Posted on 10/10/2022 by Kay Taylor

Carmens top 3 European dancers …….

A bit about them, who they are, where from – where they dance etc…… who they are as people.
 
It is no secret that I am a big fan of the Ukranian and Russian dancers. I remember watching Maria Shakshova when I first started bellydancing (aka about 15 years ago!!) when the boom of “Russian style” bellydancers wasn’t even a thing. I would watch her performing to Shik Shak Shok over and over again, mesmerised by her style. Little did I know that that style would become “a thing” years later. Love it or hate it, they have heavily influenced the dance scene and have made many Egyptian dancers have to “level it up” a bit (and like it or not, add some of their moves/stylisation in their repertoire).
 
So I would love to share my top 3 dancers that I always go to for inspiration – these are dancers that I could watch over and over and over and over and over again…. Super great performers and I have been lucky enough to have gone to workshops with all of them.
 
Top top top number 1 – Kristina Kozhul (aka the fierce bombshell). She’s part of Katia Eshta’s elite team of bellydancers (if you don’t know Katia Eshta, have a little google search for “Cairo Mirage” which is probably the best bellydance festival I have ever been to). She is a gorgeous siren, curvy, flirty, cracking technique, impossible outfits and head to toe superstar. You’ll find her in Cairo, wearing top designer costumes, dancing at weddings and usually with her sidekick and also cracking bellydancer Margarita (another of Katia’s super bellydance team). Kristina is snakey and fast paced, with a very unique style… but a complete delight to watch.
 
Top 2 – Dariya Mitskevitch (aka the glorious Queen)
When you watch Dariya perform it’s like you’re watching magic happen on stage. A bit more low key online, she’s one of the most sought after bellydance teachers. She glides on stage, soft and elegant but ever so powerful. She turns beautifully and she’s simply head to toe bellydance perfection. You can find her in Ukraine, she has her own festival and has been a teacher to some of the most popular dancers in the scene (Anna Chepets) and a lot of the competition winners in the competition circuit. If you can, you should definitely get a lesson with her because her technique is so on point and beautiful she will give you a lot to take home and work with.
 
 
Top 3 – Diva Darina (aka the rebellious one)
Darina is your bellydance rebel. She doesn’t play by any bellydance “rules”. She takes bellydance to the next level. She has such a wide range of technique, she is trained in salsa,ballet, she has a hip hop flare and her choreographies are unique a powerful. She is strong, knows everything about muscle work and even though she isn’t strictly your “oriental dancer” she is definitely one that you should not miss out on. Impossible backbends, hair tossing, leg extensions, strong accents… learning with Darina is like an intense gym session (that is 100% completely worth it).
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Thanks to Carmen Tormo for sharing these dancers with us.
Join Carmen for her lecture at Fantasia on Instagram dancers you should follow.

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