Alexandra King Information

Seher was founded in 1984 by Alexandra King. In the beginning, it was a small, amateur group of community students who wanted performing opportunities. Over the years, Seher has gone through three incarnations: first as the original group, Seher (1984 - 1986); then as Chandrika (1986 - 1988); and now again as Seher. In it's current incarnation, it is the official dance company of the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) Middle Eastern Dance Ensemble under the artistic direction of Alexandra King. The UCSB Middle Eastern Dance Ensemble is an official ethnomusicology and ethnic dance ensemble in the UCSB Music Department. The ensemble's repertoire includes music and dance from the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia. It reflects the tremendous variety of cultures found in the Middle East, including Arab, Turkish, Persian, Armenian, Greek, Azerbaijan, Baluchi, Lebanese, and Andalucian ... to name a few. Performances range from classical to folk and cabaret dance pieces, including line dances, tribal and ritual dances, regional folk styles and, of course, the fabulous Oriental (belly) dance! Seher works with the UCSB Middle Eastern Dance Ensemble, as well as independently performing in clubs, restaurants, concerts, festivals, and private events. "It is my vision as a dance artist to bring to Middle Eastern dance the high technical standards of Western dance while at the same time preserving and nurturing the spiritual sublimity found in Eastern dance. Seher is a dance company which exemplifies this vision. Each dancer is a serious artist, is thoroughly trained with many years of ballet, folk dance and Middle Eastern dance training. As dance ethnologists we are all scholars of the dance, and, as performers we are concerned with attaining excellence in every aspect of dance as a performing art. We are both traditionalists as well as progressive artists. While we strive to uncover and preserve the authentic and original dances of old, we also make every effort to present new and exciting pieces and maintain our niche on the cutting edge of the ethnic dance world. We consider ourselves artists as well as entertainers and thoroughly enjoy the diverse venues we are fortunate enough to be able to perform in, allowing us to bring our audiences both art and entertainment in Middle Eastern Dance."