“You have a wonderful gift and ability to inspire confidence and tap into the inner beauty of others. It is great to see and awesome to experience!”

Of Lebanese descent, Jamileh Jeanne Handy grew up with belly dance. She began performance and in depth study in 1993 with Josie Conte of New York City and Portland, and has been teaching different forms of movement for over twenty years.

She currently teaches in Portland, Maine at Full Circle Synergy School, in Brunswick, Maine at Bowdoin College and Full Circle Dance Studio, in Scarborough, Maine for Maine Wellness and in Falmouth, Maine for Falmouth Community Programs.

Educational and community hosts include: Bowdoin College, the University of Southern Maine, the University of New England, The Children's Museum of Maine, The Girlscouts of America, Bristol Consolidated School, Hollis Elementary School, Cape Elizabeth Middle School and Scarborough Middle School among others.

Performance venues include The American Arabic Benevolent Association’s 25th Anniversary Gala, The 37th National Melkite Convention, The 66th National Folk Festival with Sharq Arabic Music Ensemble, The American Folk Festival and locally Merrill Auditorium in “The Vagina Monologues”, The Festival of Cultural Exchange and The Center for Cultural Exchange in “Kef North”.

Jamileh is honored to have been the resident dancer with the late, great Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian Middle Eastern Ensemble and is thrilled to continue performing with the wonderful Okbari Middle Eastern Music Ensemble. Audiences have described her shows as “elegant”, “breathtaking” and “authentically Arabic”.

For more about Jamileh see the following articles:
AP Article, November 2004

Middle Eastern Dance in Maine Newsletter: January 2005, Issue #7, Three Questions…

 

Jamileh ~ 189 St. John St. ~ Portland, ME 04102 ~ (207) 773-2966 ~ E-mail