Mohanned Hawaz is a dancer from Iraq currently living in Sweden. He has trained both ballet and Iraqi folklore since childhood and was a member of the Iraqi International Dance Company. Mohanned has played an excellent role in bringing Iraqi folkloric arts and dance to European and international audiences. He is determined to bring Iraqi style dances and culture to the international dance community and, more importantly, to preserve the work of the Iraqi National Troupe and its founders, Hannah Abdullah and Fouad Thanoon. The troupe Enkidu, an all-female, 12-person dance troupe, was founded by him in 2010 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Mohanned’s childhood dream of becoming a professional dancer

- Today’s reality of Iraqi dance cultures, and limited opportunities to study from the source

- Various rhythms of Iraqi dance styles

- Iraqi National Troupe: before and now

- Most common mistakes that we see at belly dance competitions

Show Notes to this episode:

Thank you for your support via Iana Dance Club: www.ianadanceCLUB.com.

Follow Mohanned Hawaz on FB, and Instagram. Also, check videos kindly provided by Mohanned to compliment this interview HERE.

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Bellydance Evolution and information about their BDExperience program at www.JoinBDE.com.

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast