A well-known choreographer and dancer, Alla Kushnir has won many prizes and awards. She was a finalist at the TV show “Ukraine has talent“, silver medalist of the Lebanese TV show “Hizzi Ya Nawaem”, winner of Egyptian TV show ” Al Rakesa”, among many other awards and achievements. For Alla Kushnir Oriental dancing has opened a lot of previously unknown sensations. As a dancer and choreographer, she believes that this style of dance changes a woman’s whole attitude towards herself and her surroundings. Alla is a frequent guest in various talent search competition TV shows. In 2008, she appeared in the first film “Tales of Sand” about belly dancing. She also hosted the program “Oriental Dances” on MAXXI TV channel.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Alla’s multiple decisions to quit her performance career, and how destiny always brought her back to the stage

• The importance of nutrition in a dancer’s life

• How Alla practices and comes up with new movements

• Lifestyle in Doha vs Cairo

• Main elements of Alla’s daily routine

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This is a best of episode! You will hear a collection of tips and practices from the belly dance stars. Find out how they approach their own training, and see what you can implement it in your life too.

You will hear from Jasirah, Cassandra Fox, Victoria Teel, Aziza, Nabila, Hayal, Jillina Carlano and Amar Lammar.

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Discover what is blocking your dance progress right now, and which exact dance habits you should improve first of all.

Take the free Belly Dance Habits Quiz HERE.

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Improve those couple things in your dance habits, and unlock an amazing growth in your dance skills throughout 2024!

January is time of planning and building hopes for the New Year. But often we make grand plans , and fail on showing up and performing them. Or sometimes we do show up but don't put 100% of our energy into the task. How to make sue that your list of New Year resolutions isn’t gonna be transferred to the next year, and you continue pursuing your dance goals beyond January…

Take the Belly Dance Habits Quiz HERE.

Show Notes to this episode:

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

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

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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Chudney is a professional oriental dance artist who has competed and danced around the world. She opened her own oriental dance school in 2017, to give students easier access to her weekly in person classes, and share her unique personal style and technique on demand. Chudney was selected in 2016 as part of the international cast of Virginia’s “Reflections”. She was hand picked by Munique Neith to dance as part of the cast Ballet Internacional Munique Neith in Barcelona, Spain to perform at Egipto en Barcelona in 2018 and 2019.  Chudney was also featured as Dorothy, in Jillina's Belly Dance Experience production of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She has competed in top competitions and won many accolades as a troupe member of Hippy Chicks Raks and as a professional soloist. She is most proud of being crowned East Coast Classic 2015 Cabaret Professional Champion and People's Choice winner in her hometown.​

In this episode you will learn about:

• Why do we have anxiety of trying new things alone

• The concept of coaching vs teaching regular classes

• Common mistakes that dancer do during competition preparations

• Performance anxiety

• How to practice your eye gaze for stage

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Originally from Brazil, Hayal is a professional dancer who has been passionate about oriental dance since she was 17. She taught and danced all over the world, as a soloist and in collaboration with other dancers. She worked as a dancer and choreographer with the Portuguese company Mahtab and participated in several shows of the American troupe Bellydance Evolution with Jillina. Hayal has already worked in Brazil, Portugal, New Zealand, Egypt, Italy, Germany, Spain and of course in France, where she lives today (Lyon).

In this episode you will learn about:

• Comparison between Brazilian dances and belly dance

• What is functional training for belly dancers

• How to improve your balance, arms mobility, and knees-hips connection

• Frequency of functional training and how it works

• How Hayal managed to teach a group choreographies for her show via online classes

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Delya is a French belly dancer currently residing inn Switzerland. She has been involved in oriental dance for 20 years, and currently works as a full—time performer. She is the resident dancer at a 5 stars hotel in Zurich in collaboration with musicians. She does projects together with a Syrian musician Zaher Assaf who studied music at the conservatory of Damas, Syria. They regularly organize charity shows for Syria. Delya is a mother of a 4-year old daughter, who inspired her to write 2 children books: :Nour in Lebanon” (by Del Perrier), and  “Danse mon amour (dance my love)”.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How Delya got inspired to belly dance by Natasha Atlas

• Persuading venues that belly dance can by classy and elegant entertainment for their audience

• Pregnancy and motherhood as a belly dancer

• Writing belly dance books for small children

• The idea of creating a dance podcast.

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Pedro Bonatto is an internationally acclaimed photographer and drummer. Born in Brazil and based in Canada, Pedro works in fine art and fashion photography, with works published in Elle Arabia, Fashion Canada and a number of magazines and books. As a drummer, Pedro focuses on Middle Eastern music and its relationship to cultures from aroundd the world. He is also the creator of the world music and dance group The Blue Dot Ensemble.

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Pedro Bonatto on FB, Instagram, YouTube, and website. Artist Date show is available HERE. Also, check our special Cairo Dance Guide intensive at the Iana Dance Club.

Previous Interviews with Pedro:

Ep 171 - Pedro Bonatto: How to Approach a Drum Solo Improvisation & Stop Being Afraid of It

Ep 112. Pedro Bonatto: Drummer, Photographer & Husband of a Belly Dancer

To book your stay in Cairo at Yasmina’s Bellydancers B’B, email yasmina@yasminaofcairo.com, or contact via Instagram.

Details about the Bellydance Bundle are available on Instagram, 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

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We fall in love with belly dance for many different reasons. One of those reasons is freedom, and vast opportunities for creativity. But we may get carry away with dance experiments. Let’s listen to the stories of Jillina Carlano, Meher Malik , Mohamed Shahin and Aubre Hill on why it is important to study the roots of this dance form.

Show Notes to this episode:

Full interviews with our guests:

Ep 22. Jillina Carlano: Building Community Around the Globe

Ep 27. Meher Malik: Fusion, Confusion and Female Objectification

Ep 94. Mohamed Shahin: When Egyptian Dance Becomes Something Else...

Ep 131. Aubre Hill: Transnational Dance Fusion

To book your stay in Cairo at Yasmina’s Bellydancers B’B, email yasmina@yasminaofcairo.com, or contact via Instagram.

Details about the Bellydance Bundle are available on Instagram, 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

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Farah Nasri is a UK qualified teacher in dance and foreign languages. She began her belly dance career when she was a college student in London, and in 2014 she moved to Cairo. Today her Farah Nasri Dance Labs is the place to find the highest quality classes in Egyptian dance, theory, history, language, and culture! She is an active performer in Cairo, organizer of special course Belly Dance on Location, creator of her training wear brand 3youni, among other projects.

In this episode you will learn about:

• How Farah was fired as a school teacher in UK because of her belly dance activities

• Moving to Cairo to perform at famous Nile Maxim boat

• Differences between boat, club, and cabaret shows

• Producing designs locally in Cairo

• Filming dance videos as a central educational point of Farah’s course

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Tiffany started the Bellydance Bundle in 2017, bringing together dancers who had content online to create one massive showcase for what was available at the time. Now, year over year she brings together teachers and builds communities around the idea of an at-home practice. From lectures on language and culture to dances of all different MENAT & fusion styles, Tiffany brings together groups of teachers each year to help dancers study more often, with less stress, at home, for an affordable price. A total nerd for the business side of dance, she loves to work with teachers to help them find new students, and as a total nerd for dance, she loves to study with as many teachers as she can. How fortunate to be able to combine both in each year's Bellydance Bundle! Stay tuned for this year's offering, available November 2nd - 10th.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Learning business models from other industries

• What’s the use of having virtual assistant

• Tips for hiring virtual assistant

• Marketing tools that work in online space

• What is Belly Dance Bundle, and how it benefits dancers

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Shining is a performer, instructor and researcher of Egyptian traditional dances, whose work emphasizes the cultural and historical influences on the medium of dance in and from Egypt. She is the founder of http://www.banatmazin.com, a website dedicated to the legacy of the famous Luxor-based family, created in cooperation with Khyria Mazin to provide recorded lessons, interviews, song translations, family bios, streamable music and more, as learning resources for dancers around the world. She continues to perform, research and teach online and abroad since her move to Egypt in the summer of 2021.

In this episode you will learn about:

• The idea of documenting classes with Khyria, and how Shining moved to Egypt

• The importance of studying ghawazee style

• What the term ‘ghawazee’ actually means

• How to differentiate music appropriate for ghawazee style

• Different ways you can support Khyria Mazin

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This episode includes Iana’s lecture that was recorded specifically for the upcoming intensive at the Iana Dance Club “Cairo Dance Guide”.

You will hear about Iana’s experience of attending a bunch of dance festivals in Cairo during summer 2023, and her observations about current trends present in the Egyptian dance style.

Check the entire collection of available intensives at www.ianadanceclub.com/intensives

Show Notes to this episode:

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

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

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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Charafe is not just a dancer, he is one of the few, if not the only, male belly dancer in Morocco. He tries to lead a life as normal as possible in Casablanca. He teaches dance, makes choreographies for belly dancers, and participates in modern dance performances of his friends Ahlam and Wajdi. Charafe managed to establish dance classes in Casablanca, spreading awareness and education of various dance styles, including oriental and Moroccan folklore, within the country, as well as abroad.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Being a male dancer in Morocco

• Seeking formal oriental dance classes

• Variety of Moroccan dances, including Moroccan classical style

• Cultural connections with Andalusia

• Working with celebrities and TV shows

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We all love belly dance. But there is so much beyond oriental, in the field of folklore dances. Let’s listen to the stories of Apsara Afsanesara, Nada El Masriya , Samantha Burnstein and Gigi Dilsah, who found joy in exploring various folklore dances of the Near East and North Africa.

Show Notes to this episode:

Full interviews with our guests:

Ep 20. Apsara Afsanesara: What Do You Know About Persian Dance?

Ep 28. Nada El Masriya: How Studying Folklore Can Make You a Better Belly Dancer

Ep 244 - Nada El Masriya - Prioritizing Quality Over Quantity

Ep 38. Samantha Burnstein: Can Folklore Be Authentic on Stage?

Ep 70. Gigi Dilsah: What Does It Take to Be a Belly Dancer in Turkey

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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Zara is an Egyptian dancer currently based in Cairo. She has worked professionally as a dancer for over 17 years, including last 6 years specifically in Egypt. Zara has stared in various music videos and Bollywood films. Most recently she was featured in a film together with famous shaabi singer Shaaban Abdel Rahim and in a Ramadan special TV drama featuring Dina and Haifa Web. Her dancing has taken her around the world - Zara has performed not only in the UK and Egypt but also at a vast number of East African countries including: Kenya (in both Nairobi and Mobassa) and Tanzania (in both Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar). Other countries she has worked in include Pakistan and Malta.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Being a belly dancer as an Egyptian woman

• Different types of cabaret venues in Cairo

• Personal insecurities and confidence on and off stage

• Another way of seeing Mahraganat, or why it got such a bad reputation

• How she started her magazine and belly dance store

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Having a multidisciplinary background and an unending thirst for all things dance, Diana Soto has performed in belly dance companies as well as flamenco and modern dance companies. She believes that the best innovation is rooted in tradition, so she has travelled to Egypt, Turkey, Spain and lived for a while in Beirut to study in depth the roots of the dances. Originally from Puerto Rico, Diana is currently based in Houston, and fully involved in active gigging life.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Using belly dance as a distraction during cancer recovery

• The experience of living in Beirut

• Pivoting from teaching to performing industry

• Getting into corporate jobs after full-time belly dance career

• Tips for solid marketing strategies

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Khaled Mahmoud is an Egyptian dancer from Cairo, currently based in London, UK. He specializes in oriental Raqs Sharki style, although his knowledge is also deeply routed in all kinds of Egyptian folklore. His style is very energetic and graceful at the same time. Khaled was a star at the International Bellydance Congress in the UK, and he is very much in demand teaching and performing in various festivals around the world.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Who are Egyptian women called ma’lema, kodia zar and el-osta

• Practical example of why you should learn folklore as a belly dancer

• Finding his own path as a dancer

• Separating personal and artistic life

• Khaled’s decision to retire from dance as his main profession

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This episode includes Iana’s lecture that was recorded specifically for the upcoming intensive at the Iana Dance Club “Cairo Dance Guide”.

You will hear about Iana’s experience of attending a bunch of dance festivals in Cairo during summer 2023, and a collection of practical tips that would be useful for your future activities at festivals.

Check the entire collection of available intensives at www.ianadanceclub.com/intensives

Show Notes to this episode:

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

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

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

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Meet Passant Gemeay, a self-taught Egyptian bellydance teacher, choreographer & ladies-only performer. She has fiercely joined the world of dance. not knowing that it would become her ultimate passion in life. Having a great experience by attending classes and connecting with star dancers, she managed to have her own attractive style mastering all types of this art, and aiming to teach women who think they can’t dance.

In this episode you will learn about:

• Different kinds of belly dance classes in Cairo

• The popularity of belly dance classes at gyms

• Benefits of belly dancing

• Teaching belly dance to Egyptians and foreigners

• The influence of dance festivals

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Mohamed Shahin is an inspirational instructor, world-renowned performer, and challenging choreographer of Egyptian Oriental Dance. A native of Cairo, Egypt, Mr. Shahin discovered his passion for Egyptian Dance at the young age of fifteen. Throughout Shahin’s childhood, he was fascinated by all forms of dance, and after receiving his degree as Mechanical Engineer, he was at cross road to choose between becoming a full-time engineer or pursue his life as a professional dancer / dance teacher. Shahin decided that he would dedicate himself to the Egyptian Dance. After many years of the intense study of various Middle Eastern styles of dance, Modern dance, and Ballet- Shahin developed a complex methodology of instruction that has made him a Master teacher beloved to his students worldwide, today. Shahin currently lives in New York City but has been touring the world full-time since 2004.

In this episode you will learn about:

• The story of Cleopatra festival, and its first successful edition in Egypt

• Differences between dance festival and intensive

• What is typical Egyptian show, and communication between dancer and musicians

• Challenges in organizing festivals in USA and Egypt

• Mohamed’s new music album, and the process of creating songs for dancers

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