Welcome to the world of belly dance, a passion that has been the rhythm of my life for the last decade, and which I hope to share with you through my classes and shows.
I discovered belly dance in 1997 when I took my first classes with Jamila (Nabila) in Liège. I was looking for a new dancing hobby; the music and undulations of belly dance seduced me immediately, to an extent I was then far from knowing. I moved to Brussels shortly afterwards, where I tried different classes but more than anything, I practiced the few moves I knew in front of my mirror. In 2003, I eventually found the teacher I was looking for: Farah Bakkali.
It was love at the first sight for she who is - in my eyes - the Tina Turner and the Marilyn Monroe of belly dance, an explosive mixture of wild energy and distinct glamour. Farah had the kindness and generosity to take me under her wing, opening the doors of my professional dance career.
In 2006, I won the first contest of improvisational belly dance to music played by a live orchestra. For a month, I earned the privilege of becoming the featured dancer of a 5-star palace in Dubai, dancing to a live orchestra every night. But it is in Brussels, a cosmopolitan city with a very Middle-Eastern touch, that I prefer to live and perform.
Since 2008, I have been training in the Suhaila Salimpour technique: a form of belly dance combined to muscular strengthening exercices, based on isolations and coordination, which puts your brain to work and pushes the boundaries of traditional belly dance. And all of that with great respect for the body!
Suhaila Salimpour is based in California and is the daughter of Jamila Salimpour, who is considered the grandmother of belly dance in America. In 2011, I was lucky to spend six months studying intensively at the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance, and even to join the Suhaila Salimpour Dance Company. I became the ambassador of Suhaila Salimpour in Europe and her assistant for the workshops she teaches there.
Since 2011, I have been teaching belly dance based on the Salimpour formats, through my weekly classes, monthly workshops and specialty workshops. I also organise one certification workshop a year with Suhaila Salimpour in Brussels. I take pride and pleasure in seeing my students progressing.
I keep on training so I travel to California twice a year to train intensively at the Salimpour studio.
In July 2015, I became the first non-American dancer level 4 certified in the Suhaila Salimpour format (an exam only 10 dancers worldwide have passed), and in summer 2016, one of only 4 dancers in the world level 4 certified in the Jamila Salimpour format!
One never stops learning and improving!!!
I discovered belly dance in 1997 when I took my first classes with Jamila (Nabila) in Liège. I was looking for a new dancing hobby; the music and undulations of belly dance seduced me immediately, to an extent I was then far from knowing. I moved to Brussels shortly afterwards, where I tried different classes but more than anything, I practiced the few moves I knew in front of my mirror. In 2003, I eventually found the teacher I was looking for: Farah Bakkali.
It was love at the first sight for she who is - in my eyes - the Tina Turner and the Marilyn Monroe of belly dance, an explosive mixture of wild energy and distinct glamour. Farah had the kindness and generosity to take me under her wing, opening the doors of my professional dance career.
In 2006, I won the first contest of improvisational belly dance to music played by a live orchestra. For a month, I earned the privilege of becoming the featured dancer of a 5-star palace in Dubai, dancing to a live orchestra every night. But it is in Brussels, a cosmopolitan city with a very Middle-Eastern touch, that I prefer to live and perform.
Since 2008, I have been training in the Suhaila Salimpour technique: a form of belly dance combined to muscular strengthening exercices, based on isolations and coordination, which puts your brain to work and pushes the boundaries of traditional belly dance. And all of that with great respect for the body!
Suhaila Salimpour is based in California and is the daughter of Jamila Salimpour, who is considered the grandmother of belly dance in America. In 2011, I was lucky to spend six months studying intensively at the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance, and even to join the Suhaila Salimpour Dance Company. I became the ambassador of Suhaila Salimpour in Europe and her assistant for the workshops she teaches there.
Since 2011, I have been teaching belly dance based on the Salimpour formats, through my weekly classes, monthly workshops and specialty workshops. I also organise one certification workshop a year with Suhaila Salimpour in Brussels. I take pride and pleasure in seeing my students progressing.
I keep on training so I travel to California twice a year to train intensively at the Salimpour studio.
In July 2015, I became the first non-American dancer level 4 certified in the Suhaila Salimpour format (an exam only 10 dancers worldwide have passed), and in summer 2016, one of only 4 dancers in the world level 4 certified in the Jamila Salimpour format!
One never stops learning and improving!!!
