Today we are having a conversation with the team of Taqseem Institute of Cairo.

Taqseem Institute is an integrated dance institute/lab with the main objective of providing increased access to culture (Egyptian Music and Dance), improve the environment where those expressions can thrive and contribute to social cohesion, targeting females; the segment most compromised in the sector of art. Aiming to generate a tangible impact on the influence of heritage dance in modern Egyptian society.

Amie Sultan is the founder and dance program director of Taqseem. The team also includes Safaa Saeed, Aya Saada, Menna Emam and Fagr Amien.

In this episode you will learn about:

• The current team of the Taqseem Institute, and how they got involved in the project

• Hesitations regarding choosing dance as a career in Egypt

• What is the real Egyptian dance

• Struggles in the research process

• The educational process and structure of the Taqseem Institute.

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Yasmina, sometimes known as 'The English Rose of Cairo', has over twenty-five years of experience in the field of Egyptian oriental dance. Originally from the UK she spent many years travelling and dancing her way around the Middle East before settling in Cairo in 1995. Here she performed with her orchestra for eight consecutive years, appearing at major Cairo venues such as Meridien Heliopolis, Safir, Pyramisa and the Semiramis Intercontinental hotels, the Nile Maxime, Tivoli Heliopolis, as well as hundreds of weddings and parties in Cairo and around Egypt. She has also worked extensively as a photo-journalist in Cairo and writes regularly for several Egyptian and foreign publications. Based at her home beside the Giza pyramids she is the coordinator and co-host for several international belly dance tours each year, and provides back-up to both groups and individuals in their adventures in Egypt.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Differences between dance contracts in Gulf area and work in Cairo

• Yasmina’s decision to stop active performance career, but still be based in Egypt

• The evolution of Cairo dance scene since 1995 till now

• Where can you do belly dance photoshoots in Cairo

• Yasmina’s unique Bed & Breakfast accommodations for dancers.

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Amie Sultan is an Egyptian belly dancer and classical ballerina. She was born and grew up in Singapore to an Egyptian family that was working extensively in South East Asia. Having established herself first as a successful ballet dancer, she has toured across the world dancing in Swan Lake, La Dame Aux Camellias, Jeune Homme Et La Mort, La Bayadere and Raymonda. In her quest to add a new layer to her dance repertoire, it is Amie's goal as a performance artist to restore the glamour and brilliance of the belly dance technique that was at its height in the 1940's and 50's.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How Amie transitioned from a professional ballet career to the belly dance world

• Difficulties of being a dancer in Egypt

• Bringing this dance to institutions such as museums.

• Creating the Taqseem Institute and Tarab Collective

• Relationships between belly dancers that affects the reputation of the dance

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Eva Charkina is the winner of the DariyaM Cup 2018 in the category “Youth. Lovers.”, winner of the competition “The way to the stars” 2018, and many other Ukrainian and international dance events. She has a university degree in modern choreography from the Kyiv University of Culture. Currently living in Kyiv, Eva stays as an active dancer and teacher both in Ukraine and abroad.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Her first belly dance performance after the beginning of the war in Ukraine

• Creating choreographies for competitions

• The importance of a dance repertoire

• Finding individuality as a dancer

• Teaching classes

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We haven’t had many of best of compilation episodes this year so far, so it’s time to fix it! Let’s talk about the nutrition.. You will hear from Cassandra Fox, Jillina Carlano, Alla Kushnir, and Mercedes Nieto.

Show Notes to this episode:

Full interviews with our guests:

Ep 15. Cassandra Fox: Healthy Does Not Have a Face

Ep 31. Jillina Carlano: How Food Can Influence Your Dance

Ep 40. Alla Kushnir: Not Only Luck Makes You Number 1

Ep 163. Mercedes Nieto: Finding Home Inside Your Body

Join SharQui - The Bellydance Workout at sharqui.com/online

You can find details about Joana Saahirah online school and available courses at www.joanasaahirah.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

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Silvia Brazzoli is a professional dancer, instructor, yoga teacher, painter, and pizza lover based in Italy. She found her biggest love for oriental dance at the age of 18. Since then she has been dancing and teaching professionally all around the world. The growth of a dancer is a never-ending journey and Silvia is constantly researching, traveling and training in oriental dance and other dance styles, influencing the development of her own style.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How dance and yoga can compliment each other

• Silvia’s transition into a professional dance life

• Sharing knowledge as a teacher

• Teaching ongoing classes vs one-time workshops

• How to be yourself through dance

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Native Egyptian Nada El Masriya grew up belly dancing fully immersed within the rich cultural and historical environment of metropolitan Cairo. Her first formal dance training began early, with her high school’s folkloric troupe. At Cairo University, Nada earned a degree in Egyptian Law, minored in the History of Egyptian Culture and Dance Traditions. At early age Nada began her intensive training and performance with the prestigious Reda Troupe School. In 2002 she emigrated to Canada inspired by a passionate desire to accurately preserve and pass on her rich historic native Egyptian culture.

In this episode you will learn about:

• The benefits of cutting back and prioritizing your projects

• How to approach your hesitation to raise prices

• Mindset trick of stop being afraid of competitions

• Why smaller niche can bring bigger income

• Nada’s two big festivals in Egypt and Canada

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Oleksandra Kovalova is a professional dancer, teacher, choreographer, and certified judge. She is a director of oriental dance school Amberly based in Zhytomyr (Ukraine), and an organizer of the big international festival Yalla Bina. Oleksandra is a winner of Nile Group competition, as well as a mentor for her award-winning students. After living and teaching classes in Germany during past year, she is currently back to Ukraine, and just managed to run a very success edition of her dance festival, gathering dancers from all over Ukraine.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How war in Ukraine influenced Oleksandra’s life and dance activities

• Teaching belly dance classes in Germany

• Why continuing dance activities in Ukraine is so important

• The nuances of festival organization considering the current situation in Ukraine

• How dancers’ approach to belly dance is changing

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This episode includes Iana’s lecture that was recorded specifically for her recent Mahraganat intensive at the Iana Dance Club.

Since Mahraganat has a very particular mood, this style may feel uncomfortable for many dancers. Diving into such topic can be a great opportunity to train your acting skills, loosen up emotional boundaries related to shyness, and get out of your comfort zone. In addition, we are gonna work on a very fun and dynamic choreo which will provide you a bit of cardio workout. :)

Check out the full intensive on Mahraganat: https://www.ianadanceclub.com/intensives/mahraganat-(street-shaabi)

Show Notes to this episode:

Join SharQui - The Bellydance Workout at sharqui.com/online

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

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Yunseo is a young talented belly dancer from South Korea. She is the award recipient of the Midas Goldentouch Bellydance Competition, Reina Oriental Dance Festival, Elkaff Festival, Malaysia World Oriental Dance Art Festival, and many others. Her beautiful unique style blends elements of traditional belly dance mixed with contemporary and other non-belly dance genres.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Belly dance in Korea

• The importance of competitions

• Differences between competitions in Korea and Europe

• Overcoming failure at contests

• Mixing belly dance with other styles

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Anusch Alawerdian is an Armenian oriental dance performer, instructor and choreographer. She has been interested in dance since she was little, taking up several dance courses like ballet, folk dance and jazz. At the age of seventeen Anusch fell in love with the oriental dance style and traveled the world in search of the best dance instructors to teach her the art of bellydance. She opened her own oriental dance school in the Netherlands in 2002. She is now based in the United Arab Emirates and performs all over the world. In 2011 she also established an International dance festival “Summer Bellydance Festival” in Netherlands. Currently, Anush focuses all her energy on teaching activities and developing her project “Bellydance Abu Dhabi”.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Having 250 students once she started teaching in the Netherlands

• Organizing a festival while living in a different country

• Teaching belly dance classes in Abu Dhabi

• Receiving UAE golden visa for artists

• Becoming a local influencer

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Linda Hathor began her studies in belly dance in 1998, in Paraná (Brazil), and since then, she has dedicated herself professionally to this art as a dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of the Hathor Group of Oriental Dances. In 2003, she received her professional registration by the Union of Artists of Paraná . For several consecutive years she remained among the first places in the National Mercado Persa Competition, the most important oriental dance competition in Brazil. She also became the professional Brazilian champion of Belly Dance in the 2011 contest. Gathering her knowledge in the area of Performing Arts with oriental dance, she developed her own methodology to work with expression and emotion through dance. Linda was invited by Dunia and Hossam Ramzy to join their tour in Brazil in 2003.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Choosing Performing Arts over a Dance degree

• Linda’s special methodology for teaching emotional expression in dance

• Traps of artistic ego

• The popularity of belly dance in Brazil prior to O’Clone TV series

• How Linda started her festival before she even established her dance school

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This is a continuation of our special series ‘Student Voices’ where I share my conversations with the members of the Iana Dance Club about life, dance and training. Some of participants are belly dance beginners, some are professionals, but all of us have one thing in common: we all remain being students of dance. :)

Today you will hear three interviews at once! Enjoy these inspiring conversations with Fiona, Soukaina and Emily where they share their belly dance transformations with us.

Show Notes to this episode:

More interviews from our special series “Student Voices” are available HERE.

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

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning April 3rd. 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

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Meher Malik is a famous belly dancer from Delhi, India, although she grew up in the Middle East, where she lived for 17 years. She moved to India in 2006 after finishing her schooling and went on to study fashion design at NIFT, Delhi. A few months into the course, Meher realized it was dance that was her true calling. She received huge recognition after her performances on India's Got Talent. In July 2011, Meher Malik and her students were selected on Hrithik Roshan's Just Dance Reality Show aired on Star Plus. Meher is also a director of Banjara School of Dance in New Delhi, an India’s Premier belly dance school.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Drastic shift in Meher’s artistic focus over the last 5 years

• Spirituality and sexuality of belly dance

• Motherhood

• Using dance to process deep traumas

• Meher’s teaching approach and current programs

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Nisaa (Heather D. Ward) is a Middle Eastern dance instructor, performer, and researcher based in St. Louis, Missouri. Nisaa’s mission is to foster a greater understanding and appreciation of the complexity, diversity, and beauty of Middle Eastern dance forms. As a researcher, Nisaa focuses on the history of Egyptian dance and its professional practitioners. Her investigations into the transition from awalim and ghawazi dance styles to classical raqs sharqi at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries led to the publication of her first book, Egyptian Belly Dance in Transition: The Raqs Sharqi Revolution, 1890-1930, in 2018.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Sensuality, sexuality and eroticism in belly dance

• How Nisaa got involved into researching belly dance

• What is the difference between awalim and ghawazee

• Did Badia Masabni invent raqs sharki?

• The term ‘raqs sharqi’

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Hayam Sokar is a midlife transformational coach, born and based in Egypt. She is a certified Neuro Linguistic Practitioner accreted from the American Board, and certified practitioner of Accessing Personal Genius from ISNS, as well as PEAT Processor. She helps women to find clarity in life, go through midlife crisis, re-evaluate who they are and who they want to become, and discover truths about themselves with the goal of becoming happier and build a more positive life. She actively incorporates dance classes into her coaching process.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Love-hate relationships with belly dance in Egypt

• What is a midlife crisis

• Signs of a middle age crisis

• How exactly belly dance benefit women who experience midlife crisis

• Hayam’s coaching process

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This is a new solo episode with Iana!

Last months I had my ever first Vipassana course, and I’d like to share some lessons that I had to remind myself during that 10-day meditation course. They perfectly apply to the process of dance training too, so I hope you will enjoy and use them in your own practice.

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club. Artist Date show is available to watch/listen to HERE.

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning April 3rd. Apply at sharqui.com/teach

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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Nataliya Goncharova has a university degree in Education, and is experienced in working with kids. Her students are champions of Ukraine, winners of the Belly Dance World Cup and many other prestigious awards. Nataliya co-organized the Dance with Stars Ukraine project, providing free online classes for Ukrainian belly dance students (many of whom are children), while also gathers donations from non-Ukrainian participants for families who escaped temporarily occupied territories during the war in Ukraine.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Current realities of dance life in Ukraine

• Dance With Stars Ukraine project

• Nuances of teaching children

• Main mistakes in flexibility training

• Benefits of doing a belly vacuum practice

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Morocco (Carolina Varga Dinicu) is a member of the Congress on Research in Dance (C.O.R.D.), the Society of Dance History Scholars (S.D.H.S.), the International Council on Dance – UNESCO (C.I.D.) and the International Council on Health, Physical Education Sport & Dance – UNESCO (ICHPER-SD). Morocco was awarded two grants by the State Council on the Arts for her choreography in 1972 and 1981, 3 NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Community Service Grants, 3 Summer Program Grants, a Materials for the Arts Grant and an Arts Exposure Grant.

Since 1964, Morocco has written for several publications in her field and been reprinted in dance, medical and feminist publications internationally. A true pioneer in the field, she taught a 3-credit course in Middle Eastern Dance and Culture at the State University of New York (Purchase, NY) in the mid 1970s.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How Morocco came to a dance audition not knowing it was a belly dance show

• The story of her stage name

• How ancients the belly dance is

• Researching deeper and reviewing mistakes in your own work

• Teaching Oriental Dance at university

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Pedro Bonatto is an internationally acclaimed photographer and drummer. Born in Brazil, Pedro works in fine art and fashion photography, with works published in Elle Arabia, Fashion Canada and a number of magazines and books. Pedro is also a drummer focusing on Middle Eastern music and the leader of the world music and dance band Blue Dot.

Iana Komarnytska is a professional dancer, teacher, choreographer, and passionate content creator helping dancers navigate their dance lives. She is a graduate from the professional dance program at York University (Canada), host of the Belly Dance Life podcast, creator of the educational online platform the Iana Dance Club, author of numerous articles, and winner of Star Bellydancer Canada 2014 among other international competitions. 

In this episode you will learn about:

• Stereotypes surrounding belly dance

• Typical struggles that dancers may face in dating life

• Difference between abuse and ignorance

• A fear of sensuality aspects of belly dance

• Some ideas on how to explain your dance passion to your partner

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