The creation of the dance troupe Bal Anat began in 1968, when the opportunity to perform in an outdoor theme festival called the Renaisance Pleasure Faire challenged my imagination to create a variety show which one might see at an Arabian Festival or Souk in the Middle East. It was the format with a look that was admired and imitated all over the United States, whose practitioners sometimes knew, but often did not know where it came from. Indeed, many people thought it was the 'real thing', when in fact half was real and half hokum. Borrowing from my background, including dancing with Algerian water glass dancers, pot dancers and magicians, I trained and presented many varieties of entertainment, adding a 'surprise' each year. Among many other things, until I put a sword on Rhea Deanna Rose's head in 1971, the sword dance was never seen in America. It was to be a first, as with many of the dances from Bal ANat that were copied and exported to parts unknown. The Sword Dance, Pot Dance, Karshlama, Moroccan, Ouled Nail, Tunisian, Snake, Male Tray Dance, Dervish Spinning Dance, Katak and the Mask Dance as performed by Katrina Burda, were unique in thier day. Never seeen before the 1968 Northern Renaissance Pleasure Faire, it is a memory people still trasure to this day. As the format evolved, many of my students contributed their choreographic talents to the varietyof the show, often suggesting additions complimenting the range of Middle Eastern Dance."

Jamila Samlimpour June 2001