Belly Dance Life – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Christine “Shiraz” Şahin is a dance practitioner-scholar and ethnographer specializing in contemporary Egyptian raqs sharqi (“belly dance”) and other MENAT (Middle Eastern, North African, and Turkish) dance genres. She has a Ph.D. in Critical Dance Studies from the University of California, Riverside, and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Delaware, and  is currently serving as Acting Assistant Professor of Dance in the Department of Dance at the University of Washington in Seattle. She also specializes in geriatric fitness and mind-body wellness. Her research has been published in Kohl: A Journal for Gender and Body Research.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Christine’s book “Core Connections. Cairo Belly Dance in the Revolution's Aftermath”

- Belly dance as a tool of empowerment

- The influence of 2011 revolution on the dance scene in Egypt

- Strong connections between art and politics

- How you can support Palestine

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Christine “Shiraz” Şahin on Instagram, and FB.

Her book Core Connections. Cairo Belly Dance in the Revolution's Aftermath is available on Amazon and major local bookstores. You can also purchase it at Oxford Press website, and use promo code AUFLY30 for 30% off.

The Instagram page about supporting Palestine is available HERE. This is the mutual aid for Palestinians in Egypt.

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

Amina Goodyear began her performance career in the mid-60's at the Bagdad Cabaret dancing nightly in San Francisco's North Beach district during that city's golden era of Middle Eastern dance and until the Arabic clubs closed in that area. She founded her dance company, The Aswan Dancers, in 1975, and celebrates over 40 years of continuous performance and entertainment. She also founded the Cairo Cats, now a percussion ensemble led by her daughter Susu Pampanin, among many other music and percussion projects. Amina was inducted into the American Academy of Middle Eastern Dance (AAMED) Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement award in New York in 1994. She also received a Humanitarian Award in 2001 from MECDA, a Lifetime Achievement award in 2003 from BDUC in Long Beach and a Lifetime Achievement award  in 2015 from Isis and the Belly Dance Chronicles in Texas.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Belly dance realities of 1960s

- Learning to dance under the guidance of musicians

- Giza Club project

- Sexualization of belly dancers now and before

- Biggest changes in belly dance industry over the last 60 years

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Amina Goodyear on Instagram, FB, and website.

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

Nath Keo is the artistic director and choreographer of the Sacred Centre Dance Company based in Victoria, B.C., Canada. Nath is a belly dancer who has performed in over 51 cities with more than 1,000 performances during his career. Along with releasing a few music albums, a book and instructional dance DVDs, his resume includes serving as a featured instructor and performer at the International Bellydance Conference of Canada, alongside the legendary Farida Fahmy, and as a judge at the World Bellydance Championship hosted in Seoul, South Korea.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Nath experience of growing up in a refugee camp, and how it influenced his interest in dance

- How Nath got involved in belly dance

- Difference between belly dance & Cambodian dance and music

- Fusion opportunities between two genres

- Having a successful belly dance career, experience of living as a monk, to becoming a mega music star in Cambodia

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Nath Keo on FB.

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

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