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Shazar was born in Boston, Massachusetts. She was raised and educated by Sisters, in a French Canadian convent. She spent her summers with her parents on Cape Cod and traveled with her family, across the US and Canada. In her teens, Shazar attended public schools in Boston with the intention of going into medicine but at the same time, she was also interested in a modeling career. Once landing a contract with Raleigh of Boston, her career flourished.
One afternoon, while watching The Mike Douglas Show, Shazar had her first encounter with the mysterious art of Oriental Dance (Belly Dancing). The guest on his show was a beautiful dancer whose movements and grace left an indelible impression. Shazar had taken Ballet, Jazz and Flamenco but this dance was so unique, so sensual.
At the age of twenty, Shazar married her high school sweetheart and a few years later, gave birth to her first son Sean. Anxious to get her figure back, Shazar planned to get back into dance but as fate would have it, she noticed an article about a dance studio offering Belly Dance lessons and that was that. The journey began: music, movement became her consciousness. Shazar took classes and private lessons with five of Boston’s top dancers plus she frequented many Greek and Middle East supper clubs to further understand the many rhythms. It was during this time, Shazar met George Abdo, who performed at The Averof, a Greek restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The owner of the Averof, Raymond Bandar and George arranged an audition and afterwards Shazar’s career began. Under George’s direction, Shazar was a headliner on The Averof stage. After performing and teaching throughout New England, her dreams to dance with the best performers and musicians were at hand.
Shazar has performed in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Brazil, Venezuela, and toured with George Abdo and The Flames of Araby in Honduras. While appearing in Las Vegas, Shazar met and married Louie Sayegh, an internationally renowned drummer. The marriage was performed on a private plane, as they flew over Lake Mead and Las Vegas. They share a passion for flying, music, design and cooking. Shazar and Louie lived and worked in Los Angeles and Las Vegas for many years. They’ve done live theater, both small and large screen. Shazar and Louie have a son Elias and they also have a small ranch, outside of Las Vegas plus a home in Massachusetts. Click here to see the wedding picture.
Currently, Shazar teaches the art of Belly Dance throughout Massachusetts and is accompanied by her husband Louie, who plays drums for her students. The combination of the different musical instruments, the various movements and rhythms is the perfect way to feel, to sense the dance.
Articles written by Shazar have appeared in Habibi Magazine, Arabesque Magazine and The Middle Eastern Magazine.
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