Middle Eastern culture

Shimmying through stereotypes
By Shradha Rao
November 30, 2016 - 5:55pm
Ionah and the Head over Heels Dance Co. educate about Middle Eastern culture through belly dancing.

With colorful lamps emitting soft light over the darbukas and hookahs in the corner and Scheherazade staring into nothingness in the background, Ionah Raqs swings her raven hair in her 100-square-foot space of her living room that doubles as her studio.

‘Right, left, right over left,’ the Syracuse local instructs her students as she gracefully shimmies to the music of Hossam Ramzy, a Middle Eastern musician.