Meet Jamilah Aziz

I am delighted that Jamilah is joining us to teach at Fantasia 2025.  Since moving to the UK she has supported Fantasia by coming to workshops and performing on our stage.  Last year she wowed us with her Bolly Bellywood number.  This year she is teaching a workshop.

Lets find out more about Jamilah Aziz

Kay: How did you start belly dancing?
Jamilah: I started belly dancing in China through a teacher training course, and after completing it, I immediately felt ready to begin teaching. My first teaching experience was with a classmate from the training program—she was already a yoga teacher and had more experience, so we teamed up to create our first belly dance course. It went incredibly well, and this collaboration gave me a strong foundation in teaching. Although I started teaching right after the course, I never stopped learning and expanding my skills.

 Kay: What drew you to your first class?
Jamilah: Initially, I was drawn to belly dance out of curiosity, but as soon as I started, I felt deeply at home. Belly dance combines strength, rhythm, and expression—it allows you to be powerful yet graceful, and it celebrates femininity. As someone from Xinjiang, a region full of rich cultural traditions, music, and dance, I felt a natural connection with the Middle Eastern and Indian music and dance styles that are often interwoven with belly dance. This connection resonated with me and inspired me to continue this journey.

Kay: What are the top 3 biggest influences on your dance journey – and why?
Jamilah: 1. My Cultural Heritage: Being Uyghur, I grew up surrounded by dance and music, which are central to our cultural identity. The rhythmic, expressive qualities in our traditional dance helped me connect more deeply to Middle Eastern and Indian music and dance forms, making them feel like a natural extension of my roots.
2. Exploring Bollywood and Indian Classical Dance: While in China, I also developed a passion for Bollywood dance and began learning Indian classical dance. These styles gave me more creative freedom in choreography, allowing me to combine elements across genres. Choreographing brings me so much joy, especially when I’m inspired by the different dance styles I’ve learned.
3. International Teachers and Students: Working with students and learning from international dance masters has been incredibly inspiring. It keeps me motivated to evolve as a teacher and performer and reminds me that dance is a lifelong journey.

Kay: Tell us about your dance career before coming to the UK.
Jamilah: Before moving to the UK, I had established a dance training institute in China, focusing on belly dance, Bollywood, and Uyghur dance. I organized workshops and invited international dance masters to introduce students to different global styles, enriching the local dance community. This experience taught me a lot about building a community and running a successful program. I also had the honor of competing and performing at various national and international dance festivals, where I met inspiring dancers from around the world.

Kay: It must have been difficult trying to establish yourself in a new country. How did you go about this?
Jamilah: Yes, it was definitely a challenge to restart in a new country! The first thing I did was research the belly dance community in the UK. The very first connection I made was with Fantasia Festival—I remember reaching out to you, Kay, in February 2023. My performance at Fantasia was my first in the UK, and it marked the beginning of my dance career here. I truly appreciate the support you and Fantasia have given me; it made all the difference in helping me reconnect with the dance community and rebuild my career.

Kay: How do you keep yourself motivated?
Jamilah: I stay motivated by constantly learning and teaching. I attend workshops, study new techniques, and work with dancers from various cultural backgrounds. Also, my students inspire me every day. Seeing them progress and develop their passion for dance reminds me of why I started. Dance is a journey, and I believe that there is always more to explore.

Kay: What is your favourite part of your dancing life?
Jamilah: The best part of my dance life is the connection it brings. Dance is a universal language, and it’s incredible to see how it bridges cultural gaps and brings people together. Performing on stage and teaching in the studio both give me joy, especially when I can share the beauty of dance with others. 

Kay: What advice would you give to other dancers at the start of their journey?
Jamilah: My advice would be: The beginning is always challenging, but be bold, keep experimenting, and view every experience as a learning opportunity. Accumulated experience is your greatest asset. Dance is an evolving art, and if dancers don’t keep learning, they risk falling behind. From my own experience, I understand the importance of continuous improvement. When I returned to dance after a hiatus, I was inspired by how my peers had grown, and I immediately dedicated myself to expanding my skills and exploring new directions. Now, I’m creating a style that’s uniquely my own and loving every moment of it! 

Kay: What dance plans do you have for the next 5 years?
Jamilah: In the next five years, I hope to continue growing my dance community in the UK, hosting international workshops, and creating more opportunities for cultural exchange. I’d also like to develop performance groups to give students a platform to perform on stage. Additionally, I plan to explore more Middle Eastern and Central Asian dance styles to enrich my teaching and choreography further

Jamilah tells us about her workshop at Fantasia on Saturday 22nd Feb 2025.

 Belly Bollywood with Jamilah
Saturday 23/2/24  3 – 5.30pm
‘At the next Fantasia Festival, I’m thrilled to be teaching a Bollywood fusion belly dance workshop. This style is becoming increasingly popular, not only in India but around the world. By combining Bollywood’s expressive hand gestures and rich facial expressions with the fluid movements of belly dance, this fusion creates a captivating dance style with an incredible visual effect. I highly recommend every belly dancer try this style for the unique energy and joy it brings!’

Limited numbers so book now, don’t miss out

 

About Us

Meet Ishtar: aka Dorte Evelyn

Meet Ishtar ak Dorte Evelyn
by Kay Taylor

I love to find out more about people and their personal dance journey. Dorte is one of our Bellydance Now team and I have come to admire many of her qualities. When involved in a project she is very focussed and gives it her complete attention. This makes her the ideal person to head up our training courses. The Level one and Level 2 courses that lead to our teaching diploma are very intense and packed full of information. Dorte facilitates sessions to ensure that learners get the most from them. We encourage each person to develop their own unique style and be the best that they can be.

Read on to find out more about Dorte/ Ishtar.

Kay: How did you start bellydancing?
Ishtar: I have been dancing since the age of 2, first I studied Ballroom and Latin, which I competed in as a teenager, and later I learned Jazz, Street Dance and Modern. I went on to work in theatres as a choreographer and actress, but when I went travelling in the Middle East I totally fell in love with bellydance. When I returned to my native Denmark, I started taking evening classes with a friend, and it evolved from there.

 Kay: What drew you to your first class?
Ishtar: The music first and foremost. Already being a dancer, I literally couldn’t sit still when I heard the music. But I also wanted to learn the actual technique. Having been a dancer my entire life, I’m quite geeky when it comes to technique, performance and personal expression

 

About Us

Meet Josephine Wise: founder of Fantasia and JWAAD

Meet Josephine Wise

by Kay Taylor

Josephine Wise entered my life in the 1980’s. I had already started bellydancing, started falling in love with it but had no direction. Jo changed all that. I loved her style, her approach and her ability to bring out the best in dancers. She cared about our little dance community in Leeds and gave us projects to work on. When Jo started her annual summer school, I was there – at every one for the last 30 years!!! For me, each year I felt I came away having progressed. You know when you feel that your dance has stuck in the same place forever? Each year Summer school moved me on a level. I have a lot to be grateful to Jo for. She invited me to teach on the teacher training courses – I got so involved I ended up getting our courses externally accredited. When Jo felt the need to do less admin and hand over events, I and a group of dancers created ‘Bellydance Now’ to keep the events going, continue Jo’s legacy, develop them and meet the challenges posed by the modern bellydance world.

Josephine Wise is a part of the ‘Bellydance Now’ team along with myself, Yasmina of Cairo, Abeer Will, Dorte Evelyn and Carmen Tormo. Jo and Dorte take the lead on developing the teacher training courses.

Jo founded the Fantasia festival over 20 years ago. It was the first festival of its kind in the UK. When she moved to Bristol, Jo felt she couldn’t run it any more so I took it over and when Bellydance Now was formed, it came under that umbrella.  Read on to find more about Jo

Kay: How did you start bellydancing? What drew you to your first class?
Jo: I had finished a full-time training in Contemporary Dance and was making a living performing onstage and teaching dance classes. I had a strange ability to isolate different parts of my torso and move them in different directions, and a couple of my fellow dancers said “You should be a Bellydancer!”. So I went to an evening class, and was immediately hooked. I fell in love with the music as well as the feel and look of the dance moves. And I could already isolate!

Kay: What are the top 3 biggest influences on your dance journey – and why?
Jo: My first influence was my main teacher, Selwa Rajaa (later Suraya Hilal), who taught me the basics but at a certain point couldn’t take me any further. Then I went out into the big wide world of Bellydance and discovered Fifi Abdou, who was the biggest influence on my dance style. I took my Baladi style from her and Suheir Zaki. I took my Oriental style from a mixture of several dancers including Samia Gamal and Mona Said.

Kay: Bellydance has been your life and your full time job for over 40 years. You have performed and taught workshops in many countries as well as your regular classes in London.  You have developed bellydance events and a week-long summer school and much more.  How have you kept yourself motivated through that time?
Jo:  It’s hard to believe my career has stretched out behind me for 45 years! One of the best things about it has been the sheer variety. I could be dancing at a wedding or party for Arab royalty on a Saturday and teaching a local evening class the following Tuesday. I could be teaching workshops in Germany one month and running the Fantasia the next. I have also run three different dance companies and enjoyed choreographing all their dances and shows. I have a low boredom threshold, which is why I kept starting new things – as soon as something got too easy and repetitive, I would add a new event or rearrange the Teacher Training courses or choreograph a new show.
As far as the teaching is concerned, years ago someone asked me how I could teach the same moves year after year without getting bored, but they missed the point. I teach women, not moves, and every woman is different. Every class is an adventure, and when someone ‘gets’ a move, style or concept, it is thrilling for me as well as for them.

 Kay: What advice would you give to other dancers hoping to make a career of bellydance?
Jo: It is very hard to make a living as a Bellydancer. You either need to be very adaptable and be prepared to keep adding strings to your bow, which is what I did, or you need a second, backup career. It could be another style of dance, or something else you can offer to people that would complement or be a contrast to your dancing. You could become a massage therapist, a Pilates teacher or an accountant, it just needs to be something you can do part-time

Kay: In order to keep the events going that you established, you took the decision to hand them over to BDN to manage and develop.  Was this a difficult decision and how did you cope with the transition?
Jo: It was easy handing over the Fantasia, even after 20 years of running it, because I needed to move on and it was the right time. I was happy to see it thriving under new management. The Summer School was different because although I had run it for 30 years, I still really loved it. I have had some of the best times with my closest friends at Summer School, and I have wonderful memories of it. I am still there every year of course, still involved in hosting it, but there is a relief to find that someone else is doing all the admin! It broke my heart to let go of it, but I needed to for health reasons.

Kay: You have maintained an interest in the teaching diploma and are now becoming actively involved in developing it again.  What can dancers considering working towards the BDN/JWAAD teaching diploma hope to gain from it?
Jo: Maggie Caffrey and I started the Teacher Training Diploma in 1990 and she retired from it around fifteen years later. I took a couple of years off and then got a group of six teachers with the Diploma together to develop and restart it in a different form. When BDN took over the admin and development I was still there, working on the music course, as that was my favourite area of expertise. Now I am starting to develop a new, updated version of the final part, Teaching Methods, which is the section needed to gain the diploma.
Teachers with the diploma know they have a high level of training, plenty of material to teach, and they understand about the styles and techniques of the dance. But they gain more than this. They gain a community of dancers, the support of one another and our Master Teachers, and CPD (Continued Professional Development) in the form of workshops and online events.

Kay: As a performer you have had a fascinating solo career as well as choreographing and producing shows for your dance company ‘Johara’.  What are you working on presently with them?
 Jo: I love choreographing authentic, tradition al dances, but also east/west fusion and humorous dances. Johara’s latest dance is showcasing at Fantasia. It’s a sort of anti-love song, about a young woman who has dumped her boyfriend and deleted him on Facebook. Expect some comedy and mobile phones!

Kay: You are a very creative and artistic person, tell us how you have channelled that energy since changing your focus.
Jo: I choreograph dances, write songs and have written a memoir, which should be out in 2025 (it has taken a long time!). I have also gone back to another interest of mine. I used to run Dance Therapy sessions in psychiatric hospitals, and have redeveloped them to run as ‘Body & Soul’ workshops – therapeutic dance for anyone to do for their mental health. I have gained a diploma in the Psychology of Dance, Movement and Learning in order to do this. Lastly, I’m now training to be a psychotherapist. I tried to retire, but I failed!

Jo tells us about her Fantasia workshop:
‘The Art of Taqasim’ is a workshop designed to enable dancers to create visually stunning and emotionally connected taqasim dances. I started developing my way of teaching it years ago, after I had been performing a dance with four different taqasims in it – so four different instruments each took a solo. I found I couldn’t just do my same favourite moves to each one, because they needed to look different, so I started playing with the options and shaping each one, even though I didn’t choreograph them. I worked with the qualities of each instrument and the expressions of each player, alongside the feeling each solo gave me. Rather than make each dancer do this for herself, I have created a workshop that structures it for them so they can just use a few key principles and voila! they have beautifully expressive and heartfelt taqasims that don’t look like anyone else’s. Ha!

About Us

Meet Levana: organiser of Etoiles d’Orient and amazing teacher / performer

Meet Levana

by Carmen Tormo

I met Levana for the first time around 2018. I went to her festival Etoiles D’Orient in Mallorca on my own, without knowing anyone. As soon as I arrived, both her and her husband Miguel were so incredibly warm and welcoming that I felt super comfortable for the whole weekend. Since then, it has been a whirlwind of  adventures together: festivals, workshops and gala shows. She has been a huge inspiration for me, not only as a dancer but as an entrepreneur and over all hard working dancer and business woman. She has the most vibrant personality and you can’t help but fall in love with her as soon as you meet her. 
This is why I have been so keen on introducing her to the UK bellydance scene because I know that you will all fall in love with her as much as I did back then and that she will be a great teacher and mentor to you all

Here’s a little about Levana:

She started dancing ballet when she was 4 years old. Around the age of 7, she joined gymnastics and modern dance. She trained lots of technique  and went on to study other styles like jazz and even cheerleading! She non-stop trained hard until she was around 19, when she discovered a little shop in Mallorca that offered bellydance classes. She had always wanted to learn bellydance and soon fell in love with it.
Levana moved on to a different school in Mallorca where she learned from an Argentinian teacher who was part of bellydance star Amir Thalebs troup. Meanwhile, she travelled the world to keep on developing her technique with different teachers, as well as visiting Cairo to learn from Egyptian masters.
Every teacher taught her something different, from the basics, to dancing with props, improvisation.. she found her true calling with Ukranian dancers who, having a ballet background just like her, had a style very similar to what she connected with. Levana has trained very closely with ukranian master teacher Dariya Miskevitch, who will be attending Etoiles D’Orient festival this year in Mallorca.
In 2015 Levana opened her dance school in Mallorca and it has grown so much since then that she is hoping to expand to a bigger dance studio in the near future. She offers different styles of bellydance, polinesian dance and many other styles, hosting more then 250 dance students every year. She has soon become the biggest dance school in Mallorca. Her students travel the world with her and have won many competitions, from amateur categories to master. She is incredibly proud of her students and always talks about them as “the future of bellydance”. You can see the glow in her eyes when she is watching them dance.
Her students are part of the reason why she started running her bellydance festival. She saw that she wanted to give her students the opportunity of learning with other teachers, just like she had been doing for so many years, so what better chance than giving them a festival where they could have so many master teachers together all at once? Levana and her husband Miguel run Etoiles D’Orient festival, which has also become one of the biggest bellydance festivals in Europe. Levana says that she also likes bringing dancers together so they can meet each other and share that love for bellydance that we all have. She never thought her festival would become as huge as it now is and I know exactly why this is: not only does the bring the best master teachers to learn from, but both her and Miguel look after every single dancer so well, you end up feeling part of this huge dance family. For me this is key, you can go knowing no one and somehow leave Mallorca knowing so many new dancers. For this I will always be thankful to both of them

So why should you come and meet Levana? You know, I could give you an incredibly long list of important festivals that she’s taught at (China, Argentina, Poland, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Spain…) but for me, this is only a tiny bit of what Levana is. Levana as a teacher is patient, caring, knowledgeable, she will explain technique in however many ways you need her to. If anything is too advanced, she will break it down or give you alternatives so that you can finish that workshop feeling that you can take home so much to work on. 

I hope you will love Levana as much as I do. See you at Fantasia

Tabla solo workshop
Levana of the ‘Etoiles d’Orient’ festival in Mallorca teams up with master percussionist Joelle Barker to create amazing tabla solos.
You will work with live tabla and look at the dynamics of what makes a show stopping tabla solo.
Levana has a whole host of experience working with different percussionist.

Lyrical Technique
 Join Levana to develop your flow and musicality.  Levana looks at technique to create a beautiful flow to lyrical music.  This includes veil work.  Bring a silk veil to class if possible. Find ways to make your veil and extension to your lyrical dance.  Fantasia is an amazing opportunity to study with inspiring teachers.  This is Levanas first time teaching in the UK and we are delighted it is at the UK’s biggest festival: Fantasia.

 

About Us

About Oxana Bazaeva

About Oxana Bazaeva

Ossetians or Ossettes are an Iranian ethnic group of the Caucasus mountains. They speak Ossetic, an Eastern Iranian language and speak fluent Russian. (Thus says Wikipedia) Parts are within the Russian federation and it is a place of outstanding beauty, much like its current import to Cairo: Oxana Bazaeva
Oxana is our Fantasia Cairo Star in February 2025
This article is adapted and updated from one written by Kay Taylor in 201

I run specialist bellydance trips and my ‘Cairo nightlife’ trip is for hardcore bellydancers. Those that want to visit different venues and see lots of dance shows all through the night. Not for the feint hearted as some don’t dance until 5 or 6am. On one particular night we went to the VIP cabaret on the Giza corniche to see Oxana Bazaeva. We knew she didn’t dance until 6am so were prepared for a long night.
At about 3am we were delighted to recognise Shahrzad take to the stage. She came over to say hello then we watched her working the audience. Cabaret is so different to performing your own show in a restaurant or boat setting. She has a gorgeous quality about her dance and a statuesque presence. That woke us up but by 6am we were flagging.

 When Oxanas band stared and she entered the stage, the atmosphere was electric. She has a way of drawing your attention and pulling you in. ‘You came’ she shouted delightedly to us. I had let her know we would be there ….. but not many dancers last out until this time. We watched in amazement as she was showered with money from around the stage, her singer shouting encouragement to the punters. Oxana took the microphone and introduced us to everyone as ‘her English friends’. She danced the next few numbers exclusively for us. She melted in Maoud and sizzled with energy in her shaabi number. Sitting near us was a Saudi prince (apparently). He threw lots of money and sent a pile of money over to our table for the girls to throw on Oxana. What an experience. We were all blown away by Oxanas performance, her skill, her musicality, her warmth and the way she engaged her audience.

A few days later I met Oxana and grilled her about her route to fame. There was an International Folklore week when she was at school and one of her teachers performed some bellydance. Oxana was spellbound …. but slightly shocked. The small town in which she lived was quite conservative.. Oxana carried the image of bellydance with her and started to listen to music and dance. She became part of a folklore troupe and when she was 15 they incorporated a bellydance tableau for her to show off her dance. She discovered Elena Ramazanova who was president of the league of bellydance masters in Russia – and had worked as a professional dancer in Cairo. Oxana travelled to study with Elena and eventually moved to Moscow to continue dancing. She worked as an economist and danced as a hobby ….. building up her dance and working in several restaurants until eventually she gave up the day job. Under Elenas mentorship she entered a competition in Moscow. Dina was one of the judges and Oxana won the competition. Dina invited her to take part in ‘El Rakassa’ a televised bellydance competition in Cairo

Filming took place over two months. Oxana loved Cairo and loved dancing with a band. She said the audiences were amazing in the way they responded to the music and to the performers. She described herself as a ‘child in a sweet shop’, soaking up all the Cairo experiences. The passion and expression that the Egyptian women gave to the dance and music enthralled her. The love/hate relationship that many Egyptians have with the dance fascinated her. Oxana came 4th in the competition – but it launched her on national television. Offers of work flew in. She was a celebrity.

Oxana went back home sizzling with inspiration. She didn’t feel ready to take the plunge and work in Cairo yet but by 2015 she agreed to perform at a New Years party in Cairo and stayed for two weeks. The hotel made her papers to allow her to perform legally and worked at the VIP nightclub

What does your family think? I asked.

Oxana has a mother and three sisters. Oxana is the eldest. Her younger sister is married with two children and lives in the States. Her youngest two sisters are twins – and she proudly showed me photos. All have visited her in Cairo. Oxanas mother loves to watch her dance but feels sad for the unsociable hours and sees what a hard life it is to be a dancer in Cairo.

Where would you like to be in a few years time? I asked.
Oxana does want a family – but not yet. She would love her own venue with a stage where people come to see the show, listen to the music and enjoy the artistry of the dance. And earlier ….. not 6am!

So – I interviewed Oxana in 2019 when she was still working at the VIP cabaret. Since then she has worked at other cabarets and also found a venue at the 5 star Fairmont hotel where she can produce her own show and has a different clientele to the cabarets. She is in demand to perform at weddings and is one of Cairos top paid dancers. Girl power indeed!

Study with the fabulous Oxana Bazaeva at Fantasia in February 2025.

Only 11 Superstar Packages left. 3 x 2 hour workshops in our main hall. 1 x 2 hour workshop with limited numbers exclusive to Oxana package holders. Your wrist band allows you access to Oxanas workshops without queuing. You also get access to watch the open stage, the tabla competition and to our amazing Gala show on the evening.

Or book individual workshops with Oxana.

Oxana is not only an amazing performer, she is also an excellent and generous teacher – don’t miss this opportunity.

About Us

Free Zoom for teaching

Dear Dancers

We are about to start our next round of teacher training.  Our Level 1 bellydance teaching certification starts soon.  If you are new to teaching – or are thinking about teaching this could make all the difference.  Join us for the FREE Zoom session to find out more about the course, what it involves and what it will do for you.

Saturday 25th February 2023
3pm
Book your place on this free zoom call about teaching bellydance.  It is free but you have to book your place to get the Zoom link.  If you can’t join us live, book anyway and I will send the recording link out after.
Or if you just want to check out the details and book your place go straight to our booking page ‘L1 teaching certification’

If you teach bellydance join our facebook group – a place to post things for other teachers, ask questions and get support.  Join the BDN teaching community.

Teaching can be a lonely job – we create classes and pour our energies into them to ensure our students have a great time.  Often that energy is reciprocated and we feel energised by the class too.  Sometimes though we expend too much energy, feel drained and need some inspiration or input ourselves.  At BellyDance Now, we are developing a resource area for teachers which will have a small monthly fee but we hope will give a you a source of ideas, practical information and things to inspire you.  Thanks to those of you who completed the survey to say what you would find useful.  We hope to launch this by Easter.  We will post details on the BDN teaching community group on FB.  We already host Zoom networking events for teachers to get together.  We also invite specialists to talk at these events on subjects specifically of interest to teachers.  These are held ‘live’ and then posted onto this resource area.

Thus far we have inspirational talks from:
Randa Kamel
Julia Farid
Tare Lee Oakley
We have had really useful talks
Nikki Taplin – Marketing
Stuart at Sound Dynamics – zoom kit and sound advice
Louise Cardon – Life coach – dealing with covid and uncertainty
And many more subjects too.
We also have little technique / combinations for you to browse through.  To use or adapt if you run out of steam.
Ideas for class content
Practical information too

As teachers it is nice to know there is something there for us and a network of other teachers to turn to.

About Us

Holding Student Attention with Julia Farid

This networking event was free to all bellydance teachers.  Julia Farid is an amazing dancer and teacher.  It was great to get an insight into her techniques and teaching philosophy.

Join the BellyDance Now teaching team and complete our Safety course – in depth and fascinating – it will inform how you teach forever.  Full details of our safety course here.

About Us

Carmens top 3 European dancers …….

About Us