About Dianna
Adventurous Dianna Dwyer, a native of New Zealand, actually discovered the dance in the Middle East. Seeing a great opportunity to travel, she was recruited to work as an emergency room nurse in Saudi Arabia in 1991. She had the great fortune to be invited to some local homes.
“I was fascinated by the way the women danced. I couldn't believe the way they were able to move their hips. I promised myself that one day I would take some lessons.”
In 1994, she kept that promise. “After my first lesson I was hooked,” she said.
Dianna made her first stage appearance in 1996 and has participated in professional shows in Honolulu, New York City, and Baltimore.
She performs each Wednesday night at the Casablanca Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia, and performed weekly at Mo's Persian Cuisine in Sterling, Virginia, until that restaurant closed in June, 2003.
Dianna is a special favorite of local ethnic audiences and often performs at Persian and Arabic weddings as well as other public and private functions. She has been a member of the Washington Area Mid-East Dance Association (WAMEDA) since 1998.
A highlight of her career was winning the Duchess of Dance category in the 2003 East Coast Belly Dance Classic competition. There she was doubly honored, voted People's Choice winner in that same category.
Dianna's love of the dance keeps her active in the local dance scene, as well as teaching.
“When asked to give advice to a new dancer, I usually say be persistent and practice. One of the things I love most about Middle Eastern dance is that it is very challenging. The dance has been there for me in good times and bad, and has introduced me to many wonderful people. Most of all, though, it just makes me happy.”
