Oryantal Dansi with Laila Aziz

The stage is set, the music starts, and suddenly the finger cymbals begin to chime and a flash of color enters with energy and starts to mesmerize the audience....

I customize each show....so how much interaction the customer wants is what I do. I can do a stage show with no interaction with the audience, or i can do one or two songs and then get people involved, if they so wish. This is quite common for birthday parties and even weddings where they want to see the guest of honor included in the festivities. All of my shows are family-style....even if no kids are present.

Tips are accepted, but only with respect. It is okay to tip the dancer on the sides of the hip belt or the top of the should strap, but not on the front of the bra or front of the belt.

Dancing with the dancer is also acceptable, and dancing back to back where upper shoulders touch is cultural, but no grinding on the dancer or touching lower extremities or frontal part of the dancer.

"Something Special".....that is what Laila always tries to leave her audiences saying. She has a unique ability to interact and bring her audience in to the show, making their special event or day even more special.

Laila followed her Dad and sister into playing percussion from a very young age, and when in college she was introduced to the rhythms of the East, she fell in love. Using her percussion background, Laila exceled at the finger cymbals or zills, giving her show a very lively feel and making young and old alike fall for the rhythms she herself fell in love with.

Laila's dance style is based in traditional Turkish and Egyptian styles of bellydance, with added zest from the intricate rhythms of the Roma, famous for the 9/8 karsilama. In addition to studying with the most renowned instructors in the world, Laila has traveled and studied dance in the Balkans and Turkey; she has danced with the Roma musicians on the streets of Berovo, Macedonia, and closer to home on Halsted Street in Chicago for Taste of Greece.

Laila loves entertaining crowds at cultural events and festivals, corporate events and family-style parties. She has been part of a few troupes, including Turkish folkloric troupe Aman Aman, and Ruska Roma Troupe Viktoria's Firebird Dancers. BellyDance Chicago, a loose collaboration of professional dancers Laila would put together to perform for corporate events, performed dozens of corporate events throughout Chicagoland, including Green Tie Ball, Chicago Rehab Institute Gala, Lincoln Park Zoo Ball, and numerous Nights at the Museum themed parties at the Field Museum dancing in the tombs of the Kings. She dances with her own favorite musicians or from digital media. Laila has also performed many Bollywood shows, solo performances on up to shows with 10 dancers. Laila still collaborates with other musicians and dancers for customized events, so if you are looking for a specialty-themed event, Laila can accommodate.

Solo shows are flexible.

Troupe shows with set choreography require a stage large enough to accommodate 3 dancers with very large skirts spinning without hitting each other..... 20 x 25 is minimum with larger stage preferred.