Princess Farhana

Princess Farhana has performed, taught and written about Oriental Dance since 1990. One of the most well known best-loved belly dancers in the world, she has appeared in Egypt, China, across Europe and The United Kingdom, as well as throughout North America. An artistic chameleon and a fusion pioneer, she performs many styles of dance with ease, from traditional to contemporary. Princess Farhana was trained in the Egyptian style of belly dance by Zahra Zuhair of Los Angeles and Raqia Hassan of Cairo, among many others. The Princess is also well known as a theatrical belly dance fusion performer, conceiving and executing fantasy tableaux and dramatically recreating vintage styles of Oriental Dance from the Edwardian era to the 1970’s. A perpetual student, she is fascinated with anything related to Oriental dance, and has done extensive research on its history, traditions, and myriad forms. Princess Farhana has danced and acted in numerous motion pictures, in music videos and on television. She has appeared in many documentaries on Oriental Dance, performing and as an interview subject. In 2009, she was the star of Steve Balderson’s film “Underbelly: A Year In The Life Of Princess Farhana” which was released worldwide in theaters as well as on DVD. Prior to her dance career, she was a musician and professional journalist using her given name Pleasant Gehman. She made multiple recordings and toured extensively with her bands, and has authored literally thousands of articles for national, international and internet publications. Her memoirs, creative writing and poetry have been widely anthologized and many works were recorded on her spoken word CD Ruined. “The Belly Dance Handbook” is based on articles she has written for belly dance publications and for her popular blog, “Missives From The Royal Palace”, which has been online since 2009. It is her eighth book.