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  In 1982, Adriana closed her school and went into semi-retirement, needing time to deal with a series of personal tragedies and health problems. Having battled back from breast cancer and a mastectomy in 1972 to open her dance school and resume performing and the murder of her husband a few years later, she ultimately found the ensuing financial and emotional challenges too much to handle. Additional health problems, including osteoarthritis and a hip replacement, required her to take a period of time to regroup.

  Down, but never out, Adriana returned to Washington in 1990. With her tenacious spirit defying the odds, she has helped renew the spirit that brought joy to many during the height of Washington’s Middle Eastern dance years. In addition to sponsoring workshops and shows, she has initiated a series of annual Awards Galas as a means of promoting Middle Eastern dance culture by recognizing the dancers, musicians, club owners, and others who have made significant contributions over the years.
 
   By working to educate the public about Middle Eastern dance, she continues to upgrade the art and bring recognition to past and present contributors to this art form. adriana is currently working to revise and upgrade her awards program and has also resumed teaching.

  In addition to her numerous dance and music credentials, Adriana is a licensed skin care, make-up, and nail specialist and a graduate of Von Lee’s School of Aesthetics. Adriana’s work has been widely recognized.
  
   Most notably, in 1993, she was inducted into the American Academy of Middle Eastern Dance (AAMED) Hall of Fame, honoring National and International Artists in the field of Middle Eastern Dance for their unique and lasting contributions, thus recognizing her as one of the most accomplished artists of the dance. In 1997, the Library of Congress debuted the world premier of adriana: Shadows on Yellow Silk, a documentary on her life as a Middle Eastern dancer. A showing was later done at The George Washington University (GWU), sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance.

    In addition, Adriana's papers are included in the dance archives of The Gelman Library at GWU. She is the first Middle Eastern dancer to be inducted into the archives.

Through the heyday of the American cabaret and the rise and fall of the great clubs, Adriana has retained an unparalleled perspective on this art form. As the late Ibraham Farrah, publisher of Arabesque magazine, noted, Adriana has been “a pillar” in the Middle Eastern dance community. Without doubt, she personifies the glamour and glitter of past memories and future hopes, the traditions of ancient times, and today’s aspirations.

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Contact Adriana: adriana@adrianadc.com
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