As the closing episode of 2022 I’d like to share a compilation of some of my favorite moments from the interviews of this year. You will hear from Gitza, Semsemah, Mahaila El Helwa, and Tatiana Tarasova.

Show Notes to this episode:

Full interviews with our guests:

Ep 183. Gitza: Dance Movement Therapy

Ep 188. Semsemah: Don’t Be a Superficial Dancer

Ep 203. Mahaila El Helwa: Finding Your Truth in Dance

Ep 209. Tatiana Tarasova: Know Your Uniqueness

Details and training materials for the BDE castings are available at www.JoinBDE.com

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning January 2nd. Apply at sharqui.com/teach

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club.

Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE.

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Oscar Flores began in Oriental dance in 1995 and since 2000 has been dedicated to teaching this art around the world. He has created a personal style joining techniques developed while studying other arts such as theater, musical theater, flamenco, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, tribal fusion, Indian dances, theatrical jazz, psychodrama, and others. In 2005, he opened his first studio in Buenos Aires and in 2007 his first school called Alkimiah, Fusion of Talents. In 2010, he founded his dance company with which worked until 2016, when he moved to China to become part of the Bellydance China project. Today he lives in Spain, but continues to work around the world in important artistic events.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Oscar’s online campus for belly dancers

• His dream of creating a belly dance university

• The benefits of having an international certification

• Fitness activities for belly dancers

• Diversification of activities and various projects Oscar is currently working on

This is a new solo episode with Iana!

We often make grand plans but fail on showing up and performing them. Or sometimes we do show up but don't put 100% of our energy into the task. How to make sure that your future New Year resolution list won’t transform by the end of January into a simple wish list of dance habits you’d like to have.

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club.

Book recommendation: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Details and training materials for the BDE castings are available at www.JoinBDE.com

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning January 2nd. Apply at sharqui.com/teach

Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE.

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Valerick Molinary has started her bellydance training when she was 13 yrs old in San Juan, Puerto Rico. By the time she was 18, Valerick started performing in a Palestinian-owned restaurant. She has a BA in Hispanic Studies and Comparative Literature, the influence of which can be seen in her creative and poetic approach to choreography, dance teaching and production. In 2015 Valerick began producing the Lebanese Love Affair, an annual event in Miami dedicated to providing a platform for dancers to study directly from renowned and dedicated Arab dance artists, all in a big celebration of love for Raks Sharky and the countries that gave birth to it.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Unity of personal and artistic lives

• Channeling intimate emotions into dance

• Valerick work on the video dance piece Trapped

• How mentorship for other dancers work

• Amazing new projects hosted by Valerick

Anna Chepets is a young international star from Ukraine. She traveled all around the world with shows and workshops, won multiple international competitions, and has been judging at numerous events. She is the winner of Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival in Cairo in 2017 in the Master Professional category, and previously 2014, 2015, 2016 in other categories. At the age of 12, she was invitated to teach at the Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival. Today Anna is a co-organizer of the ‘Bagira The Way To The Stars’ Festival, head of her own dance school, and she is an inspiring teacher for many dancers around the world.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Starting belly dance classes at 8 years-old

• How her love for belly dance transformed into a profession

• Teaching young children

• Dealing with students’ parents

• Bright and dark sides of belly dance competitions

Sahira began belly dancing full-time in 2001. At one point she was dancing 5 nights a week, sometimes up to 7 shows in one evening! In 2005, Sahira released her first instructional DVD and shortly after she got invited to teach and perform all around the world. In 2006 she even had the honor of being the first tribal instructor ever invited to teach at the largest belly dance festival in the world: Ahlan We Sahlan, in Cairo, Egypt. She is also the proud co-owner of Bella Donna Dance, voted Houston’s Best Belly Dancers by the Houston Press. She is also the founder and director of Houston’s premiere Tribal Style troupe, Urban Hipsy.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Being fired from a job, and diving into a belly dance career

• The importance of networking and connections

• Learning process for finger cymbals

• Teaching zills online

• Where to purchase good finger cymbals, and where to perform with them

For all our guests and listeners dance is a very integral part of daily life. But sometimes we start taking it for granted, and forget that for many people opportunity to dance and perform is a luxury. Let’s listen to some stories from our previous guests.

NEW episode with a selection of the best parts dedicated to the barriers and hardships of the decision to pursue a dance path. You’ll hear from Lebanese Simon, Sara Al-Hadithi, Mohanned Hawaz and Sabriye Tekbilek.

Full interviews with our guests:

Ep 29. Lebanese Simon: Rising Above Obstacles

Ep 108. Sara Al-Hadithi: About Popularization of Iraqi Dance

Ep 115. Mohanned Hawaz: Things You Didn’t Know about Iraqi Dance

Ep 150. Sabriye Tekbilek: Be The Type Of Artist You Want To Be

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning January 2nd. Apply at sharqui.com/teach

Details and training materials for the BDE castings are available at www.JoinBDE.com

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club.

Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE.

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Performer, Master Instructor, Choreographer, Director and Producer, Jillina Carlano has devoted her life to dance. From 2003-09 she served as Artistic Director and Main Choreographer for the Bellydance Superstars and performed with them for over 700 shows in over a dozen countries. In 2009 Jillina created Bellydance Evolution to take Middle Eastern dance to a higher level worldwide. Bellydance Evolution has already appeared in over 20 countries and was a featured performer at the Mawazine festival in Morocco, performing for the Queen of Morocco. Jillina has won numerous awards from International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance and the Giza Academy, including Best Modern Egyptian Dancer, Best Instructional Video, Best Dance Company and Dancer of the Year.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Delegating responsibilities and projects to others

• Tips for hiring people

• Post-pandemic performances by Bellydance Evolution

• The importance of generosity

• Dealing with self-criticism and personal insecurities

International master teacher and dancer artist, Kaouther Ben Amor is known for the theatrical dimension she gives to her expressive interpretations and original choreographies. After various shows in France where her name totally settled down as teacher and performer, she naturally moved on to performing abroad in prestigious theatres : Tokyo, New York, Dallas, Geneva, Brussels, Cairo, Torino, Amsterdam, Tunis, Venice, Rimini, Berlin, Amsterdam... Rachid Bouchared trusted her to create the choreography of the oriental ballet in his latest film “Outside the Law” (Cannes Film Festival 2010) and also for the Tunisian Director Elyes Baccar in the movie Tunis By Night.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Feeling both French and Tunisian

• Taking three years to become a professional full-time dancer

• How belly dance embraces all types of body shapes

• The artistic fire that burns inside

• Kauther’s experience in the cinema industry

Alisa Gurova is a professional fusion dancer with a Master degree in contemporary dance from the College of Arts in Kyiv. Her performances combine fusion, belly dance, and contemporary dance with ballet. This has led her to winning “The Challenge” in the Ukrainian International Competition for Contemporary Jazz in 2015 and 2016, and winning Miss Belly Dance Ukraine in 2010. Her expertise is well known as she has been asked to judge the Let’s Dance Festival in Prague 2016, the Bellydance Festival in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine in 2016, and the Bellydance Festival in Kiev in 2015.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Fleeing the war in Ukraine, and being robed on the first day in Spain

• Processing the hardship of the current situation through dance

• Alisa’s competition experience in the contemporary jazz style

• The necessity of professional higher education for belly dancers

• The evolution of terminology in the dance world

This is a new solo episode with Iana! Let’s talk about the frustrations of the learning process, and specifically the moment when you don’t see much improvements in your dance.

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club.

Check out the amazing collection at My Inner Dancer online store at www.myinnerdancer.com Use a promo code PODCAST for a 10% discount during the checkout.

Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE.

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Originally from the Netherlands, Loretta is a modern international belly dance star and in-demand teacher of workshops worldwide. She is a winner of multiple international competitions, and known for her smooth graceful movements with intricate technique skills. Now Loretta lives and teaches belly dance classes in Kuwait, as well as continues to travel worldwide.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Mastering belly dance on your own from 0 to professional level

• The importance of flexibility for dancer’s body

• Teaching belly dance classes in Kuwait

• Adjusting to a different lifestyle in a new country

• Managing 7-8 classes on a daily basis

Shahrzad is an internationally known teacher and performer of Egyptian dance styles. She moved to Egypt in 2015 and enjoyed a 5 year performance career appearing in top night clubs, films, and music videos. Post-covid she opened her business ‘Shahrzad Studios’ which focuses on providing high quality education on Egyptian dance, music, and language both online and in person featuring her own instruction as well as promoting artists of origin.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Not-so-obvious reasons of why Cairo dance & music scene has changed so much after the lockdowns

• Shifts in Shahrzad’s personal dance focus

• Experience of teaching live classes in Cairo for local women

• Expanding activities to teaching online and organizing tours in Egypt

• The importance of conditioning and body awareness for belly dancers

Kira Lebedeva has been a professional Tribal Fusion dancer and teacher for almost 12 years, also teaching yoga for around 10 years. In March 2022 Kira has transformed her studio in Lviv into a shelter to host people from all over Ukraine who had to leave their own cities in search of a safer place.

In this episode you will learn about:

• The impact of the war on Kira’s dance life, and the experience of hosting a shelter at her dance studio

• Expressing politics through dance

• The beginning of Kira’s dance journey

• How easy it is to transition from belly dance to tribal fusion

• The struggle of speaking in English

What do you feel when you are watching your own performance videos? Let’s hear the experience of our star guests.

NEW episode with a selection of the best parts dedicated to the self criticism and your videos. You’ll hear from Julia Farid, Aida Bogomolova, Yael Zarca and Diana Gnatchenko.

Jasirah is an international professional dancer, teacher and judge, and organizer of the Raks Glam Festival in Poland. For over 12 years she has been teaching regular classes of oriental dance in Poland and master classes around the world. You could meet her teaching and performing in over 20 countries on 4 different continents. In 2016 she played the main role of Cheshire Cat in "Alice in Wonderland" during a 3-month tour with BDE in China, and in 2017 she played the main role of Mermaid and Florist in “Sheherezade 1001 Night” show, during United States East Coast Tour.

She is a multi-award winner of competitions, including Etna Bellydance Festival 2014 in Sicily, Polish Championships 2010 and semifinalist of Poland Got Talent Show in 2011.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How writing down things can improve your dance

• Where to find motivation for your practice sessions

• The production process of physical goods

• Teaching classes online

• The benefits of doing local gigs.

From a family of artists, Nesma started to perform in TV shows and theatre when she was a teenager. She lived in Cairo from 1993–1998, where she obtained her extensive knowledge of Oriental dance, Egyptian folklore, Arabic music, culture and traditions. Nesma performed as a soloist with her own orchestra in over 3,500 shows on the most prestigious stages of Cairo. She broadened her artistic career in the National Egyptian Folkloric Ballet, The Reda Troupe. Since 1998 she has danced and taught around the world. In Spain she founded her own school and a prestigious dance company, Al-Andalus Danza. Creator of the neoandalusí style, she is a pioneer in investigating and choreographing dance performances inspired by the legacy of al-Andalus.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Dance life in Cairo in the 90s

• Transitioning from a solo dance career to being a part of a folklore group

• What’s the difference between real folklore and Reda style

• How Reda technique is deeply embedded in modern Oriental dance

• Main confusions around Andalusian dance and music culture.

Tatiana Tarasova is a professional dancer and choreographer, with a 7-year experience of teaching oriental dance in her own school in Melitopol (Ukraine). She is a festival organizer, and the winner of many dance competitions. Her most recent festival was planned for March 5th of 2022 but it was cancelled due to the war in Ukraine. Currently Tatiana resides in the Czech Republic, and is open for classes and event collaborations.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How the war in Ukraine made Tatiana move to a different place for the second time in her life

• The spirit of competitiveness in the belly dance classroom

• Finding your perfect balance in dance

• What does it take for a plus-size dancer to be acknowledged as a professional

• Creating choreographies for competitions vs gala shows.