About Us

Mission Statement
The mission of the Northwest Bellydance Company is to bring the art of belly dance to the public through art, education and entertainment. We aim to develop new standards of achievement for the art form as a whole, and redefine the spectrum in which belly dance is perceived.
We strive to educate both students of dance and the general public. We aim to accomplish this through strong educational programs reflected in the Academy’s curriculum and educational outreach programs.
Through our public productions we strive to reach the average person by moving them on an artistic level. We use belly dance as a medium of expression on the same level of a ballet company, an orchestra or an art gallery. By bringing belly dance to the theater, using strong production elements such as choreography, set design, story telling and more, we hope to inspire our audiences.

History
The Northwest Bellydance Company was founded by Delilah Ra in 2001 as Mystik Dream. Delilah ran the company in three states; the family was stationed with the Air Force in Alabama and Hawaii before retiring to Washington.
Being established permanently in one place has allowed the company to grow and flourish. Within a year of starting up in town the company had quickly grown to six members and the troupe began performing in and around Spokane regularly at events and parties. In 2010 they produced their first theatrical production Almishkal at the Bing Crosby Theater.
Over the years, the Northwest Bellydance Company has become a mainstay of the entertainment world in and around Spokane. Their full and part time members have expanded into three ranks – principles, soloists and corps. Their repertoire includes hours of choreography in addition to each dancer’s solo material, spanning several styles such as classical, tribal fusion and folkloric inspired. They have been hired for countless private events including weddings, corporate parties, car shows, bachelorette parties, birthdays, graduation parties, college shows, opening acts and more in Spokane and across Washington such as Elk, Medical Lake, Pasco and Seattle as well as Idaho, Montana, Alabama, Florida and Hawaii.
In 2009 under Nefabit’s direction, Northwest Bellydance Academy was opened to provide a low-cost, high availability rehearsal space for the ever-growing company. Renting studio space was expensive, and one hour a week fell drastically short of the repertoire the company needed to rehearse. The Academy is easily the best thing to have happened to the Company, opening new doors allowing the Company hours a week to consistently rehearse and develop new choreography in a full spectrum setting. Over time, Nefabit’s father single-handedly transformed the concrete floors, busted walls and pea-green paint into the lovely studio we see today. The company’s class schedule quickly grew with space and full availability at their fingertips, and the studio now hosts nearly 20 hours of rehearsals and classes a week and has become the largest bellydance studio in the Inland Northwest offering three different styles to all levels of adults and children all under one roof.