Vadalna Tribal Dance Co. is one of the premiere  professional dance companies to bring the cutting edge dance “tribal fusion” belly dance to the Boston area. Having found its roots in New York City, Vadalna spans the bridge between classical Middle Eastern dance (belly dance) and the New York City & Boston Underground, blending elements of hip-hop, house, and modern dance. The result is something neither one extreme nor the other, but both, and uniquely Vadalna. This synergy between the old and the new in what Vadalna describes as “tribal” or “tribal-fusion,” has led many Middle Eastern cultural organizations throughout the country to describe Vadalna as the newest in Middle Eastern modern dance. Endeavoring to offer a modern cultural voice, Vadalna has grown into a theatrical, performance arts company weaving dance with contemporary mythical story, an element not usually incorporated within traditional Middle Eastern dance. This evolution is reflected in Vadalna’s full-length featured work “Menagerie", performed annually at The Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA.  “Menagerie” offers passage into the Victorian cirque where festival goers may glimpse into the past, present, and future forms of mythical creatures and exotic beings and yet on second glance, “cultures blend, time bends, and the creature you perceive may be closer to you than you think.” (Taken from the Menagerie playbill.)

Previous accomplishments for Vadalna include a myriad of events spanning from performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts in New York City to private high-profile galas such as performances at Google Headquarters and fashion designer Marc Jacob’s annual holiday gala, to more intimate gatherings at popular Boston venues such as The Paradise Rock Club,  Machine, Harper's Ferry, and The Middle East. 

Vadalna’s work is highly influenced by Founder, Naraya Ligouri’s study as a PhD Candidate in Cultural Anthropology at Brandeis University. Her work revolves around the process by which theatre (as well as the arts in general) can actively engage as peacebuilders within war-torn and violence prone regions, her area of research lying within the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. For Naraya, theatre as peacebuilder and a bridge between cultures takes on a rather literal sense. Learning from the efforts of local, grassroots theatrical and dance companies in Israel and Palestine, Naraya seeks to both learn from and publicize their work while attempting to embolden their efforts towards peace. Vadalna seeks to act as a testing ground for theatrical cross-cultural communication within the Middle East, between the Middle East and the West, and between the traditional and the ultra-modern, offering dance and theatre as a liaison between the two.