Belly Dance Life

Sadie is an inspiration and icon to her students and fans around the world and serves to empower people through the captivating art of Oriental Dance (Bellydance). She has produced dozens of bestselling instructional videos. She has represented the art of Oriental Dance in front of millions of viewers on the hit show “America’s Got Talent”. Sadie is the founder and director of the “Raqs Online” tr...

Suhaila Salimpour grew up caught between two worlds: the strict, Shi’a Muslim household of her father who passed away when she was 10, and the free-spirited Hippie fantasyland of her mother, renowned belly dance innovator Jamila Salimpour. By the time she was 14, Suhaila was the sole breadwinner for herself and her mother, traveling across the United States on the weekends teaching her mother’s da...

A teacher, dancer, and choreographer of oriental dance, Dr. Mo Geddawi is a native of Cairo who has made his home in Berlin, Germany for the past twenty years. His beginnings in the formal study of dance began with the invitation to join a ballet school in the royal palace of Saida Sutaire, King Farouk’s cousin. Years later he met Mahmoud Reda, and in 1957 became a co-founder of the Reda Troupe. I...

Born in the USA and trained by master teachers in New York City, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey, Athena Najat has traveled the globe dancing. Athena’s dance background began in childhood with years of dedicated training in Classical Ballet and Modern Dance. She graduated with a Dance major from the famous Performing Arts High School Walnut Hill. Her education continued with special training at Laban C...

Hasna is the founder and admin of the Just Belly Dance website which currently provides event promotion, ticketing, and registration management tools. She is located in Atlanta, GA and performs at various public events as well as private venues. Hasna has dabbled in a few arenas of MENAT dance and has explored fusion dancing, but her passion lies in Egyptian-style dancing. Hasna is a member of Per...

Some of the best moments from our previous episodes! Many of us struggle with continuing our daily training in the times of pandemic, finding motivation, and keeping the discipline. Let’s see how our guest stars approach their personal training and get some tips for ourselves. Today you will hear from Jasirah, Daliya, Soraia and Aziza.  Show Notes to this episode: Ep 19. Jasirah: How to Pract...

Esmeralda Colabone has dedicated 20 years to dance. Originally from Brazil, she is one of the biggest names on the Arabic dance scene today! Esmeralda was the youngest dancer to join the cast of La Maison de L’Artiste in Lebanon. For 12 years she danced in the best hotels in North Africa and the Middle East. Those years made her truly unique and today she is a master teacher, soloist and choreogra...

Sabriye Tekbilek grew up in an environment of Middle Eastern music and dance. She is the daughter of the renowned Turkish musician "Haci" Ahmet Tekbilek, and Lisa Djeylan, once an international bellydancer herself. While attending the University of California at Berkeley, Sabriye began taking classes with Suhaila Salimpour and quickly became a member of the Suhaila Dance Company and Bal Anat. It w...

Raksan is a professional dancer, choreographer and dance pedagogue with a 35 year-long career. Her charisma and virtuosity led her onto the biggest variety theatre stages in Germany and Switzerland as well as into the arena of Circus Roncalli. The approach she developed over three decades is inspired equally by the various dance traditions of the Near and Middle East and the modern dance, African...

Ma*Shuqa is known for instructing dancers in the Art of Bellydance, which Ma*Shuqa does with mastery in her performances and coaching.  Ma*Shuqa began dancing in 1973 and immersed herself in the dance genre. Ma*Shuqa is world renown as the first performer with Isis Wings – creating and dancing with them 30 years ago.  She developed the Ma*Shuqa Method which provides dancers with a unique...

Badriyah is a professional oriental dancer, devoted mainly to Egyptian classical and folklore styles, modern fusion with oriental dance and the Golden Age of belly dance. She teaches regular classes at Shoonya Dance Centre in Ghent, Belgium, and travels around Europe to give workshops and lectures. Badriyah's dream is to build a real Bellydance Museum. As a start, she collects vintage bellydance i...

Alex DeLora is a professional belly dancer from Ukraine. She is famous for her unique style and strong technique skills, which are well used in her drum solos. As a competitor she was the first runner up in International Eilat Festival 2012 in Israel. Now as a teacher she gives workshops worldwide: Korea, China, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, USA, Singapore, etc. She is the owner of...

It’s a mini-episode with Iana! Let’s talk about the structure of a 20-min belly dance program: how to survive as a performer, and how to keep it interesting for your audience. Show Notes to this episode: Check Business Course for Belly Dancers | Everything About Gigs: www.ianadance.com/business Get a FREE Step-By-Step Guide here: www.ianadance.com/guide Find Iana on Instagram , FB , Youtube . Podc...

Aida Bogomolova is a world-famous oriental dance artist and an experienced teacher and choreographer. A style icon, Aida was invited to such countries as Russia, China, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Chile, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Colombia, Mexico, Portugal, Greece, among others. She was born in Russia and currently lives in Italy. Aida started dancing when she was 6...

It’s a mini-episode with Iana! Let’s talk about common mistakes in the communication process with your potential clients! Show Notes to this episode: Check Business Course for Belly Dancers | Everything About Gigs: www.ianadance.com/business Get a FREE Step-By-Step Guide here: www.ianadance.com/guide Find Iana on Instagram , FB , Youtube . Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Tannaz is an inspiring artist, coach and choreographer. Inspired by Persian poems and music she works towards her goal of popularizing Iranian culture through movement and art. She shares the joy and deep connection to her soul with Persian Classical, as well as whirling dances. Tannaz explores both traditional and modern interpretations of the ancient art forms. In this episode you will learn abo...

It’s a mini-episode with Iana! Let’s talk about restaurant gigs: why to do and how to get into… Show Notes to this episode: Check Business Course for Belly Dancers | Everything About Gigs: www.ianadance.com/business Get a FREE Step-By-Step Guide here: www.ianadance.com/guide Find Iana on Instagram , FB , Youtube . Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Cherine is an international performing Oriental Dance Artist specializing in the classical style of dance, Raqs Sharqi, for over 20 years. She is known for her elegance, subtle & delicate style, precise technique & deep understanding of nuances of the dance. She knows the Arabic language and is familiar with Arab culture due to her origins. Cherine has a long-term experience of performing...

It’s a mini-episode with Iana! Let’s talk about the nature of our dance services, and the main reason why clients hire us. :) Show Notes to this episode: Check Business Course for Belly Dancers | Everything About Gigs: www.ianadance.com/business Get a FREE Step-By-Step Guide here: www.ianadance.com/guide Find Iana on Instagram , FB , Youtube . Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

It’s a mini-episode with Iana! Let’s talk about business mindset, shame around selling your art, and waiting for jobs and clients to appear from nowhere… :) Show Notes to this episode: Check Business Course for Belly Dancers | Everything About Gigs: www.ianadance.com/business Get a FREE Step-By-Step Guide here: www.ianadance.com/guide Find Iana on Instagram , FB , Youtube . Podcast: www.ianadance....

Maris has been interested in oriental dance since 2005 when she started taking her first belly dance classes. In 2012 she started teaching regular classes in Estonia and later workshops in Europe and Egypt, where she started her daily shows (belly dance, folklore, international dance) in the summer of 2013 in Sharm el Sheikh with Vanessa Show Productions. In 2016 she worked a dance contract in Dub...

Irina Akulenko is a New York City-based performer, teacher and choreographer, with a burning passion for arts of all genres. Since 2001, Irina explored both Egyptian Cabaret and American Tribal style belly dance, Odissi and Flamenco. She now enjoys fusing these art forms as well as everything in between. Irina completed successful tours around the world, teaching and performing in Japan, Hong Kong...

Anna Schkade-Siytangco teaches women how to use the transforming power of movement to help them gain better health and build more self-confidence, while providing them with a way to express themselves in a profoundly beautiful way. She has over 15 years of diligent practice and study of Middle Eastern / North African / Near East dances with many world-renown performers and teachers. Anna has more...

Khadijah is one of the most sought after instructors, performers and choreographers of Middle Eastern Dance and Folklore! Her upbringing in an artistic family prompted her to pursue studies in music and movement in various Arabic dance styles and beyond. She has been featured in BellyDance Magazine (California), BellyDance TV (California), Al Seha TV (Cairo), Univision (Colorado), The Denver Post...

Since a young age, Rahel has been involved in artistic exploration through various forms of dance, rhythm and music. She found her calling in Raks Sharqi (Oriental/Egyptian Style) and Fusion Bellydance at the age of fifteen and has been passionate about it ever since, fully immersing herself in it. Rahel is the choreographer and artistic director of bellydance troupe The Helwa Dancers, and she her...