Your Pageant Director, Alexandra Ahnide

As a child, Alexandra Ahnide enjoyed taking ballet classes and participated in two Miss America preliminary pageants. During graduate studies at Rowan University she searched for an enjoyable adult ballet class and found belly dancing instead. In 1992, with only eight weeks of lessons, she and her fellow student, now long time friend, SamSara, performed as beginners at a show featuring the legendary Morocco. Morocco's wealth of knowledge and love for the mysterious art form, proudly stood to show the dance is not a strip tease and has a traceable history in lands where young women learn this traditional style at family parties or haflis.

For Alexandra belly dance or Raks Sharki, became an obsession. Within two years she began filling in for professional dancers. She joined the troupe, El Raks Sai'd, and inspired a trip to Egypt in 1997.

She became a well-known dancer throughout the Delaware Valley and even met her husband through dance. With three children and less time to dedicate to classes and performing, Alexandra began the Jewel of the Nile pageant. It was originally conceived to give amateur dancers a chance for their talents to be recognized and has grown into what it is today.

Alexandra also directed the show, Give Peace a Dance featuring Tarik Sultan and Morocco. She has sponsored, Latifa, Chelydra, Kamaal, Toha and Cathy Skora. She founded Middle Eastern Dance in South Jersey and a tribe for competitions. Finally, she hosts a free Student-Teacher Belly Dance Expo in May on the Village Green in Historic Smithville, New Jersey.