Chicago dance performer and instructor.

Djalaal grew up on Chicago’s South Side. She earned a degree in Psychology at the University of Chicago and an M.A. in Intercultural Studies at Governors Sate University. Having studied every aspect of dance, Djalaal became a specialist in North African and Middle Eastern dance, and founded a dance company, “Djalaal and the Women of the Veil”, and a women’s drum circle, “Heartbeat”.

Djalaal has performed as soloist and with her company at numerous educational and cultural institutions throughout Illinois. She also teaches dance and exercises at many venues, including several Chicago City Colleges, the Chicago Multicultural Dance Center, the Chicago Cultural Center, and has performed at such places as Daley Plaza, the Bucktown Art Fair, and in the window of Carson, Pirie, Scott.

For more than thirty years, Djalaal has taught belly dancing to thousands of students, both young and old, describing her classes as “Belly Dancing as a life-long fitness alternative”. She has given lectures on Chicago African-American history, presented multicultural workshops, and presided at panel discussions on women’s issues at schools, community groups and businesses. She was awarded an Ethnic Arts Apprenticeship by the Illinois Arts Council, was on the Council of Elders for Dance Africa Chicago, and has been a member of the Executive Board of the Friends of the Chicago Cultural Center. Also, Djalaal has published articles in Afrique, Hyde Park Citizen, the Reader, and the Traditional Arts Bulletin.