My Vipassana Experience

110 hours of meditation in 10 days… What did I learn?

Beauty & LifestyleIana KomarnytskaMarch 30, 2023bampot, travelling-teacher, apsara-classesComment

The Importance of a Website for Your Local Gigs

You absolutely can survive without an actual website. However, here are some very important reasons why having a website is much better than just relying on just social media.

Dance ProfessionIana KomarnytskaSeptember 22, 2022musicforgigs, youtube, mobile-apps, how much-tochargeComment

Baladi & Accordion

How did it happen that such a ‘stereotypically Slavic’ music instrument like an accordion, became associated with the Egyptian folklore?

History & CultureIana KomarnytskaSeptember 15, 2022mahraganat, Tarab-meaning, baladi-meansComment

Tips on Belly Dance Improvisation

“Improvisation?! No way! I’m too afraid! What if I look silly?! What if I freeze on stage, or miss all the accents?” - Are those thoughts familiar?

Dance TrainingIana KomarnytskaSeptember 8, 202225tarabsongs, danceface, creating-choreoComment

Give Yourself a Fresh Start

Simple and quick action steps that you can take whenever you need to shake things up in order to get back to your dance training.

MindsetIana KomarnytskaSeptember 1, 2022habitsystems, habitsquizComment

Our Lifestyle Experiment

Or my attempt to answer to your question about where I live. :)

TravelIana KomarnytskaAugust 18, 2022airbnb-bookings, tapioca, choiceofoutfits, istanbul-shopping, mobile-apps, travelling-teacher, vipassanaComment

Tips For Teaching Dance Workshops

Are there any significant differences between teaching a regular dance class and a workshop?

Dance ProfessionIana KomarnytskaAugust 11, 2022mobile-appsComment

How I Studied Persian Dance

My personal journey of exploring Persian dance style.

History & CultureIana KomarnytskaAugust 4, 2022baladi-accordeon, bolandian, apsara-classesComment

Pros & Cons of Learning Belly Dance Online

Are you trying to decide what is better for you: to find local belly dance studio, or to purchase some video classes and study by yourself?

Main Mistakes in Trying to Recognize Rhythms

Why do you keep hearing the wrong rhythm in songs, and can’t recognize them properly even despite you learned them?

Dance TrainingIana KomarnytskaJuly 21, 202225tarabsongs, drumsoloimprov, creating-choreoComment

Feel Shy to Try Dancing?

"I love dance so much, but I feel too shy to dance myself"... Let's talk about some possible reasons for such dance shyness.

How to Explain Your Prices to a Client?

Our clients usually don't know all the insights into belly dance life, and regardless of what number you tell them as a quote, at least once in a while you'll still hear this question: "But why is it so expensive?!”

Dance ProfessionIana KomarnytskaJune 2, 2022website-for-gigs, musicforgigs, how much-tochargeComment

Persian Belly Dance: Does It Exist?

Have you ever heard this combination of words: Persian belly dance. It used to drive me crazy, especially when a performance request was by Iranians. What do you mean by it? Let’s figure it out.

History & CultureIana KomarnytskaMay 26, 2022how-studied-persian Comment

Basic Etiquette For Dance Students

Here is a simple guide for new dance students, and for dance teachers to share with their students in order to make sure that everyone is on the same page.

How to Support Ukrainian Belly Dancers?

Many Ukrainian belly dancers are currently facing all sort of struggles. War did hurt everyone: physically, psychologically, financially. Here is what you can do to support.

TravelIana KomarnytskaMay 12, 2022how-studied-persian, lifestyle-experiment, choiceofoutfitsComment

Checkpoints For Successful Knee Shimmy

Here is a list of checkpoints that you can use to monitor your shimmy technique. I would recommend to use both mirror and self-video recording to make sure you don't miss anything.

Dance TrainingIana KomarnytskaMay 5, 2022techniquedrillsComment

Top 7 "Secrets" of Successful Dancers

The more I talk to various guests on the Belly Dance Life podcast, the more I realize that those ‘secret strategies’ of success in belly dance are actually very obvious.