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About Maëlle
For Maëlle, belly dance has never been just a sequence of movements. It is a way of inhabiting the body, connecting with music, telling a story and, above all, dancing through life. Her journey began as a teenager, when she discovered a dance that allowed her to finally feel fully herself. In 1997, at the age of 16, she stepped into her first belly dance class in Liège, Belgium, with Nabila. She immediately fell in love with the music, the rhythms, the elegance of the movements and the cultural richness of this art form. What started as a passion quickly became a life path. While moving to Brussels to study translation, Maëlle continued her dance training and began performing on stage. Her meeting with Farah Bakkali in 2003 was a turning point. Through this renowned Belgian and international artist, she developed her artistic identity and discovered the demands of a professional dance career. Her journey then led her to explore different aspects of performance, including an engagement in Dubai in 2006, where she performed every evening with a live orchestra. This experience strengthened her love for the unique dialogue between dancers and musicians, between interpretation and the magic of the present moment. It was also in 2006 that she discovered the Salimpour Method, developed in California by Jamila and Suhaila Salimpour. This encounter profoundly transformed her approach to dance. Beyond learning movements, she discovered a true body-based pedagogy: one built on technical precision, musicality, coordination and a deep respect for the body's structure. In 2011, she spent several months studying at the Suhaila Salimpour School of Dance in California, where she joined Suhaila Salimpour's company. This immersive experience shaped her teaching philosophy and marked the beginning of her commitment to sharing this methodology in Europe. Her dedication to the Salimpour Method was later recognized through several rare achievements. In 2015, she became the first non-American dancer to achieve Level 4 certification in the Suhaila Salimpour format. In 2016, she was among the very first dancers worldwide to also achieve Level 4 certification in the Jamila Salimpour format. That same year, she produced Bal Anat and Enta Omri, created by Jamila and Suhaila Salimpour, for the first time outside the United States. Forty dancers from around the world came together on stage for this unique event, which later grew into a European tour in 2018. In 2017, Maëlle discovered another major role in her life: becoming a mother. This experience further enriched her relationship with the body, transmission and the transformative power of life experiences. In 2020, a breast cancer diagnosis profoundly changed her personal journey. This experience deepened her reflection on movement, health and the relationship we have with our bodies. She trained in life coaching at the BAO Elan Vital Institute (now Gen7) and developed an approach where dance also becomes a space for reconnection, expression and wellbeing. This commitment led her, in 2022, to join Seinement, a project created by Eugenia Ramirez Miori and Iris Coutouzis. The program supports women affected by cancer through dance and movement. Since 2026, it has offered belly dance, tango and free movement classes at the Roi Albert II Institute of the Saint-Luc University Clinics. In 2022, Maëlle also achieved Level 5 certification in both the Suhaila and Jamila Salimpour formats, an exceptional recognition reflecting many years of study, practice and dedication. Today, Maëlle's teaching is guided by a simple belief: technique is not an end in itself. It is a tool to better understand our bodies, build confidence and find our own expression. Her classes focus on precision of movement, musicality, culture, coordination, posture, and developing a deeper knowledge and respect for our bodies. Always curious and committed to learning, Maëlle continues to enrich her practice beyond dance itself. She plays finger cymbals (zagat) and currently studies darbuka in order to deepen her understanding of the rhythms and musical traditions that give this art its soul. For her, dance cannot be separated from music, and technique cannot exist without the culture that gives it meaning. Through her teaching, Maëlle does not simply share movements. She shares a story, a culture, a passion and an invitation to reconnect with oneself. Because belly dance is much more than an art form: it is a way to listen, to feel, to express oneself and to fully embrace one's place in the world. Dance your life. |
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