Belly Dance Life

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 dance method and creating her own revolutionary approach to belly dance.  She also lived and worked as a professional entertainer in the Middle East, with residencies in some of the finest venues. She worked with musical ensembles of over 40 musicians, including Arab pop stars Ahmad Adawiya, Amr Diab, and Sabah.

Upon returning to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1990s, Suhaila returned to teaching regular dance classes and developing the first-ever certification program in Middle Eastern dance. Today, the Salimpour School has five satellites run by licensed instructors in the United States, Europe, and Egypt, as well as a thriving global community of thousands of students, including the new Suhaila Salimpour Institute of Online Education. In 2019, the Salimpour School began its residency at Mills College, where Suhaila is also an Adjunct Professor. She teaches Core Dimension™ and Embodied Movement in the Department of Dance and Theater.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Growing up as the daughter of a well-known belly dancer and part of a Muslim family 

- Living and performing in the Middle East 

- Going through dance depression and losing your artistic identity 

- Reasons why Suhaila started a certification program 

- The Salimpour method of teaching

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Suhaila Salimpour on Instagram, FB, YouTube and website. Information about her online school and institute is available here.

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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. In 1964, the group was nationalized, and the same year Dr.Mo Geddawi decided to leave Egypt.

During his busy dance career, he has worked in many feature films and TV series in Europe and the Middle East, if not as a dancer or choreographer, then as an actor. His most memorable experiences include: “The Second Man”(1972) with Samia Gamal and Sabah; “Summer Vacation”(1963) with the Reda Troupe; “A Man From Alaska”(1972) with Douglas Mclaire; “His Divorce, Her Divorce”(TV series, England, 1972) with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton; and “The Lawyer”(TV series, Germany, 1973). Dr. Mo Geddaw is also a doctor of tropical medicine. 

In this episode you will learn about:

- First meeting with Mahmoud Reda

- Years spent with the Reda’s Troupe

- The reasons and consequences of nationalization of the Reda’s Troupe

- Decision to leave Egypt

- Teaching dancers all around the world.

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Dr.Mo Geddawi on Instagram, FB, and website.

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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 Centre London and at New York University, from which she holds both a Bachelor (BA) and a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Dance & Culture. She lived for nearly a decade in Athens, Greece, where she co-organizes a successful annual International Bellydance and music event, Habibi Tsiggana Festival. Athena is also a founding member of Kazafy Troupe Greece. Athena is currently based in Turkey. 

In this episode you will learn about:

- The influence of a professional dance education and ballet training on Athena’s belly dance journey

- The Belly dance scene in Greece

- Tsifteteli dance in Greece and Turkey

- Her Decision to move to Turkey

- Hiring a belly dancer to perform online at a private gig.

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Athena Najat on Instagram, FB, website and Youtube.

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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 Persica Dance Company, and Asmara Bellydance Initiative. Dance is her passion and inspiration in life. Outside of her dance life, Hasna is an IT Specialist providing Web solutions and maintenance services.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Hasna’s dance trips to Egypt

- The moment that changed her understanding and approach to dance

- The significance of Haflas

- Just Belly Dance website, and common mistakes in advertising posts

- Asmara Bellydance Initiative

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Hasna on Instagram, FB, website and Youtube. Websites: Just Belly Dance & Asmara Bellydance Initiative.

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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 Practice on Your Own. Tips & Tricks

Ep 56. Daliya: Improve Your Dance Every Day

Ep 128. Soraia Zaied: Never Give Up On Your Dreams!

Ep 130. Aziza: How to Be The Best Version of Your Dance Self

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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 choreographer in 32 countries!

In this episode you will learn about:

- How Esmeralda got interested in belly dance classes

- Becoming a mom

- Dealing with judgement and Internet shaming 

- The moment Esmeralda almost quit her dance career

- Finding true connection in the online world

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Esmeralda Colabone on Instagram, FB, website and Youtube.

Previous interview with Esmeralda: Ep 13. Esmeralda Colabone: Music as Your Guide & Mentor

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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 was while studying with both Suhaila and Jamila Salimpour that Sabriye was encouraged to begin teaching, awakening a passion for instruction. In 2005 Sabriye moved to the Middle East where she worked for seven years with Lebanese agent Toros Siranossian throughout the Gulf and North Africa. She also spent one year in Cairo working at the prestigious night club Haroun Al Rashid in the Semiramis Intercontinental Hotel along side the legendary Dina.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Growing up in an artistic family 

- The meaning of the term ‘Arabesk music’ 

- Transitioning from a performance to a teaching career 

- The gap between the festival world and the belly dance scene in the Middle East 

- Adjusting to the lockdown

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Raksan on FB, Youtube, and website.

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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 dance, and ballet.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Search for artistic self-identification

- Motherhood and self-exploration

- Working as a dancer in the circus environment

- The story of Raksan’s stage name

- Bringing contemporary into oriental dance

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Raksan on FB, Youtube, and website.

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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 structure for creating their own signature performances and dancing with finger cymbals (sagaats) that capture the musicality of Middle Eastern music and presenting dance that captures the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide.

Carl Sermon is the premier photographer to the San Francisco Bay Area (CA, USA) Middle Eastern Dance community. He is known for images that capture the “Ya Habibi Golden Moments of Dance”. The key to his success is over 30 years of performance photography experience, knowledge of the music and the dance form, and the expertise to anticipate the best moment to photograph the most favorable image of the dancer.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Belly dance as a stress relief tool

- Navigating work relationships as a couple

- How Carl started his photography career when the official photographer didn’t show up for an event

- Ma*Shuqa’s teaching method with finger cymbals (sagaats)

- Going through the tough health times

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Ma*Shuqa on FB and website: www.MaShuqa.com. Find Carl Sermon’s website: www.CarlSermonPhotography.Zenfolio.com , and FB.

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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 items such as newspapers, magazines, postcards, lobby cards, vinyl records and press photos depicting bellydancers from 1700' to 1970'. Most of all, Badriyah treasures the ten years of performing with Bellydance Evolution (BDE). Also, she had created three educational programs, contributed as an editor to Orient Express magazine (Czech language), collected over 300 vintage bellydance items, and taught workshops and lecture worldwide.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Social pressure and stereotypes regarding different professions

- Definition of the Golden Era period

- Why Awalim dance style is not well-known these days

- The story of the Bellydance museum 

- Badriyah’s experience of dancing pregnant

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Badriyah on Instagram, FB, Youtube and website.

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, Youtube, website .

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast