Flowers of the Desert

Flowers Of The Desert Arabian Dance Company was founded in 1995 by Laura Crawford, who also serves as the company's director. Made up of the top soloists in the Los Angeles, California area, the group has performed at many prestigious events, including a gala voter benefit on Election Eve 1996, where the Flowers had the honor of performing in front of First Lady Hilary Clinton.

The troupe has performed with many Middle Eastern, world beat and rock 'n' roll artists, including Egyptian superstar Amar Diab at The Hollywood Palladium, flamenco-Arabic sensation Alabina at the Universal Amphitheater, The Talking Heads at The Roxy, and the Universal Studios premiere of "The Mummy."

Additionally, Flowers have performed for many celebrities and dignitaries including the Saudi Arabian Royal Family on two separate occasions. They've appeared at numerous festivals including the 1997 Tournament Of Roses Parade, on a float promoting worldwide friendship. Flowers were seen by thousands live and millions in television broadcasts that reached 55 separate countries.

The group was flown down to Leon, Mexico for special performances in November of 1996, and sold out Highways Theater (on three separate runs) with a new show called "Fusion And Fantasy," combining oriental dance with hip-hop, jazz, flamenco, new age and fantasy.

The group's repertoire includes Saudi Khaligi, Raks Assaya (cane) from Upper Egypt, flamenco, Tunisian pot-balancing, sword balancing, East Indian Punjabi and Filmi, raks shamadan (candelabra balancing), as well as more experimental, modern dances with Middle Eastern or Latin flavor.

Currently, Flowers are working on a new show titled Ishtar, to be performed at the El Rey Theater on September 23, 2000, as a fund raiser for The Tahara Project, whose goal is educating people about female circumcision.