This is a badge for the SAC Fair - Arts category for the SAC Fair.

This is a badge for the Spring 2021 SAC Fair.

<p>University of Pennsylvania's premier Middle Eastern dance and drum troupe. We are a small belly-dancing troupe that incorporates traditional and contemporary songs, genres, and pieces. We are very accepting of everyone from various skillsets and levels. Come for some fun, build a fun community, and to learn something new!&nbsp;</p>

Kimberly De La Cruz

Owner

Sukie Chek

Officer

Keri Zhang

Member

Destinee Anderson

Yalla Middle Eastern Dance & Drum Troupe

University of Pennsylvania's premier Middle Eastern dance and drum troupe

I really enjoyed being in Yalla this year. Everyone was so welcoming and as a newbie I felt accepted and embraced into the group right from the start. I really liked how creative and collaborative the pieces were and always felt comfortable expressing my ideas and opinions. I also appreciated the clear and constant communication via emails/messenger. I thought they were helpful to keep track of what we had to do and when. However, I wished there was a bit more organization and/or reinforcement on commitment. Having to come up with a newbie piece while more people joined and then left and with no experienced member with us was definitely hard. All in all though, I’m really glad I auditioned and hope to continue Yalla until I graduate.

I have been in Yalla for three years and it has been amazing so far! Each year we have a new theme and we always work together towards creating a show that we are all apart of.

I loved it overall!  Everyone is really embracing of everyone,  their personalities, and their ideas and we have genuine friendships. The practices were the most difficult parts, but it pushed me to learn new things and I was proud of myself for learning so many dance moves. The only thing is that many people were leaving and coming so it was hard to create a newbie piece, but [the president] came up with a great idea to just mesh everything together!  Also you guys were considerate of people's schedules if they let you know ahead of time.

Yalla Middle Eastern Dance & Drum Troupe Alumni