Suhaila Salimpour is of Sicilian-Greek descent and a first-generation Kurdish-American on her father’s side. A second-generation belly dancer, she is widely regarded as a pioneer in her field. Suhaila was the house dancer at the famed Byblos nightclub in Beverly Hills and toured with her own band for over a decade, performing in prestigious nightclubs in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Taiwan, France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As the visionary creator of the first systematized pedagogy and certification program in belly dance, Suhaila revolutionized both performance and teaching methodologies. She built a global community of dancers inspired to engage with the art form through embodied discipline, anatomical knowledge, and cultural sensitivity.

As the director of the Salimpour School of Dance, Suhaila carries forward the legacy of her mother, and expands its reach globally through a robust online instructional platform and a network of licensed instructors.