Keylan Qazzaz

Born in the nation's capital to an American mother and Kurdish father, Keylan Qazzaz sunk roots in eastern and western culture from an early age: she attended school in Tehran, London, the U.S. and has also spent time in northern Iraq living with extended family.  From elementary through high school Ms. Qazzaz improvised and choreographed pieces for family audiences, and studied ballet and jazz dance. As a college student, she explored Medieval dance and international folk dancing. She also joined the Brown Ballroom Dance Club to study and compete in Latin and Smooth American and International style ballroom dances. After college, Ms. Qazzaz and her partner competed at the amateur level under the coaching of Cristina Cryan of Rhode Island.  Ms. Qazzaz began her studies of Middle Eastern dance, specifically Turkish Roma dance, with Artemis Mourat in 1993. Soon after, she began learning Persian and other dance styles with Laurel Victoria Gray. In addition to a foray into Bharata Natyam and workshops with experts on specific Middle Eastern dance topics, Ms. Qazzaz has benefitted from studying with Kizlarkhon Dustmukhamedova. She continues working with these teachers and with Yasmin of Washington, D.C., for intensive study of Egyptian-style raqs sharqi as well as studying Iyengar yoga with Liz Marx at Unity Woods, in Bethesda, Maryland.  She graduated summa cum laude from Brown University with a B.A. in English and American Literature with honors and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. She holds a Masters in Teaching, also from Brown, and is a founder and owner of Rocketworks, an Internet development company.  Ms. Qazzaz joined Silk Road Dance Company at its inception and is the designer and maintainer of the Silk Road Dance Company web site and serves as its Assistant Director. Her Kurdish name translates: "Lovely Silk Trader".