Belly Dance Life

Iana Komarnytska
  • 4.9 (55)
  • Performing Arts
  • Weekly

All insights into belly dance lifestyle

  1. Nov 6

    Cinzia: How Life Experience Changes the Way You Perform

    Cinzia is an internationally recognized belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher based in Italy, known for her refined technique, powerful stage presence, and distinctive teaching approach. With a background in classical dance, jazz, and piano, she discovered Oriental dance and folklore in 2004 and went on to perform, teach, and judge internationally in countries including Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine, the United States, and Egypt. A two-time Italian champion and winner of the 2014 IDO World Cup in the folklore category, Cinzia now trains many Italian dancers for competitions and performances. Her years of teaching literature and foreign languages also helped shape a thoughtful, empathetic teaching method that she brings to students both in person and online. She is the owner of Badia Operà Academy and the organizer of events including the Mashrabiya Festival. In this episode you will learn about: - Why protecting dance time becomes essential when life gets busier - The ways motherhood changed Cinzia’s approach to teaching, performing, and perfection - A mind trick of “talking” to the audience before a performance - Using choreography to push slightly beyond your comfort zone, and what Cinzia’s creative process looks like over several days/weeks - How she separates creative practice, physical training, and research Show Notes to this episode: Follow Cinzia via FB, Instagram, Youtube and website. Previous interview with Cinzia: Ep 176. Cinzia: How to Become a Better Teacher Check out Iana’s online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club. List of all available intensive, including “How to Make Your Own Choreography” intensive, is available HERE. Details the BDE shows and training programs 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

  2. Oct 28

    Shayma: From Contract Dancer in the Middle East to Building a Belly Dance Academy in Dubai

    Shayma is the founder and director of The Bellydance Academy Dubai, as well as a master teacher, choreographer, and performer with more than 25 years of experience in belly dance. Originally from Argentina, she began performing professionally at just 13 years old at her teacher’s restaurant, Fairuz, and later became a solo dancer at La Alhambra, sharing the stage with some of Argentina’s leading Arabic musicians. In 2008, at the age of 21, she moved to Beirut after being hired by the Lebanese agency La Maison de l’Artiste, beginning an international performance career that took her across the Middle East and beyond. With 15 years of continuous work in the region and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Shayma has developed a teaching approach that combines professional dance experience with a deeper understanding of confidence, body awareness, and personal development.  In this episode you will learn about: - Why psychology became a necessary tool to complement Shayma’s work as a belly dance teacher - What dancers should check before accepting overseas work offers, and why contracts do not always guarantee protection in every country - Why opening a belly dance school in Dubai felt easier administratively than expected - How she uses humor and personality instead of relying only on dance videos for Instagram marketing - Why she wants to help develop more Arab teachers within the belly dance community Show Notes to this episode: Find Shayma on Instagram, and her website. Check out Iana’s online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club. List of all available intensive, including “How to Make Your Own Choreography” intensive, is available HERE. Details the BDE shows and training programs are available at www.JoinBDE.com Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . For more information about sponsorship ads on the podcast, email to info@ianadance.com. Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

  3. Oct 22

    How to Start Creating Choreography When You Don’t Know Where to Begin

    This episode is a little different from the usual Belly Dance Life Podcast because instead of an interview, I’m sharing two full lectures from my recent Iana Dance Club intensive “How to Make Your Own Choreographies.” We talk about that difficult moment when you have a song, an idea, a costume, or a performance coming up and need to figure out how to turn it into an actual choreography. I cover finding your starting point, choosing and deeply listening to music, mapping the structure of a song, capturing ideas before they disappear, and understanding that choreography does not always have to be created linearly from beginning to end. I don’t believe there is one correct formula for choreography, so the whole concept is built around giving dancers different tools and approaches to discover their own creative process. If you have ever wanted to create your own choreography but felt overwhelmed by where to begin, I hope this episode gives you a useful starting point. In this episode you will learn about: - How to choose the right song for your choreography concept - How mapping your music can make the whole process less overwhelming - How to balance intuition with a more analytical approach to music - Why the first draft does not need to look polished - How to build a choreography process that works for your own creative personality Show Notes to this episode: Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club. This episode contained lecture from “How to Make Your Own Choreography” intensive. List of all available intensive programs is available HERE. Details the BDE shows and training programs are available at www.JoinBDE.com For more information about sponsorship ads on the podcast, email to info@ianadance.com. Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

  4. Oct 13

    Ammar Sayed: Teaching Arabic Language to Belly Dancers in Brazil

    Ammar Sayed is an Egyptian-born entrepreneur, and language teacher who has lived in Brazil for nearly a decade and is now a naturalized Brazilian based in João Pessoa. Certified in teaching English and Arabic as foreign languages, he has more than 10 years of experience in language education and has also worked in translation. Ammar teaches Classical and Egyptian Arabic as well as English, using practical and dynamic approaches that connect language learning with real-life situations and cultural context. Since launching his language school in 2018, he has worked with students in Brazil and abroad, helping them use foreign languages to reach personal and professional goals. In this episode you will learn about: - How Egyptian Arabic differs from Classical Arabic - How understanding lyrics can completely change the way you interpret a song - Why literal translations often miss the real meaning and spirit of Arabic lyrics - Which Arabic sounds tend to be the most difficult for foreign students - How gestures can be misunderstood when dancers learn them without cultural context Show Notes to this episode: Find Ammar Sayed on Instagram. Details the BDE shows and training programs 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. For more information about sponsorship ads on the podcast, email to info@ianadance.com. Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

  5. Oct 6

    Giselle Alfaro: How to Stop Fighting Stage Nerves and Start Using Them

    Giselle Alfaro, originally from El Salvador, is a dance artist with more than 17 years of experience, specializing in Middle Eastern dance. She has performed at international festivals including Oriental Marathon Festival in France, Bellydance Convention in Mexico, and Sands of Time in Greece. From 2017 to 2019, Giselle toured as a featured dancer with BellyDance Evolution in its production Fantasm and later joined the creative team as assistant director for the season finale in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Alongside her artistic career, Giselle holds a B.S. in Finance and Economics and is deeply committed to community service. For the past three years, she has worked as a medical interpreter supporting the Hispanic community at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. In this episode you will learn about: - How to train your brain to feel more comfortable before stepping onstage - How international opportunities often grow from relationships built years earlier - What years with Bellydance Evolution taught her about touring, collaboration, and professional dance life - How Giselle rebuilt her dancing after surgery through repetition and consistency - Is social media visibility really that important? Show Notes to this episode: Find Giselle Alfaro on Instagram, or via Giselle.alfaro84@gmail.com. Details the BDE shows and training programs 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. For more information about sponsorship ads on the podcast, email to info@ianadance.com. Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

  6. Sep 29

    Haifa: What It Took to Be Able to Teach Belly Dance Openly in Kuwait

    Haifa is a Kuwaiti dance artist, Certified BMD belly dance instructor, and founder of The Rhythm Academy for Performing Arts, with 27 years of experience in Oriental dance. Recognized as one of Kuwait’s pioneering dance educators, she was among the early women to openly present and teach Oriental dance as a legitimate art form and wellness practice despite experiencing significant social resistance shaped by cultural traditions and expectations. Rather than allowing these challenges to define her path, Haifa met them with patience, resilience, and unwavering determination, inspiring many women who later followed a similar path into dance training.  Throughout her career, Haifa has worked to promote a respectful and culturally conscious understanding of dance while emphasizing its role in self-expression, body awareness, confidence, femininity, and emotional well-being. Through The Rhythm Academy, she has helped create greater space for women in Kuwait to experience and study dance, while also bringing international artists and master teachers to the local community. Her work reflects nearly three decades of commitment to expanding the possibilities for women to engage with dance as both an art and a meaningful way to reconnect with their bodies, embrace their femininity, express themselves freely, and develop greater confidence and presence. In this episode you will learn about: - What makes Kuwaiti dance fundamentally different from Egyptian belly dance - How social media helped revive interest in preserving Kuwaiti dance - How Haifa became one of the first women to speak publicly about belly dance in Kuwaiti media, and how speaking about dance led to legal complaints and even threats of jail - Why women in her classes often come for femininity and self-acceptance more than technique - How she learned to market belly dance in a way that speaks to a conservative cultural environment Show Notes to this episode: Find Haifa on Instagram, and TikTok. Details the BDE shows and training programs 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. For more information about sponsorship ads on the podcast, email to info@ianadance.com. Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

  7. Sep 22

    Devin Alfather: When One Dance Form Is Not Enough for Everything You Want to Say

    Devin Alfather is a multidisciplinary dancer and entertainer specializing in theatrical Fusion Bellydance, Egyptian Raqs Sharqi, MENAHT and world fusion dances, as well as burlesque, circus, fire performance, and other dance forms. A multi-award-winning performer and instructor, she is dedicated to both technical development and deeper understanding of the cultural sources behind the forms she studies. Her performances often combine belly dance with theatrical storytelling, props, fire, balancing work, veil, zills, Isis wings, and other visual elements, allowing her to create highly distinctive experiences for a wide range of events. Alongside performing across Texas and beyond, Devin teaches workshops for detail-oriented dancers and continues to study source materials and artists while developing her own multidisciplinary approach to movement and performance. In this episode you will learn about: - How belly dance, circus, burlesque, and theatrical storytelling can coexist in one career - Why diversifying your performance skills can create more professional opportunities - How storytelling influences everything from movement to costume design - What drag and burlesque taught Devin about the incredible power of stillness - Why complex layering requires more relaxation, not more tension Show Notes to this episode: Find Devin Alfather on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and website, as well as her Patreon account HERE. Details the BDE shows and training programs 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. For more information about sponsorship ads on the podcast, email to info@ianadance.com. Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

  8. Sep 15

    Silvia Brazzoli: Dancing Through Miscarriage and Rediscovering Your New Self

    Silvia Brazzoli is an international belly dance artist, instructor, artistic director, yoga teacher, and visual artist based in Italy. She began studying oriental dance at the age of 18 and has since performed and taught across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Known for her elegant, feminine style and empowering approach to teaching, Silvia continues to explore oriental dance and other movement traditions as part of her ongoing artistic development. In Italy, she runs her own school and directs the Silvia Raqs Group, while also organizing events and retreats. She has received numerous international competition titles and has performed with world-renowned companies including Jillina Carlano’s Bellydance Evolution and Manca Pavli’s Amaya Dance Company. Her work brings together dance, yoga, musicality, body awareness, creativity, and a strong belief in the lifelong evolution of the dancer. In this episode you will learn about: - How grief completely reshaped Silvia’s relationship with dance - What it feels like to fall out of love with dance and find your way back - Why talking openly about miscarriage matters in a women-dominated dance community - Why studying Arabic transformed the way she hears and interprets music - What local gigs teach you that festival stages never will Show Notes to this episode: Find Silvia Brazzoli and her events on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and website, as well as check her NEW BOOK here. Previous interview with Silvia Brazzoli: Ep 245 - Silvia Brazzoli - Therapeutic Effect Of Belly Dance Details the BDE shows and training programs are available at www.JoinBDE.com Check Iana’s online platform the Iana Dance Club HERE. 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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4.9
out of 5
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About

All insights into belly dance lifestyle

Information

  • Creator
    Iana Komarnytska
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    300
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2019. Iana Dance
  • Show Website
    Belly Dance Life

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