Adriana Miller papers

Adriana Miller was born in Boston, Massachusetts in the midst of the Great Depression. She studied dance at the Boston Conservatory of Music and continued her studies at the Stanley Brown Dance Studios. In 1972, Adriana opened her own school in Washington, D.C., called Adriana's Mecca of Middle Eastern Dance, where she taught dance, make-up, and skin care, as well as costume construction, and music theory classes. She also had her own troop of dancers called Adriana's Mecca of Middle Eastern Dancers. In 1979, she was recognized at the Kennedy Center for her talents and achievements. She closed her school in 1982 and retired.

Adriana returned to the dance scene in 1990. In 1992, she presented her first Middle Eastern and Mediterranean Danse Orietale Gala Review and Reunion. The following year she was inducted into the American Academy of Middle Eastern Dance Hall of Fame. In 1997, the documentary Adriana: Shadows on Yellow Silk premiered at the Mary Pickford Theater at the Library of Congress. The film chronicles Adriana's rise to fame and the role she played in the renaissance of Middle Eastern dance in Washington, D.C., as well as her personal struggles, retirement, and return to the dance scene.