Suhaila Salimpour Photo Gallery 1977-1990
Since I was born, I have been in the public eye and photographed.
As belly dance is a performing art, the visual is important. Therefore, my mother, Jamila Salimpour, was adamant that we needed a professional photoshoot every year. Accordingly, she wanted to have a professional and responsible representation of the dance.
Jamila sought out the best photographers she could find, looking for those with experience photographing dancers and actors. And the annual photoshoots were the only means we had of getting high-quality photographs.
My mother preferred using the Romaine Studio in San Francisco, which included talented photographers like Jitsuo Yamamura. She told me that they preferred working with dancers for the energy and body lines. The meeting of two creatives, the photographer and the dancer, resulted in magic.
This gallery of photographs from 1977 to 1990 represents a part of my belly dance career.But it also represents a specific time in photograph history.
Keep in mind that when I was growing up, we didn’t have cell phones. Digital cameras weren’t really available to most people until after 1990. Photoshop was developed around 1987.
Suhaila Salimpour
Click on a photo to see the caption including year and photographer information.
![Suhaila Salimpour photographed around age 15 (1983) by the photographer for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. Suhaila's costume was inspired by a Leon Bakst costume sketch.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/26314386334_f44336ae82_k-797x1024-1.jpeg)
![Suhaila Salimpour photographed around 1984 by Romaine Studio. Suhaila's costume was created by Sandra Woodall, a Bay Area award winning costumer who designed for the San Francisco Ballet.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/26314391714_295094b231_k-797x1024-1.jpeg)
![Suhaila Salimpour in 1989 photographed by Francis Delia . The photo is modeled after a famous photoshoot of Josephine Baker by George Hoyningen Huene.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/26314393884_0da6aecda8_k-714x1024-1.jpeg)
![Suhaila Salimpour in 1989 at age 21. Photo by Frances Delia. These images were used for the packaging and promotion of Suhaila's choreography instructional videos that were filmed in Spring 1990 and published in 1991.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/26314401424_e523ac225d_h-830x1024-1.jpeg)
![Jamila and Suhaila Salimpour from a photoshoot that was probably taken in 1977, when Suhaila was 10 years old. Photo by Romaine Studio.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/26565185470_bd28ef30a9_k-776x1024-1.jpeg)
![Suhaila Salimpour from a photoshoot that was probably taken in 1977, when Suhaila was 10 years old. Photo by Romaine Studio.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/26690028346_4f66dbdc6a_k-1024x816-1.jpeg)
![Suhaila Salimpour in 1989 at age 21. Photo by Frances Delia. These images were used for the packaging and promotion of Suhaila's choreography instructional videos that were filmed in Spring 1990 and published in 1991.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/26901756493_c124daa03b_k-678x1024-1.jpeg)
![Suhaila Salimpour photographed around age 15 (1983) by the photographer for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. Suhaila's costume was inspired by a Leon Bakst costume sketch.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/26919629245_0aa299b9d6_k-1024x744-1.jpeg)
![Suhaila Salimpour in 1989 at age 21. Photo by Frances Delia. These images were used for the packaging and promotion of Suhaila's choreography instructional videos that were filmed in Spring 1990 and published in 1991.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/28784170910_53452ed961_b.jpeg)
![Suhaila photographed by Romaine studio in 1982 when she was 15.](https://suhaila.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/46841642174_08e293b9ad_k-859x1024-1.jpeg)