About

Asia has a background in ballet, jazz, tap, flamenco and classical East Indian dance. She taught ballet and jazz with the dancers workshop in Stockton, Ca from the young age of 13 to 20. At 17 she won the Young Californian’s Choreographers Showcase with an adagio dance.

At 18 she moved to Carmel, Ca on a dance scholarship to study with Nancy Lang, she was then awarded a highly sought scholarship to study dance with Martha Graham in NY City. That summer while making plans to move to NY City she went to the Northern California Renaissance Faire and saw Jamila Salimpour’s Balanat Troupe. Asia was profoundly moved by the music and dance. She dropped modern dance and never looked back!! Her pursuits in the art of middle eastern dance began here. Asia founded Chimera Folkloric Dance Troupe in Stockton CA in 1973. The troupe performed at rock festivals, county fairs and cultural events almost every weekend in the spring and summer. The 17 dancers and 5 musicians functioned like a large family.

In 1984 Asia moved to San Francisco to pursue a solo career. For 14 years she performed up to seven nights a week in night clubs and restaurants, while continuing to teach workshops and seminars throughout the United States.

In 1991 Asia formed Asassara a troupe which performed dances based on ancient cultures, rituals and mythology.

In 1994 this group grew into Henna Tawi who performed for the San Francisco Film Festival, the San Francisco Opera Gala for Aida, the J. Paul Getty Passage to India party and many other San Francisco venues.

In 1998 she moved to Ann Arbor Michigan and taught middle eastern dance at the Universtiy of Michigan. She moved back to California in 2000 and began teaching belly dance at the Downward Dog Yoga Studio and Ocean Yoga in Pacifica CA.

In 2017, Asia moved to Stockton and is currently teaching classes at Oak Park Senior Center. Her Stockton based troupe, Chimera is now performing.

July 8th, 2021 - Live and in person classes are again happening!