PODCAST

Belly Dance Life

Iana Komarnytska

All insights into belly dance lifestyle

arts performing arts

All Episodes

00:59:43

Ep 354. Nivetha Shree: Find Your Patterns and Then...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/12/09

Fascinated by the arts since childhood, Nivetha Shree discovered Belly Dance at the age of 21 and has since trained with renowned teachers around the world. She holds certifications in DanceCraft – Key of Diamonds by Zoe Jakes and Krysalis – Invocation by Kami Liddle, and is an FCBD® Teacher, proudly leading the first officially recognized FCBD® Sister Studio in India. A Level 2 Yoga practitioner certified by the Government of India, she integrates a holistic body–mind awareness into her dance

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00:50:43

Ep 353. Snigdha Sachdev: What Makes an Effective...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/12/02

Snigdha Sachdev is a Delhi-based fusion belly dance artist and dedicated yoga enthusiast. A Biotechnology graduate with a master’s degree in Stem Cell Technology, she discovered her pull toward belly dance at a very young age. Her dance journey began with extensive training in Jazz, Ballet, Contemporary, and Kathak—foundations she later blended to deepen her belly dance technique and develop her own distinctive movement style. In 2019, Snigdha co-founded The Dance District, a studio that has since

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01:15:23

Ep 352. Gracie Mandujano: The Energetics Behind Every...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/11/25

Gracie Mandujano was born in Honduras, a land rooted in ancient Mayan traditions, and from an early age felt called to reconnect with life’s true purpose and the depth of her courageous spirit. Guided by yoga and dance, she returned to her physical body and divine power, dedicating herself to ancestral arts and becoming a healer and light worker. Her lineage eventually led her back to the ways of her ancestors, committing to the Camino Rojo and the Danza de la Luna, where she studies traditional

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01:33:20

Ep 351. Esmeralda Colabone: Is This Really The Last...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/11/18

Esmeralda Colabone has dedicated herself to Arab dance and culture since 1999. From 2002 to 2014 she worked with Belly Dance Brazil and Lebanon’s famed La Maison de L’Artiste, becoming the agency’s youngest dancer at 19 and spending 12 years performing across the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, and Lebanon. She was the first Brazilian to tour the Maghreb and held one of Tunisia’s longest foreign dance contracts—experiences that shaped her both artistically and personally. After

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01:05:57

Ep 350. Leli Neeraja: A Journey From Anxiety to...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/11/11

Leli Neeraja is a dancer and teacher who has dedicated over a decade to guiding others toward inner balance through movement. Her work is a continuous exploration of fusion between East and West, blending the grace of Indian classical dance with the expressive freedom of contemporary forms. She spends several months each year in India, deepening her study of traditional disciplines that help her explore and love her inner world. These experiences have profoundly shaped her artistic voice, where

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00:57:41

Ep 349. Suhaila Salimpour: Carrying Arab-American...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/11/04

Suhaila Salimpour, of Sicilian-Greek and Kurdish-American heritage, is a second-generation belly dancer and a pioneering figure in the global dance community. A former house dancer at the legendary Byblos nightclub in Beverly Hills, she toured internationally for over a decade, performing across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and North America. As the visionary creator of the first codified pedagogy and certification system in belly dance, she transformed both performance and teaching, building a

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01:14:53

Ep 348. Badriyah: When Life Falls Apart, the Dance...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/10/28

Badriyah is a professional oriental dancer based in Belgium, dedicated to Egyptian classical and folkloric styles, modern fusion, and the Golden Age of belly dance. With over a decade of teaching experience, she offers regular classes at Shoonya Dance Centre in Ghent and travels across Europe to teach and lecture. A former lead and troupe member of Jillina’s world-touring company Bellydance Evolution, Badriyah has performed more than 60 shows across 13 countries, from Hollywood to Morocco

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01:30:42

Ep 347. Melissa Gamal: What Happens When You Stop...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/10/21

Melissa Gamal is an award-winning dancer, instructor, and event producer based in Toronto, Canada. As the director of the Ya Amar School of Dance, Melissa is dedicated to providing comprehensive training in Egyptian dance, blending refined technique with a strong awareness of history and cultural context. Her work has taken her across North America and to Egypt, where she continues her studies to bring the most authentic and up-to-date knowledge to her students. In recent years, she’s gained

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01:01:22

Ep 346. Virginia Danielson: Book Discussion: The...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/10/14

Virginia Danielson (PhD, Ethnomusicology, University of Illinois, 1991) is an associate of the Harvard Music Department and a visiting scholar at New York University Abu Dhabi. She is the author of The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song and Egyptian Society in the 20th Century (University of Chicago Press, 1997), the first English-language biography of the Arab world’s most celebrated singer. Through rich ethnographic insight and historical analysis, Danielson traces how Umm Kulthum—known as

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01:29:40

Ep 345. Elen Chikhladze: What Separates Advanced...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/10/07

Elen Oriental (Elen Chikhladze) is a Georgian choreographer and dance instructor from Tbilisi, specializing in oriental dance since 2002. Beginning her artistic journey at the School for Athletic Fine Arts and later the Department of World National Dances, she graduated with honors from the College of Choreography and the N. Pridonishvili School of Popular Dance in 2001. As President of the International Association of Oriental Dance in Georgia and founder of her own belly dance school, Elen

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01:15:06

Ep 344. Laman Hendricks: Belly Dance Career Born from...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/09/30

Laman Hendricks is an acrobatic gymnast, Azerbaijani and Caucasus folk dancer, teacher, and choreographer, as well as the Artistic Director and Founder of Dances of Caucasus. Born and raised in Azerbaijan and Turkey, she trained in classical ballet and folk dance at the Baku Choreography Academy while also competing as a member of Azerbaijan’s national gymnastics team and founding the country’s first post-Soviet women’s cycling team. A silver medalist in both cycling and mountain climbing, Laman has

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01:19:46

Ep 343. Keti Sharif: Dancing Internally vs Externally...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/09/22

Keti Sharif is an Australian dance teacher, performer, and choreographer who lived in Egypt for two decades, directing the Sphinx Festivals and collaborating with legends Mahmoud Reda and Farida Fahmy. Creator of the A-Z Bellydance methodology—taught to over 6,000 students in 40 countries—Keti combines live Egyptian music, cultural dance traditions, and somatic movement to deepen musicality, artistry, and wellbeing. Her vision of belly dance as both a healing path and a communal art has shaped her

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01:12:51

Ep 342. Payal Gupta: Teaching as an Act of Nurturing,...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/09/16

Payal Gupta is one of India’s most sought-after master teachers of belly dance, celebrated for her structured classes, private lessons, workshops, performances, and intensives. Since 2008, she has trained over 10,000 students from all walks of life, earning recognition as a leading figure in the field. Coming from a culturally rich background where the performing arts hold deep value, Payal has been passionate about dance since the age of seven, exploring a wide range of styles before finding her

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01:59:13

Ep 341. Rachel Brice: When Success Becomes a Trap and...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/09/09

Rachel Brice is an internationally renowned dancer, teacher, and choreographer recognized as one of the key figures in the evolution of tribal fusion belly dance. A former member of the Bellydance Superstars and artistic director of The Indigo Belly Dance Company, she blends decades of experience in American cabaret, FatChanceBellyDance Style, and world dance traditions with her own distinctive artistry. Based in Portland, Oregon, she founded Studio Datura, created the 8 Elements of Belly Dance

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01:00:24

Ep 340. Murat Tekbilek: The Art of Drumming for Belly...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/09/02

Murat Tekbilek is a Turkish percussionist celebrated for his dynamic artistry and deep roots in Middle Eastern music. Growing up in a family of renowned musicians, he has performed since childhood and spent over a decade as the lead percussionist in his father Omar Faruk Tekbilek’s ensembles. Specializing in darbuka, def, and bendir, Murat has appeared on stages worldwide, from intimate belly dance shows and weddings to international concerts and festivals. His career bridges Arabic and Turkish

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01:08:39

Ep 339. Alex DeLora: Exploring New Paths to Grow as...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/08/26

Alex DeLora is an internationally acclaimed belly dance performer, teacher, and choreographer who has been sharing her art worldwide since 2012. Invited to more than 50 countries to teach, perform, and judge competitions, she is especially recognized for her unique technique and charisma in drum solo style. In 2020 she launched her first online program, Drum-Matic BellyDance, followed by the creation of her fashion brand, Alex Delora Design, which has since expanded into handmade and ready-to-wear

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01:08:57

Ep 338. Sonia Ochoa: How Opportunities Shaped Her...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/08/19

Sonia Ochoa is a versatile dancer, choreographer, and teacher with over 25 years of experience on international stages. Rising to prominence as a principal dancer with the Bellydance Superstars (2002–2010), she toured the world performing in renowned theaters and television shows under the direction of Miles Copeland. A lifelong student of movement, Sonia has traveled extensively through India, Egypt, and Spain to study Odissi, Egyptian folk dances, flamenco, and classical Spanish dance, weaving

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01:01:16

Ep 337. Amera Eid: The Journey of Growing a Belly...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/08/12

Amera Eid is one of the leading figures who brought belly dance to Sydney and helped it grow across Australia. For more than 40 years, she has performed and taught around the world, sharing her love for the dance with students and audiences everywhere. She is also a talented fashion designer who created the first belly dance boutique in the Southern Hemisphere in 1987, creating stunning costumes for performers, fashion shows, and films — from Moulin Rouge to Kylie Minogue’s Sydney 2000 Olympic

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01:07:54

Ep 336. Shahdana: Tango Oriental and the Power of...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/08/05

Shahdana is an international belly dancer from Argentina whose artistic journey began not with dance, but with music—studying piano and musical composition for nearly two decades, including performing in a tango orchestra. Her deep connection to music later found a new expression in belly dance, where Arabic rhythms became her primary focus. But it was a moment of emotional clarity—dancing to Piazzolla’s tango and breaking into tears—that reminded her to honor her roots. That decision to merge tango

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01:00:05

Ep 335. Jill Collins: From Company Member to Artistic...

Belly Dance Life ·

2025/07/29

Jill Collins is a dynamic dancer, choreographer, and educator whose versatile career spans contemporary, theatrical, and Middle Eastern dance. She began performing professionally as a teenager and later earned her BFA in Dance Education from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2007, she joined Jillina’s Sahlala Dancers, eventually becoming Artistic Director and owner in 2021. Jill has toured internationally for over a decade with Bellydance Evolution,

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Belly Dance Life

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