Interviews, Speeches, and Media Features

Email info@nurjahanboulden.com for media inquiries, and fill out booking form for event inquiries.

The Electric Feminine Podcast: Healing Through Dance

Anjua Maximo interviews Nurjahan Boulden as she bravely shares her survivor story and the healing power of dance in the company of women


The Guardian Global:

A quiet revolution: the female imams taking over an LA mosque

While many of misinterpreted a hadith to mean women can't enter a mosque, these women are covering progressive topics like sexual violence, abortion, pregnancy loss, domestic violence in their sermons


Martin and Shivi interview Nurjahan Boulden for Martin & Roman’s Weekend Best VIP segment


The Chatty Broads sit down with gun violence survivor Nurjahan Boulden. She shares her story, the trauma that followed, and her powerful journey of healing through it all. She also discusses living without fear, shares her “7 Agreements for Survivors”, and much more.


Nurjahan Boulden delivers a commencement address to Pitzer College's Class of 2019


Women Against Gun Violence Legacy Series: Nurjahan was out with friends dancing and having fun when a gunman opened fire, wounding her and another, and killing a man beside her. For years, Nurjahan couldn't talk about the incident. Now she's raising her voice to help others.


Khateebah Nurjahan Boulden delivers the khutbah for The Women's Mosque of America on November 30, 2018. She moves the congregation with her courageous sharing of the struggles she faced as a shooting survivor. Nurjahan shares how we can achieve inner peace and healing by submitting fully to God, how to distinguish between blind vs. true faith, and how we can use true faith to transfrom our fear into action that will help us achieve our dreams.


Online and print magazine Pitzer College Alumni Feature


The Mom Forum | Healing from Trauma and Finding Joy


Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, and The Trace online and print Magazines:

More Than 100,000 Americans Are Victims of Gun Violence Each Year. What Happens to Those Who Survive?

While we focus on the victims of mass shootings, survivors struggle with psychological traumaof their own. Especially when new horrors play on loop.




Feminists Act! An interview with Nurjahan Boulden, survivor of gun violence and expert on gun violence prevention and recovery


Love What Matters: ‘Am I ever going to walk again? Will I survive this?’ I couldn’t see it coming or avoid it. I never saw the man who did it. I just felt the shattering vibration in my leg and collapsed.’


Whiskey and Lemon Podcast: Lana Mercedes has a conversation with Nurjahan Boulden on surviving gun violence, how to not let triggers consume you, and the inner work needed to heal.


Shrink for the Shy Guy: Confident No Matter What

Learn how to break through fear and depression so you can live your best life. Join Dr. Aziz as he interviews our guest, Nurjahan Boulden, and shares her journey of survival and healing after gun trauma.


Her Zindagi: End Your Cycle of Trauma with Shooting Survivor Nurjahan Boulden, interviewed by Maheen


The Refined Alpha Podcast: Interview with Nurjahan Boulden

She survived a shooting...Her husband is Christian...She's Muslim...She Failebrates every Friday...This is How to Survive Anything...Even Getting Shot!


Big Vision TV: Rising into fearlessness with Nurjahan Boulden




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Belly Dance Lessons

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Speeches & Interviews

Email info@nurjahanboulden.com for media inquiries, and fill out booking form for event inquiries.

Note: No performance inquiries please—Nurjahan teaches belly dance as a form of intimacy and community, not as a performance art

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I dreamed of sharing belly dance with the world, until an assault rifle stopped me in my tracks.

Read more...

As Featured In...

Find and embrace the fullest expression of yourself, without holding back

Face your fears head on, and your wildest dreams will not only be possible, they'll become inevitable

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Praise & Testimonials

Mita Banerjee, Professor of Psychology

"Nurjahan's empassioned reminder of why we need to face our fears in order to live fully, was beyond inspirational" 


Sandy Anglin Phillips, Founder of Survivors Empowered

"Nurjahan's spirit and guidance transformed the participants. Her light will always be so precious to me. I can't wait to do it again." 


Ruby Bajaj, Superhero Lifestyle

"Nurjahan teaches you to learn with your own body movements and go with your own personal rhythm and comfort. It helped me bring my sexy back after having 7 surgeries in 2 years. I didn’t think that was possible."


I learned how to belly dance as soon as I could walk. I danced and danced and danced, and I dreamed of sharing belly dance with the world - until a bullet stopped me in my tracks.


I got shot in the leg with an assault rifle on vacation when I was 21 years old.

I pushed through some of the best parts of life—graduating college, starting my career, getting married, having three (pretty damn cute) children.

But I never felt safe. I never felt whole. I walked on and off with a cane throughout my 20s, and I hated my body for failing me.

Ten years after my shooting, I heard another survivor sharing her own story, raw and vulnerable. When I told Rhonda Foster how inspiring it was to hear her story, she invited me to open up about my own.

When I shared my story for the first time in front of over 300 people, I felt an immense release. It was the first time I let other people witness me in my grief, my pain, and my constant fear.

That moment was the catalyst for my recovery, and with every step I took out of hiding, people I met along the way held and guided me through.

As I tried to dance under the open sky again—I started to recognize the true value of my mom and aunties’ childhood lessons in belly dance.

They gave me the audacity to believe that I should be able to exist in spaces—dance, stand in the center, command attention, refuse to be pushed aside or ignored. With belly dance workshops, interviews, and speeches across the country, I invite participants to find and embrace the fullest expression of themselves, without holding back.

My story has been featured in Cosmopolitan, Women's Health Magazine, and a number of other media outlets, including dozens of podcasts and shows.

It took me a long time to get back on my feet, physically and emotionally. And now that I'm here, I dance at every chance I get!

When I'm not writing or traveling for work, my family and I love to play soccer in the backyard, grow fruits and vegetables in our garden, and have impromptu dance and karaoke battles in our living room.

Stay in the loop about upcoming workshops and programs

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Email info@nurjahanboulden.com for media inquiries, and fill out booking form for event inquiries.

Note: No performance inquiries please—Nurjahan teaches belly dance as a form of intimacy and community, not as a performance art

Belly Dance with Nurjahan

Belly dance was passed down to Nurjahan from the women in her family, who migrated from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Tanzania to the United States. While it's practiced differently in many parts of the world, she grew up with it as a community-based practice, with women coming together to celebrate and reconnect with their bodies.

Access Nurjahan's Belly Dance playlists on Spotify: Arabic Music, Swahili & Afro beats, TikTok Sounds

Shop similar styles to Nurjahan's dresses here.


Sign Up to Join!

$7 Belly Dance Single Class

Note: no performance inquiries please—Nurjahan teaches belly dance as a form of intimacy and community, not as a performance art)

Subscribe to Nurjahan's YouTube channel and check out her online tutorials:

Shimmy into a Body Roll


Beginner's Body Roll


Front to Back Hip Shimmy


Tips for Sensual and Fluid Hand Movements


Chest Shimmy Tutorial | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Walking Body Roll Tutorial | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Slides Across the Floor (Shakira-Style) | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Tutorial for Wider, More Dramatic Hip Circles | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Lifts from the Floor | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


4 Common Belly Dance Mistakes & How to Fix Them | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Guided Meditation for Survivors of Gun Violence | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


My Favorite Belly Dance Outfits | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Lifts in a Circle on One Leg, aka The "Aunty Move" (pt 3) | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Lifts in a Circle on One Leg, aka The "Aunty Move" (pt 2) | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Lifts in a Circle on One Leg, aka The "Aunty Move" (pt 1) | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Stretching & Strengthening | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Lifts in Motion | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Get Comfortable Being Seen | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Clicks Tutorial (pt 2) | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Clicks Tutorial (pt 1) | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Backbend Loop Tutorial | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Meditation & Improvisation | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Arm Toning | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Body Roll Tutorial | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Backbend Tutorial | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Love On That Body | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Shimmy How-To | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


When You Hate the Body You're In | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Dance Class with Hezekiah (Age 4)


Down to the Floor (pt 2) | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Down to the Floor (pt 1) | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Own Your Sensuality | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Arm and Hand Movements | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Tying Your Scarf | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Hip Movements | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Warm-Up | Belly Dance with Nurjahan


Chest Movements | Belly Dance with Nurjahan

Stay in the loop about upcoming workshops and programs

This form collects information I will use to send you tips, resources, and updates. I will not spam you or share or sell your personal information. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Please complete the reCAPTCHA challenge

Email info@nurjahanboulden.com for media inquiries, and fill out booking form for event inquiries.

Note: No performance inquiries please—Nurjahan teaches belly dance as a form of intimacy and community, not as a performance art

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