Belly Dance Life Iana Komarnytska

Sylvia Yssei began her dance training in 2000 with Jazz, and throughout the years she included Flamenco, Spanish, Classical and Contemporary dances in her training. Later she discovered bellydance, and eventually Tribal Fusion dance and Ori Tahiti (Tahitian dance). Both became a powerful means of expression for her in a complementary, but at the same time very different ways. Along with her dance explorations, she studied Psychology at the University of Barcelona, which has definitely helped her to learn the basics of Pedagogy and the dynamics of learning, as well as to understand her students in an active and holistic way.

Izel Kirana started her dance journey almost 15 years ago. Originally from Barcelona, she fell in love with belly dance, tribal fusion style, and eventually Indian culture and art. 5 years ago she embarked on multiple journeys to India in search of its classical dances and folklore, training in Rajasthani folklore dance, Kalbelia dance, Kathak dance and Indian fusion.

Amanda Rose is an internationally acclaimed instructor and performer based in Barcelona, Spain. In addition to over a decade of teaching experience, and almost 2 decades of experience with Raqs Sharqi, she also has a master's degree in Dance Movement Therapy from La Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Alongside her background in sociology and language studies, Amanda Rose’s academic experiences greatly shape her approach to dance, art, culture, and pedagogy. She has received wide recognition for Amanda Rose Online, one of the first online dance platforms in the Middle Eastern dance community, hosting a variety of online dance opportunities such as online prerecorded series, one on one coaching, competition training, and personal feedback.

Raphael Cormack has a PhD in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies with a focus on Egyptian theatre from the University of Edinburgh. He is currently Assistant Professor in Arabic Studies at Durham University. An award-winning editor and translator, Cormack is the editor of The Book of Cairo and the co-editor of The Book of Khartoum. His writing on Arab culture has appeared in the London Review of Books, Prospect and TLS, among others. Raphael Cormack is the author of Midnight in Cairo: The Female Stars of Egypt’s Roaring ’20s, an exploration of Cairo popular culture through personalities such as Rose Al-Youssef, Mounira al-Mahdiyya and Oum Kalthoum.

Colleena Shakti is an artist of great subtlety and depth. Trained extensively in Odissi classical dance under Smt. Sujata Mohapatra and well-versed in many styles of dance from India and beyond, Colleena lives an artistic path steeped in rich tradition. Yoga, aesthetics and related philosophies are an integral part of her holistic vision of art inspiring her to bridge timeless values with modern expression. She has performed for former president of India (Pratibha Patil), royal families across Rajasthan, Indian Embassy at Cairo, Chidambaram Nataraj temple and arts festivals from Japan to Australia. Colleena is the founder and director of Shakti School of Dance located in the Rang Nath Venu Gopal Temple in Pushkar, Rajasthan India where she also annually produces The Pushkar Temple Dance Festival. Recently she has added a Summer school program and retreat center at Villa Shakti Crete, Greece and launched online curriculum at her virtual school.

Julia Farid, a professional oriental dance artist, instructor, and choreographer originally from Ukraine, is renowned for her elegant and feminine dance style. Her contributions extend beyond the stage, as she has organized prestigious events like the Isadora Cup Festival, "Dream & Dance" Intensive Course, and founded Tips4hips online platform. With deep knowledge of oriental dance and captivating performances, she has become an internationally acclaimed artist, annually giving workshops and performing at numerous belly dance events worldwide.