Myriam Eli's performances are "subtle and superbly crafted," "enthralling in every detail," "evocative, powerful."
--Rebecca Terrel, Florida Dance Association director; Billie Kirpich, Dancer Magazine; Jordan Levin, Dance Magazine.
MYRIAM ELI performs traditional Middle Eastern, Armenian, North African, cross-cultural, and improvisational dance, and plays a variety of Middle Eastern hand drums and percussion instruments. She participated in the dance companies of New York’s Serena, Morocco, Anahid Sofian, and Ahmed Hussein. She has received awards from the New York based American Academy of Middle Eastern Dance and Florida’s Broward County. The Florida Department of State awarded her two Fellowship Grants and selected her as Master Teacher of Middle Eastern dance for the Folklife Apprenticeship Program. She served as Middle Eastern dance teacher, choreographer, consultant, drummer, recording artist, and touring musician with pop rock singer Shakira. She has appeared on United States television playing percussion and as choreographer in the following: MTV, Saturday Night Live, Latin Grammy, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show, and The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Her involvement in flamenco dance includes studying in the U.S. and Spain with Jose Molina, Maria Alba, Manolete, Matilde Coral, Manolo Marin, Ilisa Rosal, Helena Alonso, and Damaris Ferrer. She performed in the U.S. with the Boston Flamenco Ballet, Bailes Ferrer, and Ballet Flamenco La Rosa, for whom she performed a duo in concert with master dancer Manolete. Ms. Eli has toured the United States, Turkey, Japan, and Latin America. She is also dance and co-executive director of Harmonic Motion (www.harmonicmotion.org), which she co-founded in South Florida, U.S.A. with oudist, singer, percussionist, and composer Joe Zeytoonian.
MYRIAM ELI plays Middle Eastern hand drums and percussion instruments such as the dumbek or darbuka, riqq, bendir, and zills. She has recorded and toured worldwide with oudist, composer, percussionist JOE ZEYTOONIAN and regularly performs and teaches in South Florida. Her percussion teachers include Hana Mirhige, Ibrahim Turmen, Coskun Tamer, Souhail Kaspar, and Joe Zeytoonian. She has also performed on percussion with Souren Baronian, Mike Gregian, Seido Salifosky, George Stathos, Susan Raphael, O. Faruk Tekbilek, Satoshi Takeishi, Abbey Rader, Ara Topouzian, Kenny Kalajian, Leon Janikian, Jim Stoyanoff, Gary Kelly, Elias Kilzi, Reza Filsoofi, and flamenco guitarists Paco Fonta and Jose Luis Rodriguez. She has recorded for American Recording Productions, Third Stream Music, and Sony Music/Estefan Enterprises. From 1998 to 2006 she served as Middle Eastern percussionist, recording artist, touring musician, Middle Eastern dance teacher, choreographer, and consultant, with pop rock singer SHAKIRA with whom she performed and recorded the 2000 Latin Grammy winning song. Ms. Eli has appeared on United States television playing percussion and as choreographer on MTV, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Today Show, and The Rosie O’Donnell Show. She also performs and teaches traditional Middle Eastern, Armenian, North African, cross-cultural, and improvisational dance. She is executive director of HARMONIC MOTION which she co-founded in South Florida, U.S.A. with Joe Zeytoonian.