Welcome to the Suhaila Salimpour Institute of Online Education

Please visit our Fundamentals page to learn more about the introductory courses.

Instruction. Our courses are guided by certified instructors and peer leaders and guest instructors (for special content in higher levels) who will provide the feedback and evaluation on assignments under the supervision of Suhaila Salimpour, the Director.

In the certification section of the website, each level has a page that contains information on preparing for the courses in that level. If, after reading the website, you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact the School at certification@dance.suhaila.com. We welcome questions.

Yes! You can. However, if you are considering taking two courses at one time, we encourage you to contact the School to discuss your situation. We can help you determine what the best choice is for you.

Each classroom will be opened to the enrolled students on the start date of the course. Once students are admitted to a classroom, they will have access to the first week wees of materials and assignments.

Class Structure. The content is paced steadily over 12 weeks. Each week, students are given content to study and/or review that may include online classes, lectures, performance videos, reading material, etc. Students are also given weekly assignments to submit for evaluation; the assignments may include online quizzes, videos of themselves executing certain assignments, typed reports submitted through the classroom, PDFs, jpg images, etc.

Assignments are submitted by uploading (links to videos, PDFs, jpg files, google docs) based on the specific parameters of that assignment.

Yes and no. Once you are admitted to the classroom, you will have access to most (if not all) of the class content right away, allowing you to work ahead if needed. However, late assignments typically are not evaluated.

Some online courses allow you to pace your study as you prefer—you might choose to complete all work early or submit everything at the end. Our Institute courses follow a different design, offering paced feedback to support steady and consistent learning. That said, once admitted, students can access the majority of materials and assignments immediately. If you anticipate a scheduling conflict, you are encouraged to prepare and submit assignments in advance.

When enrolling in a course, it’s important to understand your role in the learning process. Submitting assignments by the established deadlines helps ensure you receive timely feedback and fully benefit from the course. Assignments submitted after deadlines may not be evaluated, which could impact your ability to pass the course and affect eligibility for certification or progression to subsequent courses.

You also have the option not to submit assignments. However, if your goal is to pursue certification immediately after the course, instructors need completed work to evaluate and approve your readiness for certification evaluations.

Our online classroom provides the student with a means to contact the instructor directly with any questions. If you have questions about the course before you have access to the classroom, please email us at dance@suhaila.com.

Foundations 1 is designed to accommodate both beginners to the level and those wanting to certify in that level. While the course is not designed to be an introduction to the Foundations 1, many learners find it a helpful way to approach their practice.

Sometimes you know you're ready, and sometimes you aren't quite sure. Don't hesitate to contact the School to set up a free short meeting to discuss your situation and how best to determine your preparedness.

For learners considering certification, passing all required choreography during the course is a requirement for eligibility to take a certification assessment. While the primary learning is handled on your own using the choreography course, many learners like to schedule private lessons with School instructors. During the course, you will have opportunities to submit your choreography for the needed approval; economy courses offer two opportunities and premium courses offer five.

We’ll use the Foundations 1 testing preparation course as an example. (All Foundations and Integrations certification preparation courses follow the same general structure.)

After earning your Fundamentals 1 and 2 certifications, you begin working on Foundations content. You’ll practice with the Library & Conservatory subscription and learn the required choreographies from the Choreography short courses. As you prepare, don’t hesitate to ask questions!

When you’re ready, sign up for the course. Once the semester begins, you’ll gain access to your classroom.

The course is paced to support steady learning, but you may work ahead. Live meet-ups with instructors and other learners are scheduled once your course starts.

Typical assessments include:
Filming yourself performing required choreography or somatic drills for evaluation
Filming exercises using Suhaila’s Gidwork and Stagistics
Learning to map music
Taking quizzes to test your knowledge
Answering short questions and participating in conversation threads

If you plan to pursue certification evaluation, your instructor will review your work throughout the course. Approval of the required choreographies before the course ends is mandatory to qualify for certification assessment.

Please note: final evaluations or final assessment periods are separate from course dates and are held at the end of the semester.

We do have live workshops, and you can find a list of our Events and Workshops here.

Belly dance is a performing art, where both improvisation and choreography play an important role. Well written choreography provides the student with understanding of several concepts including musicality and phrasing, technique application in interpreting music, performance skill development, and cultural cues and nuances. By developing skills in choreography, students prepare for improvisation.

Suhaila's Method is a somatic (mind-body) approach to creating belly dance movement internally and organically. Using Suhaila's movement and timing approaches, you define, integrate, and layer movements to create your dance with intention, nuance, and personalization.