Yallah! Dance Studio

We’ve been to 2 out of 4 beginner belly dancing classes and love it so far! Teachers have been great, there are scarves to borrow if you don’t have one or forgot yours, and the length of the session is perfect. There is stretching at the beginning and end and a giant wall mirror to watch yourself move. The only thing is that I wish the dance area was bigger.

Dropped in for a class, and it was a really positive experience. The teacher was really nice and helpful, kept checking in that everyone was comfortable, and did a great job keeping it challenging for the regulars while accommodating the random drop-​ins like myself. The space is small, but nice. There’s no locker room or anything, so get there a bit early if you need to change because there’s just a private bathroom for that use. They had extra scarves for us to use, which was nice. Note that it’s a 5^th floor walk-​up. Overall a really positive, fun, calming class. And I was definitely sore the next day.

Sherihan was fun and easy going. She did a great job showing my friends and I how to dance. The hour FLEW so quickly and I would really hope to get a chance to do another dance session here. We all had so much fun!

I have now taken classes with all of the teachers at Yallah! except for the Zumba instructor, and I can now, with absolute certainty, recommend it as the best place in Chicago for belly-​dance classes. The two teachers of most of the classes, Zahra and Sherihan, are both incredibly knowledgeable and talented. Moreover, they are really great at breaking things down and TEACHING you how to do everything.
I have taken other belly dance classes that just throw you into it without telling you how they’re achieving all the little movements they’re doing. Here, they always work with your level and will spend however long it takes teaching you to get just one move right. I’ve also taken classes that just stay at the most elementary level forever, and here they move at your pace. Class sizes are small which means the teachers can really focus their attention on whatever it is
Another thing that makes the studio amazing: Zahra teaches a class on Wednesdays that breaks down specific rhythms in traditional and contemporary music and teaches you the appropriate styles of dance for the various rhythms. If you really care about doing things correctly and respecting the cultures that this style of dance comes from, this class is seriously the best thing ever.

Awesome dance studio! I ended up walking by one night and saw the sign for belly dance classes. I found the website and dropped by for a class. Zahra is a fantastic teacher and dancer. My work schedule is a little crazy but I hope to take more classes in the future. I also saw they now offer Zumba!

Both instructors are great. Zahra is very knowledgeable & Sherihan is so encouraging! Very graceful dancers both of them!