Alexandra King
Dancer, Producer, Choreographer & Teacher
Based in Santa Barbara, CA., Alexandra King is a recognized and highly regarded Middle Eastern dance artist throughout the United States. Since opening her school 1981, Alexandra King Dance has entertained audiences, trained dancers and inspired appreciation for and understanding of the diverse arts and cultures of Greece and the Middle East. Many of her students have become professionals and some very prominent, including artists such as Ansuya, Tamra-henna, Paulina and Saundra. Alexandra has worked and traveled internationally as a performer, choreographer, producer and teacher, and has traveled extensively throughout North Africa, Greece and the Middle East to observe and study the dances of these regions. Her training includes ballet, pointe, tap, Middle Eastern and Greek folk dances, Egyptian dance, Persian dance, Polynesian dance, flamenco, Bharata Natyam and four styles of cabaret belly dance. From 2000-2004 she was a lecturer in the UCSB Department of Dramatic Arts and Dance teaching Dances of the Middle East.
Personal Background
Born in NYC and raised in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, her passion for cultural dance and music came from growing up in the Caribbean, where the blend of African, Latin, and East Indian cultures planted the seeds of her love of world dance and music. Her inspiration to become a professional dancer came growing up in a family with three generations of performing artists on both sides, including silent screen star, Molly King, Uncle Charlie King, (star of Broadway Melody, 1929, an Academy Award picture), her mother, Broadway actress Peggy French, and her maternal grandparents, Edward (chairman of Columbia Artists) and Virginia French, who were both composers and concert pianists. She began dance classes at the age of ten and has not stopped since!
Training
Her training includes ballet, pointe, tap, Middle Eastern and Greek folk dances, classical Persian dance, Polynesian dance, flamenco, Bharata Natyam and four styles of cabaret dance.
The roster of her teachers includes:
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Ballet, jazz and tap dance: Jayne Miles, NYC, St. Thomas, VI.
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Ballet and Modern: Julie McLeod, Santa Barbara, CA.
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Ballet and Point: Beth Bartlett, Santa Barbara, CA
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Belly Dance:: Diana Ferrari, (formerly with Kos Kadas, San Francisco), Santa Barbara, CA.
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Belly Dance: Jenaeni Rathor, Ojai, CA.
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Bharata Natyam: Sandya Keller, Ojai, CA
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Persian and Uzbek: Laurel Victoria Grey, Carolyn Krueger, Robyn Friend, Shahrzad Khorsandi.
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Lebanese Dabka: Hassan Harfouche, Los Angeles, CA
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Turkish Folk: Ahmet Luleci (Turkish folk), CA
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Greek Line Dance: George Alexiades, Santa Barbara, CA.
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Egyptian folk and Belly Dance: Raqia Hassan, Mahmoud Reda, Sahra Saeeda, Los Angeles, CA
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Armenian: Tom Bozigian (Armenian), Santa Barbara, CA
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Saudi: Hallah Mustafah and Kay Campbell (Harvard), Los Angeles, CA
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Flamenco: Carmen de Torres, Seville, Spain.
Career Accomplishments:
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From 1975 – 2013 she was an itinerant teacher and performer, working internationally.
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In 1983 she produced her first concert, “A Tribute to Ethnic Dance” featuring many of Santa Barbara’s top cultural dancers.
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In 1984 she founded Santa Barbara’s prestigious Middle Eastern dance company, SEHER, which, from 1995 - 2010 was the official dance ensemble of the UCSB Middle East Ensemble, the largest Middle East Ensemble in the US, and the only one with dance.
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In 1985 she produced the popular performance video "A Very Special Evening at the Plaka”, featuring herself and both of her teachers, Diana Ferrari and Jenaeni Rathor, (Ansuya's mother).
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In 1989 Alexandra wrote, choreographed and mounted the first full-length Middle Eastern folk ballet, "SERAGLIO”, which she toured in California and Utah.
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In 1990 she co-founded the UCSB Middle East Ensemble with Dr. Scott Marcus and Sue Rudnicki and continues to be the ensembles dance director. During her tenure as the dance director, she developed a broad repertoire of choreographies in dance styles from Greece and the Middle East, North Africa, Iran and Uzbekistan.
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From 2000 - 2004, she was a lecturer in the first accredited ethnic dance class at UCSB in the Department of Dramatic Arts and Dance.
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She produced 5 Instructional and performance videos titled "The Ancient Art of Belly Dance".
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In 1989 Alexandra wrote, choreographed and mounted the first full-length Middle Eastern folk ballet, "SERAGLIO”, which toured in California and Utah.
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In 2024 she revived and presented Seraglio at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara.
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In 1990 she co-founded the UCSB Middle East Ensemble with Dr. Scott Marcus and Sue Rudnicki, the largest and most prestigious ensemble of it's kind in the U.S.
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Between 1986 -1992 she produced the best-selling four-part instructional DVD series, “The Ancient Art of Belly Dance” which is a complete course in the basics of American cabaret belly dance, and features performances by Ms. King.
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She founded and produced the Santa Barbara Middle East festival, MOON OVER MOROCCO in 1998 and produced it for ten years before the recession forced her to stop.
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In 2024 she revived and presented Seraglio at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara.
Awards
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First place in the 1988 at the Belly Dancer of the Year pageant, Walnut Creek, CA.
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Best Instructor, the 1995 Nafisa Gem Award for Best Instructor.
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Nominated Best Instructor, 1998, International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance (IAMED).
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Best Instructor, 1999, IAMED
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Best Cabaret Dancer 2003, IAMED.
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Nominated for the Lifetime Achievement Award, 2005 by the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance
Testimonials
"She is a bawdy courtesan, star-making teacher, ground-breaking director and a provocative and engaging performer. Her love of the dance is an obvious extension of her soul." ~ Belly Dance Magazine
"When you danced my mouth dropped and I wasn't able to breathe...your performance was incredible"! ~ G.B. Bakersfield, CA
"There are no words to describe your dancing".~ L.S. Forest Hills, N.Y
"Alexandra King "Wows" the audience!" ~ Arab American News
"When Alexandra King dances it is beautiful" ~ SB Independent
"Your dancing sets my soul free" ~ B.T. Los Angeles, CA
"Alexandra's enthusiasm, extensive knowledge of the dance forms and cultures, and obvious enjoyment of teaching combine to make one of the most enjoyable and exciting classes I've had!". ~ UCSB Student
"Alexandra King is one of the most knowledgeable, dedicated and brilliantly inspirational women I know. She is a true gift to the Middle Eastern dance community". ~ S. T., Sponsor, N. C.
"She is amazing". ~ J. S., Sponsor, Pacific Grove, CA.
"She is so settled and steeped in her physical and intellectual understanding of the art of belly dance that there is a relaxed natural way about her teaching. When I am in her class, I am actually dancing, not just learning movements and drilling/repeating them. There is a balance between technique and personal creative expression". ~KC, beginning student, Santa Barbara, CA.
The UCSB Middle East Dance Ensemble
Alexandra King co-founded the UCSB Middle East Ensemble in 1989 with Dr. Scott Marcus and Sue Rudnicki. The UCSB Middle East Dance Ensemble is the official dance company of the MEE. They are professional dance artists who perform regularly in the quarterly concerts as well as in other venues and shows outside the university concerts. Some are artists-in-training who are learning the arts of Middle Eastern dance, working with seasoned dancers in the company. The repertoire features all styles of belly dance, as well as classical, folk and regional folkloric dances of the Middle East.
The Alexandra King Ensemble
The Alexandra King Ensemble is a community group composed of the student and amateur dancers who enjoy performing as a hobby. They perform throughout Santa Barbara and Ventura counties at a variety of local events, including the local festivals, The Sunken Garden Thriller (October) and every couple of months at Beth Amines Wildcat Variety Show.
