AMINA, WHO IS SHE?

Amina Boussemha was born into a very diverse family of devotees in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA. Her father is from Casablanca, Morocco and grew up practicing the teachings of Mohamed and her mother is born in Paris, France to a Catholic mother and Orthodox Christian father who dedicated their lives to AC Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad, the foremost teacher and scholar of the Vaishnava tradition. In her early childhood, the rhythm of the Mrdanga would make her leap into dance steps and bring joy to all onlookers. Seeing this ability in her, she was encouraged by her mother to begin training in Bharatanatyam dance. Soon after, she became captivated by the movements of Odissi dance and has now dedicated her life to this dance form. She is studying at Rudrakshya Foundation under one of the most talented Odissi dance gurus in the world, Guru Bichitrananda Swain. Her life has been similar to that of a nomad , adventuring to many places in Africa, Europe, North America, India, and Thailand where she was able to share her dances. She aspires to carry on the legacy, art and culture of Lord Jagannath’s deva dasis around the world and is striving to perfect her dancing in order to create the most impact on people hearts. She feels that the world needs to experience real culture, the culture of pure, unmotivated, devotion to God. Through these beautiful dance presentations she is confident that she will be able to transport viewers to the realm of spiritual bliss which is the highest perfection. In the future, Amina envisions opening her own dance school and community cultural center where traditional art forms will be preserved.