Belly Dance Life

Ellie is a belly dancer, teacher, and researcher who approaches Raqs Sharqi with a deep respect for its cultural roots and a focus on connection through movement. Dancing since childhood, she discovered belly dance in 2014 and has since spent over years teaching and performing, cultivating a practice centered on confidence, femininity, and ongoing learning. Alongside her dance career, Ellie holds...

Julieta Maffia is a dance artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina, specializing in what was formerly known as Tribal Fusion Bellydance. She is the founder of Saturnus Studio, where she teaches regular classes and develops a wide range of artistic projects. Her work has been recognized internationally, allowing her to present the Argentinian approach to this dance form across different cities...

Tamalyn Dallal is an internationally renowned belly dancer, teacher, and author celebrating over 50 years in dance. She began her career in 1976 and toured South America in the 1980s performing for Arab communities before founding the Mid Eastern Dance Exchange in Miami Beach, a nonprofit school and performing company that operated from 1990 to 2007 and trained many professional dancers. She...

Sandra Kahloun, born in Tunisia and raised in the world of Oriental music, grew up surrounded by some of the greatest names of Egyptian art. Her father produced the renowned Egyptian orchestra Abdel Aziz Mahmour in 1970s Paris, and her mother was an interpreter of Oum Kalsoum’s repertoire, giving Sandra a deep musical foundation from childhood. She trained extensively in Cairo with masters such...

Natalie Nayun is an international teacher and performer specializing in contemporary and folkloric dance traditions from Central Asia and the Middle East. With over 20 years of dance experience and 15 years of teaching, she has studied extensively in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Oman, conducting research and training through grants including the HAAS Scholar Award, CLS, and FLAS for...

Summer Deng is one of the most sought-after Chinese professionals in the world of Oriental dance, celebrated for his exceptional technical precision, artistic expression, and groundbreaking contributions as a male dancer. He has performed, taught, and judged across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, conducting hundreds of workshops and intensives in over 80 cities in China alone....

Belyssa is a pioneering figure in Australian belly dance who founded the Belyssa Academy of Danse Orientale and the Flames of Araby troupe, establishing a legacy of dramatic, classical artistry. Over the past 30 years, Belyssa has dedicated herself to documenting the raw, earthbound rhythms and movements of isolated Bedouin tribes in the Sinai and Western Desert, far removed from the theatrical...

Fernanda Reschke is a Brazilian-born Oriental dance artist, educator, and trauma-informed psychotherapist whose work bridges movement, culture, and healing. She began her career as a dancer and choreographer at a young age and later trained in counseling and naturopathy, holding a bachelor’s degree in holistic health and wellbeing. Fernanda spent many years living and performing professionally in...

Sadie is an internationally recognized Oriental dance artist, educator, and innovator dedicated to empowering people through the art of belly dance. She has produced dozens of bestselling instructional videos, amassed millions of views through viral online content, and represented Oriental dance before a global audience on America’s Got Talent. Sadie is the founder and director of Raqs Online and...

Mohamed Reda Saad is a prominent Egyptian musician and the leader of the Cairo Band, one of Cairo’s most sought-after ensembles for major dance festivals and cultural events. Continuing the artistic legacy of his father, the renowned musician Reda Saad, Mohamed has both preserved and expanded this heritage, specializing in traditional and contemporary Egyptian music created specifically for...