Rising Stars: Meet Savanah Senn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Savanah Senn

Hi Savanah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
This is the time of my life when I’m coming back for everything they said I couldn’t have. For me, this is my science PhD, which I was told in the past I wasn’t suitable for because I was a woman with children. For me, this is my belly dance career, which I was told was out of reach due to lack of resources. This dance movement brings me so much joy, there was no way I would ever give up on it!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I got pregnant with my first daughter, I was uneducated and a waitress and I was told that I had no path forward and that’s all I would ever be. Around the same time, I started belly dancing, and I was empowered in my body in a way that was previously unknown to me. Since I had been a softball pitcher through high school, I had already learned a stubbornness and perseverance and sense of denial in the face of certain defeat. I kept dancing, in poverty, and the family kept growing. After I finished my Bachelors I applied for a PhD program and was well on track to be admitted until the Professor found out I had kids. I was told that I wasn’t a suitable candidate, and that was the end of it. It wasn’t until I finished my masters that I found my way out of poverty and into the city 9 years ago. I’m so humbled and grateful because this is where I’ve wanted to be all along as an artist.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a fusion dancer and my movement is inspired by raqs sharqi, Datura style, urban fusion, and the improvisational fusion vocabularies (ATS and ITS).
I dance to both traditional songs as well as more modern music; the golden era classics, electronic music, trap, and I even taught a class series with heavy metal.
The props I am working with now are the Baladi style sword, silk fan veils, silk veil, and 2” and 3” finger cymbals.
In the future I hope to deepen my studies of the art and culture of Middle Eastern dance and its relevance to the modern world at large.
I am interested in the mathematical, geographical, and cultural relationships between rhythms, as they have migrated throughout the world. I am particularly interested in exchanges between the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean at this moment.
The additional areas that I am most interested in are somatic intelligence, group improvisation, and altered states of consciousness associated with musical performances and audience emotional response.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
My essential qualities as an artist are Musicality, Passion, and Resiliency.

Pricing:

• 35 minute performance (contact for pricing)
• 12 minute performance + 1 hour bellydance Workshop (contact for pricing)
• 2 hour bellydance workshop (contact for pricing)

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @absinthium_botany
• Youtube: @SavanahSennBellydancer-gf4sm
• Other: https://www.alignable.com/canoga-park-ca/savanah-senn-bellydance?preview=true