Belly Dance Life

Pedro Bonatto is an internationally acclaimed photographer and drummer. Born in Brazil, Pedro works in fine art and fashion photography, with works published in Elle Arabia, Fashion Canada and a number of magazines and books. Pedro is also a drummer focusing on Middle Eastern music and the leader of the world music and dance band Blue Dot.

Iana Komarnytska is a professional dancer, teacher, choreographer, and passionate content creator helping dancers navigate their dance lives. She is a graduate from the professional dance program at York University (Canada), host of the Belly Dance Life podcast, creator of the educational online platform the Iana Dance Club, author of numerous articles, and winner of Star Bellydancer Canada 2014 among other international competitions.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Building business systems for your teaching activities

- The importance of confidence for a dance teacher

- How to check if you are ready to teach

- Tips for promoting your classes

- Nurturing your newsletter list

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Pedro Bonatto on FB, Instagram, and YouTube, his website.

Previous interview with Pedro Bonatto:

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

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

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning April 3rd. Apply at sharqui.com/teach

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

This is a new solo episode with Iana!

Sharing 10 practical tips that I use to memorize choreographies faster. These tips will be especially useful during workshop settings, when you need to learn a dance piece within very limited amount of time.

Show Notes to this episode:

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

Check out Stackable Drills for your daily practice at www.stackabledrills.com.

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

Oreet has over 25 years of experience in fitness and dance. She grew up with Yemeni folk and Oriental dance and has a degree in Contemporary Dance from SUNY College at Brockport. SharQuí has been featured on NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN, among other outlets. Some of Oreet’s bellydance awards are: Bellydancer of the Year, and Middle Eastern Dance Champion of North America. She’s led packed classes worldwide and has worked with thousands of men and women to realize their fitness potential.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Building business systems for your teaching activities

- The importance of confidence for a dance teacher

- How to check if you are ready to teach

- Tips for promoting your classes

- Nurturing your newsletter list

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Oreet on website, Instagram, YouTube, and FB. Check her new FB group HERE.

Previous interview with Oreet:

Ep 67. Oreet: Belly Dance as a Fitness Workout

Check out Stackable Drills for your daily practice at www.stackabledrills.com.

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

Diana Garnik is the director of DiDance Studio in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine. She was winner of the AlHayat Festival, recipient of the 3rd place at Raqs of Course Festival by Randa Kamel, and many other competitions. Diana is famous for her dynamic modern Iraqi performances, just as much as her love for Khalidji, shaabi, tabla solo, mejance, classical and lyrical songs. You may really enjoy having your next show choreographed by Diana.

In this episode you will learn about:

- How stress influences creativity

- Overcoming creative blocks

- Creating choreos for yourself vs for others

- Preparing workshop choreographies

- Starting teaching activities at 12 years-old

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Diana Garnik on FB, YouTube, and Instagram.

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

Check out Stackable Drills for your daily practice at www.stackabledrills.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

Born in Cartagena, Colombia, Horacio Cifuentes started dancing at the age of five. He first studied Flamenco at the Academy of Maestro Realito in Seville, Spain. Later he also danced with the Ballet Folclorico Nacional de Colombia. He followed with classical ballet in Poland, and later gained a scholarship to the prestigious American Ballet Theatre School in New York. He eventually joined the San Francisco Ballet where he was featured as a soloist. He discovered oriental dance at Magana Baptiste’s Royal Bellydancing Academy in San Francisco where he also studied yoga with the great master Walt Baptiste. Together with his wife, Beata, Horacio travels the world performing and teaching.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Horacio’s professional ballet journey

- Using yoga to conquer stage nervousness

- Struggles of combining active ballet and belly dance performance careers

- His book “Confessions of a Male Belly Dancer”

- Aging as a dancer

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Horacio Cifuentes on FB, YouTube, and website

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

Check out Stackable Drills for your daily practice at www.stackabledrills.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

As the closing episode of 2022 I’d like to share a compilation of some of my favorite moments from the interviews of this year. You will hear from Gitza, Semsemah, Mahaila El Helwa, and Tatiana Tarasova.

Show Notes to this episode:

Full interviews with our guests:

Ep 183. Gitza: Dance Movement Therapy

Ep 188. Semsemah: Don’t Be a Superficial Dancer

Ep 203. Mahaila El Helwa: Finding Your Truth in Dance

Ep 209. Tatiana Tarasova: Know Your Uniqueness

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

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning January 2nd. Apply at sharqui.com/teachFollow 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

Oscar Flores began in Oriental dance in 1995 and since 2000 has been dedicated to teaching this art around the world. He has created a personal style joining techniques developed while studying other arts such as theater, musical theater, flamenco, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, tribal fusion, Indian dances, theatrical jazz, psychodrama, and others. In 2005, he opened his first studio in Buenos Aires and in 2007 his first school called Alkimiah, Fusion of Talents. In 2010, he founded his dance company with which worked until 2016, when he moved to China to become part of the Bellydance China project. Today he lives in Spain, but continues to work around the world in important artistic events.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Oscar’s online campus for belly dancers

- His dream of creating a belly dance university

- The benefits of having an international certification

- Fitness activities for belly dancers

- Diversification of activities and various projects Oscar is currently working on

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Oscar Flores on Instagram,FB,and YouTube.

Previous interview with Oscar:

Ep 25. Oscar Flores: I Needed an Opportunity to Live My Dream

Ep 116. Oscar Flores: It's Time to Be Reborn

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

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning January 2nd. Apply at sharqui.com/teachFollow 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 new solo episode with Iana!

We often make grand plans but 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 sure that your future New Year resolution list won’t transform by the end of January into a simple wish list of dance habits you’d like to have.

Show Notes to this episode:

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

Book recommendation: Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

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

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning January 2nd. Apply at sharqui.com/teach

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

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Valerick Molinary has started her bellydance training when she was 13 yrs old in San Juan, Puerto Rico. By the time she was 18, Valerick started performing in a Palestinian-owned restaurant. She has a BA in Hispanic Studies and Comparative Literature, the influence of which can be seen in her creative and poetic approach to choreography, dance teaching and production. In 2015 Valerick began producing the Lebanese Love Affair, an annual event in Miami dedicated to providing a platform for dancers to study directly from renowned and dedicated Arab dance artists, all in a big celebration of love for Raks Sharky and the countries that gave birth to it.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Unity of personal and artistic lives

- Channeling intimate emotions into dance

- Valerick work on the video dance piece Trapped

- How mentorship for other dancers work

- Amazing new projects hosted by Valerick

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Valerick Molinary via Instagram, FB, YouTube, and website.

Previous interview with Valerick: Ep 11. Valerick Molinary: Different Ways to Develop Your Belly Dance Career

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

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning January 2nd. Apply at sharqui.com/teachFollow 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

Anna Chepets is a young international star from Ukraine. She traveled all around the world with shows and workshops, won multiple international competitions, and has been judging at numerous events. She is the winner of Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival in Cairo in 2017 in the Master Professional category, and previously 2014, 2015, 2016 in other categories. At the age of 12, she was invitated to teach at the Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival. Today Anna is a co-organizer of the ‘Bagira The Way To The Stars’ Festival, head of her own dance school, and she is an inspiring teacher for many dancers around the world.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Starting belly dance classes at 8 years-old

- How her love for belly dance transformed into a profession

- Teaching young children

- Dealing with students’ parents

- Bright and dark sides of belly dance competitions

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Anna Chepets via Instagram, FB and YouTube.

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

Check out the next SharQui Instructor Academy beginning January 2nd. Apply at sharqui.com/teachFollow 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