Belly Dance Life

Munique Neith is a Brazilian dancer of Arabic descent and one of the most prestigious master teachers in the world. Currently, she lives in Barcelona, Spain, and she is the first master owner of two Oriental Dance Schools in the country with more than 800 students and the biggest school in Europe exclusively for bellydancing. She participated as a dancer in the Netflix series The Crown in one of its 5th season episodes, taught Oriental Dance classes for Cirque du Soleil artists during their tour in Barcelona with the Saltimbanco Show, performed at the Palau de la Música Catalana, hired by TVE for the opening of the cinema awards. Munique Neith is also the organizer of the prestigious International Oriental Dance Festival “Egypt in Barcelona”, that join together every year the best teachers and dancers from five continents.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Marketing mindset for belly dancers 
- Nuances of festival organization
- Experience of shooting for a TV series
- Collaboration with Cirque du Soleil
- Navigating work-life balance

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Munique Neith via Instagram, FB, website, and YouTube.

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning October 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

Angella Kim is an internationally renowned and award-winning belly dancer from South Korea. She graduated from Dongguk University of Arts with a degree in theatre and first began her journey in Oriental dance in 2005. In 2008 Angella established her AFOD company in Beijing, China and began developing her teaching system, which is now used in over 24 provinces in China and more than 180 cities. From 2009-2012 Angella toured in Jillina's Bellydance Evolution company. She has also taught at the "Ahlan wa Sahlan" festival in Cairo, Egypt as well as Japan, Singapore, Argentina and many other countries.

In this episode you will learn about:

- What influenced the popularization of belly dance in Korea

- Why Angella moved to China

- Her teaching system 

- Difference in students mentality in China, Korea and Japan

- Navigating dance work in China through the pandemic times

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Angella Kim via Instagram, FB, and YouTube.

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

NEW episode with a selection of the best parts dedicated to the healing power of belly dance. You’ll hear from Anna Schkade-Siytangco, Aszmara, Amel Tafsout and Cassandra Shore.

Show Notes to this episode:

Full interviews with our guests:

Ep 135. Anna Schkade-Siytangco: Gaining Confidence & Overcoming Fears

Ep 159. Aszmara: Dance Gives Us Inner Strength

Ep 103. Amel Tafsout: The Healing Power of North African Culture

Ep 168. Cassandra Shore: Progressing Through Years of Dancing

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

Mahaila El Helwa is a renowned Brazilian instructor, performer and choreographer of Oriental dance.  She is known for her unique style and precise technique. In addition to her work in Brazil, Mahaila has taught workshops and performed in many countries throughout the world. She improves her dance with great masters of oriental dance and travels constantly to Egypt to improve her dance.  In 2017, she opened the "Mahaila El Helwa Studio - Arab Oriental Dance" in Sao Paulo, Brazil.  Today, she is a beloved master teacher of many students who are intrigued and inspired by her personality and dance individuality.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Belly dancing through different ages of your life

- The importance of conditioning your body aside from the dance activities

- Difficult career choices, and how Mahaila almost became a lawyer instead of belly dancer 

- Mahaila’s teaching approach

- Running online classes

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Mahaila El Helwa via Instagram, FB, YouTube, and website.

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

Dr. Audrey Cottet is an academic researcher in the Physics department of the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. She has over twenty years of expertise in theoretical physics, with a focus on condensed matter physics and quantum physics. Outside the lab, Audrey is a Middle Eastern dance and percussion student.

She has learned how to player finger cymbals with Hassan Abdel Khalek and Nicolas Derolin in Paris. This practice motivated her secondary research activity on the history of cymbal playing. She has recently written one article on finger cymbal played in the Roman Empire, in the journal “Early Music” published by the Oxford University Press. She also has a second article published in the Review CLARA (Classical Art and Archaeology) hosted by the University of Oslo.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Proper terminology: zills, sagats or cymbals

- The very first mentions of cymbals and finger cymbals in ancient history

- The process of writing a peer reviewed article

- The tradition of finger cymbals playing in the Roman Empire

- First known mentions of finger cymbals in Egyptian culture

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Dr. Audrey Cottet via Instagram. Two of her articles available here: Playing finger cymbals in the Roman Empire: an iconographic study, and Cymbals playing in a Roman mosaic from Mariamin in Syria

Also, check her performance at the upcoming show "Hommages" choregraphed by Ciya with her amateur dance troupe the “Ballet Egypt'Ciya”, with invited professional dancers (Yael Zarca, Gennaro Festa, Myrto Kaukias) and with a small finger cymbal solo by Audrey (July 3rd, in Montrouge near Paris).

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

This is a special weekend 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. :)

Enjoy this inspiring conversation with Prianca where she shares her belly dance transformations with us:

Belly Dance Transformations

Before: I’m so used to being in the studio, and having a teacher whom I can see, so starting to dance at home as my studio was very challenging. It was hard to stay focus. I had very limited space at home. Also, not having a full-length mirror kinda discouraged me since I didn’t have an immediate feedback. 

Now: It took me 4-5 months of online learning to get the groove, but it got so much easier. I had to constantly remind myself that video recording was not about perfection, but just a tool instead of a mirror to see where I can improve. Benefits of video recording is that camera evokes a performance mood in you.

Before: The hardest part of training by yourself is coming up with a curriculum.

Now: That’s why I’m heavily relying on the Iana Dance Club for that. I’m using it to challenge myself, and to make sure that I’m getting a well-rounded training on a weekly basis.

'I feel that I will dance when I’m 100 years old, and I still will be able to learn something new, and still be excited about it.'

"Belly dance “took me” as I was, and gave me the tools to be more confident and brave, and to learn that I can move my body and dance without having to have started when I was one or two years old. You can start whenever you want because it feel like a form of self-expression." _Prianca

Show Notes to this episode:

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

Check Prianca’s community page at the Iana Dance Club website.

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Diana Gnatchenko is a professional oriental dancer from Ukraine recognized around the world. She is the winner of multiple international competitions, guest teacher and judge at the most prestigious events worldwide. Her dance tours took place in countries such as Ukraine, United States, Italy, China, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Korea, Chile, France, Malaysia, Sweden, Poland, Serbia, Brazil, Colombia and many other countries in the world.

In this episode you will learn about:

- How the war in Ukraine affected Diana’s life and dance activities

- Why choosing students who fit you as a teacher is as much important as for students to choose a teacher who fits them

- Diana’s process of creating choreographies

- Her teaching approach and what she aims for in her work with students

- What are the benefits of learning other dance styles for professional dance teachers

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Diana Gnatchenko via FB, YouTube and Instagram.

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

This is a special weekend 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. :)

Enjoy this inspiring conversation with Shani Brown where she shares her belly dance transformations with us:

Belly Dance Transformations:

"A lot of the time it’s difficult to prioritize for ourselves, and to prioritize our dance because there are so many things that we have to do… But if we have assignments and goals to reach for the week/month, that really helps to prioritize our training."

"I think it’s so nice to record yourself right from the beginning of your dance journey, so that 1 month/ 2 months or even a year later you can look back and realize: “Omg, I have improved!”. Video recording is a wonderful tool."

"I think I’m mature enough to know that progress isn’t instant, but I know it will come. There is always room for growth, so we just keep going."

"Belly dance brings me that need to continue to challenge myself, to learn, to grow. Something I can’t find anywhere else."_Shani

Show Notes to this episode:

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

Check Shani’s community page at the Iana Dance Club website.

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Victoria Teel is an award winning belly dance performer and instructor. In 2010, she was chosen along with 24 other dancers to participate in the world’s first ever belly dance reality show, Project Belly Dance. She placed among the top six contestants, earning her spot in the Final 6 instructional DVD released in March 2011. Soon after Project Belly Dance, Victoria joined Miles Copeland's Bellydance Superstars in Japan for the tour of Bombay Bellywood. 

Victoria is also the creator of the Teel Fan Method, a dance technique using fans and fan veils incorporating influences from Asian dances. Today, Victoria is based in the USA and offers online classes. She currently tours the world teaching workshops and performing.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Participation at the reality TV show Project Belly Dance

- Experience of joining Belly Dance Superstars

- The story of falling in love with fan-veils

- Victoria’s approach to her own training

- The importance of learning with different teachers

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Victoria Teel via website, FB, YouTube and Instagram.

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

This is a special weekend 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. :)

Enjoy this inspiring conversation with Sandra Van Baaren where she shares her belly dance transformations with us:

Belly Dance Transformations:

"What helped a lot in my training was video taping myself. Often I’d look in a mirror and think that I’ve gotten a move, but after seeing a video I would realize that I needed to do a lot more of work."

"Sometimes you will stop trying again just because learning process lost the fun quality of it. You need to overcome a frustration of not getting a movement right away."

"My current focus is getting more creative with my own dance."

"Also, I’ve added ballet classes along with belly dance training, and I like the difference it made in my body."

"Dance helps me to balance the type of work I do on a daily basis."

"Belly dance is so beautiful! It brings a lot of joy, creativity and magic into my world." _Sandra

Show Notes to this episode:

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

Check Sandra’s community page at the Iana Dance Club website.

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast