Page 44 - Final 10th Anniversary PDF For Printer

Our 10th Anniversary Women of Distinction

Sohaila Handelsman by taking dance lessons from

the top dance instructors in

THE STAR IN THE SKY every country.
In 1997 Sohaila returned
to San Diego and brought her
knowledge of dance to Palo-
By Judith A. Habert mar College and Poway Adult
Education and soon after that
opened her own studio adja-
S THE MUSIC PLAYS cent to her home in a beauti-
Atunes of faraway places ful part of Escondido. "I loved
Sohaila closes her eyes and watching women metamor-
moves as she has a thousand phize from shy introverted
times before. The moves are and often insecure women to
natural to Sohaila; she has proud secure and sensuous
been doing them since the dancers. As I watched them,
age of 12 when she accom- I knew that if I added the five
panied her mom to her first senses into the movements,
belly dancing class. “The then I could connect with the
minute I picked up the veil I women on an even deeper
was hooked.” Four decades level. I was reconnecting
later Sohaila is still moving them to their body, minds,
with the music. and soul through their own
Sohaila's original career five senses and ancient belly
goal was to become a police dance movements. I watched
officer, and she was on her as they broke out of the
way to do so, but school was monotony of their everyday
expensive, and she need- life, and were transported to
ed a way to pay for it. She a beautiful memory that they
decided to utilize her love of could relive through their
belly dancing to subsidize her movements."
tuition. In 1984, at the age of Sohaila loves watching
18, she had become so well how much her students
known for her dancing skills change from week to week.
that she was offered a job in “We have mirrors completely
Mexico City to open the first around the studio. My reason
Lebanese Restaurant there. for this is that some women
"So, I thought to myself at the don’t like their bodies, but
time, do I want to stay in col- women have to love them-
lege, become a cop, and get selves, above anything else.”
shot at, or do I want to dance Sohaila teaches a ten-week
all over the world." As you can program called the
see Sohaila made her choice, Sense-ual Woman® Wom-
and she has been profession- an’s Luxurious Lifestyle.
ally dancing ever since. Sohaila soon realized that
Sohaila remained at the she could create a fitness in-
restaurant for close to 10 spired program which would
years. During this time, she journey in Greece where she nothing like what we see on be more fun than any other
was asked to go to Egypt spent five years; she worked TV today, it was a magnificent program out there. “I devel-
to dance with a group of on the original Love Boat place back then." oped NewVo® Fitness which
musicians. She quickly fell in (minus Captain Stubing) While dancing in these is a multi-cultural inspired
love with the Middle East, and and danced all over Turkey, exotic locations, she would fitness system that incorpo-
in 1993 she got the offer that Istanbul, Egypt, Jordan, the take the time to incorporate rates music from around the
would make her dream come Greek Islands, and Syria. "Syr- local dance moves into her world in 45 min. I've traveled
true. She started her dancing ia was breathtaking she adds, repertoire growing her skills around the world and made

44