The Belly Dance Chronicles Jan/Feb/Mar/Apr 2023 Volume 21, Issue 1 | Page 19

Myra Krien is a renowned Middle Eastern dance artist , an international performer , choreographer and teacher of belly dance . Krien has performed on some of America ’ s most prestigious stages , toured internationally , performed for PBS and Japanese television , and been reviewed by national publications such as Dance Magazine , Bliss , and the Santa Fean . After returning to her home in Santa Fe ,

New Mexico , she opened her school of dance , Pomegranate Studios , founded Pomegranate SEEDs ( Self-esteem , Empowerment and Education through Dance ) a nonprofit youth mentorship program , created her stateof-the-art fitness program Funk-Ex , and formed the Mosaic Dance Company . Krien is the 2019 recipient of the Santa Fe Mayor ’ s Award for Excellence in the Arts , as well as the 2018 and 2019 Best of Santa Fe Award in the category of “ Best Dance Company ” Top 3 , and is a member of the International Dance Council CID .

Pomegranate Studios is an educational and presenting organization , nestled in beautiful Santa Fe , New Mexico . Established in 1996 by Founder / Director Myra Krien , Pomegranate provides high-quality programs of the rich artistic heritage of the Middle East as expressed through music , dance , poetry , visual arts and other art forms as they relate to American culture . Pomegranate Studios is home to the Mosaic Dance Company and the Pomegranate SEEDs ( Self-esteem , Empowerment and Education through Dance ) nonprofit youth mentorship program .
TORI KING
Tori King is a dance artist , performance coach , and choreographer based in Boise , Idaho , and Los Angeles , California . Tori first fell in love with dance watching VHS tapes of the Royal Cambodian Ballet rented from the local oriental market . When pretending to Riverdance in the living room was no longer enough , Tori opened up a yellow book and enrolled herself in her first ballet class at age 8 and hasn ’ t stopped dancing since . With a perpetual interest in bridging societal and cultural divides , Tori uses dance as a tool to educate and inspire as many people as possible to value our differences ( and of course to get up and move to the beat ). Tori has been the creative director for the critically acclaimed Big Bad-Ass Belly Dance Show and The Art of Belly Dance in Boise , Idaho , and is proud to be a principal dancer for The Starbelly Dancers in Boise , and a company dancer for The Sahlala Dancers in L . A . Tori is the recipient of grants from the Boise City Department of History and Art , Idaho Commission on the Arts , and the National Endowment for the Arts . She has a BA in Theatre and Political Economics from the College of Idaho and an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University .

See Tori dance in a city near you in 2023 during the international tour of Myra Krien ’ s The Radiant Tarot , where Tori will be featured as The Fool .

January 2023 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 19