Ever since I was a child in Iraq, I loved performing; from modeling, to singing, to dancing, to acting, I was always a bit of a showgirl. Luckily, I now have audiences that appreciate (and pay for) my art! Indeed, dreams do sometimes come true!
Singing
The first time I got on a "real" stage as an adult was part of a radio music contest in Amman in 2008. At the time, I had petrifying stage fright, which gladly got much better with time. Since then, I have had several acoustic duo musical collaborations in Arabic and English with wonderful friends and artists, and now I am part of a super colorful queer-feminist musical art collective in Berlin called Heart Chor. We create musicals, concerts, and variety shows; spreading joy while raising awareness on important social issues.
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One of my favorites with the talented Bassam Jalgha in Beirut, 2017
My "contraception" version of "My Favorite Things" at the Red Flow Variete with Heartchor (Berlin 2022)
Dance
I grew up in a culture where dancing was restricted to female-only events and family gatherings, so my talents in belly dance remained hidden for a couple of decades. It took me a while to take my passion for the dance out to the world, and when I did, I also expanded to other types of dance. I particularly fell in love with and extensively trained in Brazilian zouk.
In Rio de Janeiro in 2018, two weeks after having had emergency abdominal surgery, with the talented Brendon Lauster
Theater
I tremendously enjoy dabbling into improv comedy (short form) and cabaret theater, and I intend to do more of that in the near future. I love having the space to verbally improvise, spontaneously embody random characters on stage, and allow myself to fail gloriously!
Modeling
For years I hid this video out of embarrassment, but now I embrace it as part of my story.
This is my first media appearance ever, and it was a TV commercial for a clothing store doing holiday sales!
Be easy on me - I was 19! (Amman, 2008)
That's one thing I haven't done for a while, but would be open to doing so again if the chance comes along. I modeled for a few shows and commercials back in my early 20's!