Guest Artist
Calliope Carvajal
(2003 resume)

Calliope Carvajal, performer of Egyptian Cabaret Style belly dance, is a dancer of the highest reputation with her peers, musicians,and audiences.  She started studying with Magana at the age of 8, and later with Horacio Cifuentes and in workshops with Dr Mo Gaddawi and Bobby Farrah.

In August 1997 she won the Miss America of the Belly Dance title in a national competition with contestants from all over the U.S.A.  In 1996, she was the featured Egyptian performer for the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival and was again featured as Egyptian soloist at the 2002 Ethnic Dance Festival.

She danced professionally at Pasha restaurant (more than five years) and most recently is appearing at the Marakkesh restaurant. Calliope has appeared, competed, and placed many times at the Belly Dancer of the Year competition, and Rakkasah Festival.

Calliope is recognized by teachers, judges and audiences as one of today’s finest proponents of Cabaret style belly dance .

She is also an accomplished singer and actress.  Her principal roles have been, Sister Amnesia in Nunsense, Anita in West Side Story, and Queen Aggrivain in Once Upon a Mattress.

Calli’s musical theater talents landed her a contract with the Beach Blanket Babylon touring company in the roles of Val Diamond.  She is also featured singer with the jazz group Zuma Zuma, with whom she performs regularly.

Last Christmas season, Calli stopped the show when she sang White Christmas at her mother Carolyn Carvajal’s production of the Dance-Along Nutcracker.

Calliope was named after the Greek muse of epic poetry, music, and dance.  She has danced since she was in her mother’s womb and has continued ever since. Her first solo performance at two and a half years was at a Greek Taverna in Denver Colorado, where she insisted on dancing to a live bouzouki orchestra. That same year she entertained Arthur Fiedler at a San Francisco Pops rehearsal by dancing the whole Tales of the Vienna Woods for him.

Showing a great aptitude for oriental dance, Calliope at the age of nine was given lessons in the style by Magana Baptiste and later by Horacio Cifuentes, who helped her develop her talent and potential. From her father Carlos Carvajal and mother Carolyn Carvajal she received lessons in classical ballet and period dances.

At the age of 14, while in Greece, Calliope danced at Olympia and Delphi, where she was acclaimed by the Mayors and townspeople. Since the age of 16 she has competed and placed in many Belly Dance contests, performing her own choreographies.

Calliope also showed her aptitude for the musical theater when she started performing with the Teen Musical Theater Company of San Francisco and playing leads in most of their shows, including West Side Story and Once Upon a Mattress.  She is currently studying voice with Pamela Sebastian.

At 17, she started performing professionally at the Pasha Restaurant in San Francisco where she continues dancing at present.  Calliope was featured as a soloist at the S.F. Ethnic Dance Festival in June of 96.

Calli performed in Run For Your Life!’s A Short Solo (Valse in C-Sharp Minor from Les Sillyphides) at the Nikolais Legacy Forum in NYC in 2003.