical), Bollywood, and Latin dances. In 2012 Claudia was featured as a bellydancer in Steven Tyler's music video "(It) Feels So Good". She has also been the star of some music videos by artists from the Middle East. The most important thing for Claudia when she’s dancing is to feel the emotions of the music and to show the joy and happiness that dance makes her feel, in a way that can inspire the audience to rejoice and join her in dance!

Corine

Corina is a professional dancer, choreographer and instructor specializing in the exotic dances of the Middle East. Corina was born in New York and raised in Bali, Indonesia, where she spent the first 18 years of her life before moving to LA to pursue a higher education. While attaining her bachelor’s degree, Corina was looking for a way to help manage the stress of college, make some friends and to get in shape. She decided to try her first belly dance class.

Falling in love with belly dance immediately, dancing became more than just a hobby but a livelihood that supported her emotionally, physically and financially. To Corina, belly dance not only implemented a healthier and more positive way of living, but it has proven to her that anything is possible if you believe in yourself. It has filled her with joy and inspiration and provided her with a creative outlet to express herself.

After graduating from UCLA in 2010, Corina continued to evolve her dance, studying, performing and teaching throughout the LA area. In addition to her every day training, Corina has had the pleasure to study with some of the world's most illustrious dance masters including, but not limited to Randa Kamel (Master Egyptian dancer), Sema Yildiz (Master Turkish dancer and teacher of Didem), Cok Ratih (Balinese Princess and Master teacher/Performer), Colleena Shakti (Master Rajasthani dancer), Osama Enam (Egyptian dancer), and many more.

Corina has had the privilege to perform at notable venues such as the Greek Theatre, the Gibson Amphitheater, the Staples Center, the Million Dollar Theatre, club Fais Do-Do, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and at several restaurants within the LA area. She has also had the honor to choreograph for National Geographic's documentary: "Party Like a Roman Emperor" and the Alfred Mann Medical Foundation Annual Fundraising Gala. She’s also had the privilege to perform on Tori Spelling's TV show "Tori and Deans Storibook Weddings".

With her unique background in dance and her dedication as a life-long learner, Corina offers mindful, engaging and innovative instruction as well as exciting, dynamic, and soulful performances. Corina strives to share her love, passion and knowledge of this ancient art form with the community and to inspire the true potential within each and every individual.

Donia

Described as a 'powerful flame within a delicate flower', Donia is an experienced entertainer who uses dance and performance energy to create beautiful memories for all kinds of celebrations and momentous occasions. In addition to private parties, she performs weekly at several restaurants and nightclubs in Los Angeles. She’s danced on enormous stages and in tiny tea rooms, entertained in modest homes, Hollywood mansions, farmer's markets, casinos, and music festivals. Donia's been blessed to share the stage with a range of live artists from beatboxers to Middle Eastern Ensembles, drummers to Fusion bands.

Jamilla

Jamilla Soul of Hollywood practices and performs the beautiful arts of Raks Sharqi and modern Egyptian belly dance. She was a featured dancer at the world famous Dar Maghreb restaurant in Hollywood for over a decade and has performed at hundreds of other venues and private events in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California. Jamilla currently performs every Saturday night at The Gate to the Mediterranean in Encino, CA with Denise Arias’ Dream Nights Troupe. Jamilla has also studied with some of the best middle-eastern dance teachers in America, as well as taught belly dance lessons and workshops throughout L.A. With elegance, grace, style and beauty, Jamilla entertains and enraptures audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

Jeri

Jeri Thompson began studying bellydance in Montana when she was 14. She trained and performed with the local company Caravan of Dreams until she co-founded, a school and performance company called Lotus Fire Belly dance in 2003. While dancing in the company Jeri ran classes, did shows and assisted in hosting workshops with dancers ranging from Suhaila Salimpor to Rachel Brice. Here she developed and love for various styles of dance ranging from classical Egyptian technique, to fusion belly dance, to Bollywood and more. She studied, taught, choreographed and performed bellydance, and fusion bellydance with Lotus Fire until 2007.Also during that year, Jeri competed in the Bellydancer of the Universe competition in Long Beach, CA and won "1rst Runner Up" and "The People's Choice Award" in the Taksiim category. In 2008, Jeri moved to Los Angeles where she has since studied under Jillina of the Bellydance superstars and Denise at Madrasat al Raqs. She currently works and performs Arabic, Persian and International shows with Denise Dream Night's Troupe and Kiyana Dance Company in the Los Angeles area.

Laura

Laura is teacher and professional bellydancer from Cd Juarez, Chihuahua, MX. In 2006, she started to study Bellydance in Cd. Jaurez, Chihuahua, Mexico with the professional Bellydancer Karen Madrid. Laura has improved her technique taking classes with the Bellydance Stars of Amir Thaleb, Yousef Constantino, Yousri Sharif, Petite Jamila, Ansuya, Maraia, Jillina, Asmahan, Virginia, Ammar Lamar, and other more. In 2010, she participated in the “Rakstar” competition, organized per the famous Bellydancer Virginia, in Miami Florida. Laura won the 4th place in the Professional Junior category. Currently, Laura has been persistent in her preparation as bellydancer, taking workshops and classes with recognized teachers, now she is taking classes with the Star Denise Arias in Los Angeles, CA. Laura is defined as straightforward and tenacious person; her dance style is characterized per elegance and passion that she transmits in each movement.