Katarina Burda, an ethnologist/dancer/musician, has devoted herself to study, perform and teach middle eastern and Balkan dance and music since 40 years. Having studied dance with Jamila Salimpour and performed in Bal Anat, the grandmother of the tribal style, Ms. Burda has gone on to study regional dance and music of Morocco, Turkey, the Balkan Roma, and Egypt. She taught countless dancers in the USA and Europe and formed and directed the acclaimed music and dance company Aywah! Aywah's dancers sang and played musical instruments themselves, and attracted and inspired a generation of excellent musicians. Some of the best-known/loved performers and workshop teachers - Mira Betz, Elizabeth Strong, Rosa Rojas, Tara Pandeya, Zoe Jakes - have studied with her and performed in her company Aywah! Katarina Burda spends time in Chiapas, Mexico and the San Francisco Bay Area, California, teaching dance and music and studying art.
