It has been seven and a half years since I performed solo. How did time go by fast? Well, the birth of my dance company and then the birth of my daughter took the life out of me, but the seven and a half years have flown by. I remember my mother begging me not to start a dance company. She knew that I would give my all to others and have less time for my own development. I tried to explain to my mother that I couldn’t do what is in my head with just one body; I needed a dance company as a creative outlet. We never spoke of it again.

Since then all my performances have been either with the dance company or with others in a show, but now I needed to express my personal vision and movement. It was time. For this night I wanted my staff and company working and everyone to just sit, relax and watch. My dance company often has to work and perform so tonight I wanted them to observe and learn. Most of my students have never seen me dance solo, and even the few who have, saw me over seven years ago and saw a totally different Suhaila. I have been through so much life since then and with that comes much more evolution of emotional movement. No one knew what to expect, not even me. I knew I wanted an intimate night. I wanted to look everyone in the eyes. I needed an elegant theater and backstage privacy. No one was going to be allowed backstage before the show. That’s why I chose the Dean Lesher Theater, it was perfect. Only 300 hundreds seats with a beautiful stage.

Fathi, my violinist and bandleader, and I met once and set the show. I wanted to do a more traditional “Belly Dance” which is very hard to find in this country. I also wanted to remind people that I am a belly dancer, first and foremost. With the work I do with my dance company being so innovative and modern, people can forget what my roots are. We agreed on the musicians and set our rehearsals. Rehearsals were quite difficult because I didn’t want anyone to see the show beforehand; so finding the time to be alone in my own studio was almost impossible. So I cancelled a couple of rehearsals for the dance company, made everyone go home and then I locked the door.

Hiding my costumes was almost more difficult that hiding rehearsals. Alnisa, my costumer, and I collaborated on new designs. I wanted two new costumes completely different from each other. Our fittings were hidden and Alnisa was not taking bribes from the girls. Everyone just wanted to know what color the costumes were…I never told.

The week before the show was intense. I taught a weeklong workshop five days before the event with a level I and II Certification testing the night before, but I was ready. We sold out 4 days before the show and even I couldn’t get more tickets. I was starting to get excited.

Rashid was my choice for the only other person to share the stage with. I have grown up with this man and we have both been trained under my mother so I knew our movements would fit together. Rashid is like a brother to me and other than my personal feelings; he is the best male dancer I have ever seen. I wanted others to see him too, which is why he had to share the stage with me. I was honored that he agreed. With our combined effort, I knew our admiration for the dance and our history would exude through the performance.

The morning of the show was mellow; at eight a.m. our daughter woke Andre and me up and climbed into bed and snuggled with us. I put on cartoons and began my morning ritual. The morning was smooth and I felt I was in a trance. Andre and I had to leave for the theater early. We were taking my mom and Isabella with us and the film crew and band were to meet us at the theater.

I wanted the set simple. The background was a screen that could be lit up to match the lighting on the stage. The look would be clean and it would highlight the band of six musicians, Rashid and myself. No fuss, just all about the dance. The rehearsal was smooth once all of the members of the band arrived. We went from cue to cue and made sure the band was happy with the sound. A happy band makes a happy dancer. At five p.m. we broke for dinner and got ready for an eight p.m. curtain.

I didn’t go to dinner because my hair and make-up would take that long. My mother brought enough snacks and that would be fine. We relaxed in our dressing room and got ready in leisure, which made a huge difference in my energy. The time flew by; it was 7:30 p.m. and time to get dressed. As I got dressed my daughter handed me each piece of my costume. She looked so happy when I told her that all of these costumes were hers someday. When I was finished dressing I looked into the mirror and got the strangest sensation, through it I saw my mother and in front of it, my daughter. My husband came in, kissed my on my cheek and said, “Do what you do best…”kill ‘em,” we laughed. I heard the band in the next dressing room speaking Arabic loud and on top of each other, the sound made me smile. I thought of all the years I spent listening to that all night! Wow… I missed it. I didn’t even know how much it was in me. I looked at Rashid; he looked at me… we screamed, and all headed for the stage. My mother wanted to be backstage even though I had a ticket for her. I don’t think she wanted anyone to see her cry. She had held onto Isabella as if she was holding onto me as a small child knowing someday I will be sitting where she was. I couldn’t look at her much because I didn’t want to mess up my make-up.

The band got into place, the lights went down, the audience applauded and the music began. As the curtain opened the band kept playing as they took a small bow. The band opened with Elf Leyla Wa Leyla. The next song was mine… They began to play Sit El Housen and my body filled with my love for this dance… Here we go!

When the last note was hit from the band I could feel my body’s sense of completion. I was done and had not one ounce of emotion left. I had truly given my heart and soul in this performance. I had never really danced like I did this night. It was the last seven and a half years of development as a woman, mother, wife, teacher, director and producer that was on that stage. At last I had grown. I do practice what I teach, my performance was an offering of all of my knowledge and experience, and in return I was given the opportunity to share. The audience jumped to its feet and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house. I was happy, truly happy, as I turned over the stage to my daughter, it was as if I was passing on the Salimpour legacy, she danced the final song.

The next day Fathi called me to see if I was alive. We went through the evening and spoke mostly about what we would work on for the next time. My final question to him was, “how did you feel overall?” He replied, “It’s nice to see that there is justice in this world for all your hard work.”