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Jennifer Cooper is an award-winning professional belly dancer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She began studying Middle Eastern dance in 1992 with Leea Aziz, and started her professional dance career in 1994 as a house dancer at El Morocco in Pleasant Hill, under the stage name Jasmine.
Since then, Jennifer has performed regularly in public and private venues throughout the Bay Area and has been featured at several restaurants, including Tanjia in Oakland and El Mansour in San Francisco. From 2002 to 2004 she enjoyed the honor of performing with Mimi Spencer and Mary Ellen Donald on Saturday nights at Amira in San Francisco.
An accomplished troupe dancer, Jennifer was a member of Troupe Ya Habibi and a founding member of Raks Sahibat. In the fall of 2003, she began collaborating with former Ya Habibi troupe mates, Monica and Shakira Om Mia. Together they are the multi-award-winning Raqs Habibi Dance Company.
In 2004, Jennifer began revamping promotion and coordinating the judging panel for the prestigious Belly Dancer of the Year PageantŪ. She currently manages the BDOY website, creates print and web advertising, and brings together some of the most highly respected dancers and musicians for the judging panel.
Jennifer is proud of her traditional American Cabaret foundation, drawing inspiration from Egyptian, Turkish, Greek, and Lebanese styles of dance. She is a private instructor at Belly Dance! Studio in Walnut Creek and has taught classes at Las Positas Community College in Livermore. Known for her fluidity and relaxed stage presence, she continues to develop her technique and expand her repertoire through regular study.
When Jennifer is not teaching, performing, and studying dance, you can find her putting her BA in English to good use working for a California-based retail company.
AWARDS
2005 Double Crown Nile Winner
2004 Best Live Music Soloist
2004 Best Troupe
2004 Trio of the Year
2002 Best Soloist
2000 Troupe of the Year
1999 Ensemble of the Year
1995 Troupe of the Year
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