Every year, extraordinary women from around the globe embark on a transformative journey to connect with their inner essence and become certified ESSENCE OF BELLYDANCE™ Teachers. This empowering experience is more than just a certification — it’s a celebration of femininity, strength, and self-expression.
In this series, we shine a light on the inspiring women who carry the magic of Essence of Bellydance into their communities. Through their stories, you’ll discover how it has transformed their lives, and the impact they are making in the world.
“It unleashed something in me — something that was holding me back the whole time just fell away.”
Can you share a bit about your background and how your journey with dance began?
I was born in Vienna in 1988. I went to school with a focus on dancing and acting, but started dancing less because I got pregnant at a very young age and because I started working full-time. When my daughter was older, I studied German studies, finished my master’s degree and started working in this field. I started dancing regularly again in my mid-twenties, until I finally considered making dancing a career in my thirties.
How did you come in touch with Bellydance, and what does it give you?
I danced ballet for a few years and ballroom later in life when I wanted to do something different. I wanted to dance without being dependent on a partner. I looked for a dance style which is sensual and feminine. I first started bellydancing, but then switched to pole-dance, which I had to stop after three years of intensive training because of an injury — this was the turning point when I fully immersed myself into bellydancing again. I still wanted to dance a dance that allowed me to feel feminine and sensual, but which is healthy for my body without a big risk of injury.
I love to bellydance in a way where it feels more like an art and less like a sport.
How did you decide to make dancing your career?
It just happened. I needed a room for my ESSENCE OF BELLYDANCE teacher training exam, so I asked the woman in charge (simultaneously my dance teacher and now mentor in my bellydance studio), if I can rent one. Then she asked me if I am also planning to teach. And next thing I knew, we were planning the schedule for the next week and I just started. All the things just fell into place. I am still feeling deeply honored and thankful she “saw” me and gave me the opportunity to be a teacher on her team.
“I love to bellydance in a way where it feels more like an art and less like a sport. ”
“For me, bellydance is a universal dance language.”
How did you start, and what were the important milestones/turning points in your career?
In my twenties, I changed styles a lot. I started bellydancing and ballroom — from there I found Latin and Afro dances, which are still my biggest passion next to bellydance. I have been dancing Salsa, Bachata and Kizomba for 10 years now — it invigorates me and, at the same time, I can rest my mind while being the follower. The moment I discovered I can bellydance to many types of music — especially Latin music — was the moment I started to see what I am meant to teach. I discovered that some women don’t want to bellydance only the traditional way. I love experimenting and dancing bellydance movements to different music and observing how it changes my dancing. For me, bellydance is a universal dance language. You can find the movements all over the world in Latin American, African or Asian dances.
Do you have another passion besides bellydancing?
At university, I specialized in topics concerning women’s health in the Middle Ages and I worked for an online lexicon for which I wrote biographies on significant women in Viennese history. I love reading, writing and talking about topics concerning women’s health, mental health and self-realization. Bellydance is another way for me to learn about women’s bodies and women’s health.
“I needed to learn how the movements work, how my body works, what it needs, I needed to accept it and love it, and especially how to teach all of this to other women.”
You joined the ESSENCE OF BELLYDANCE Teacher Training in 2024, did you have doubts if it’s the right thing to do?
I wanted to do a dance training, because I was dreaming about making dancing a career, but never really considered it as possible. I was looking into different trainings, but I liked the holistic approach of the ESSENCE OF BELLYDANCE Teacher Training the most. I appreciated the connection to the body and the pelvic floor. It was not just traditional bellydancing, learning steps and rhythms. It was about feeling and exploring your body. It was such a beautiful feminine approach to dancing. I did not need to learn how to dance, because I already danced all my life and I always kept taking lessons at my bellydance studio and trained by myself besides the Essence training. Instead, I needed to learn how the movements work, how my body works, what it needs, I needed to accept it and love it, and especially how to teach all of this to other women. That’s what it helped me with.
How did the Teacher Training change you?
My first incentive was to learn how to teach. And while I learned and trained so hard like never before during this time, the day I got my certificate while already teaching and working as a bellydance teacher in my dance studio was liberating. It unleashed something in me — something that was holding me back the whole time just fell away. I felt so self-confident and beautiful like never before. I wasn’t just dancing, I was deeply feeling my body and my true self. I felt inside myself what I was always meant to do and who I was meant to be.
“It unleashed something in me — something that was holding me back the whole time just fell away. I felt so self-confident and beautiful like never before. I wasn’t just dancing, I was deeply feeling my body and my true self. I felt inside myself what I was always meant to do and who I was meant to be. ”
What was the best moment in your dance life so far?
It was the moment I realized I can change the mood of my students while dancing with them. When I saw how they started blossoming during my lessons, when they were starting to enjoy themselves and the music and become more confident and beautiful with every song — it was then when I realized I can have a positive impact on women’s lives. I love being the source of their happiness and their smile.
Is there something you regret?
I can’t say that I regret this, because it was a process I needed to go through. There is nothing you must regret if you can learn a lesson from it. But I feel sorry for myself for wasting so many years being self-conscious, self-hating and so filled with fear of being seen. I am now convinced that the things that fill us with fear are often the things that can bring us the deepest joy and contentment.
What 3 tips would you like to share with women who want to pursue a similar dream?
First: I never stopped pursuing what brought me joy. Continue doing what you love, and you will live a life full of joy.
Second: My biggest lesson was that all the things I desperately wanted to achieve or keep, and that felt hard, brought me the biggest pain, while other things came easily and effortlessly. When I recognized this pattern, I decided that life has to be easy. If it is meant for you, the opportunities will come on their own. So just enjoy the process and let the things and ideas come to you.
Third: Love it or leave it.
“I decided that life has to be easy.”
How does a day in your life look like?
I am still working at another job, so I teach bellydance in the evenings and on the weekends - 4 times a week. Sometimes I additionally have longer special workshops. Besides that, I am working on choreographies and planning on recording videos for my YouTube channel.
What are 3 books that shaped your life?
Mina Irfan: Lady Balls
Clarissa Pinkola Estes: Women Who Run with the Wolves
Rachel Jayne Groover: Powerful and Feminine
What is your vision for the future?
My vision is making women feel confident and seeing their own beauty while ignoring societal norms and beauty standards. Every woman and body is beautiful as long as she loves it, no matter the age, size, ethnicity or what anyone else says about it.
I want to help women leave invisibility and take up space, feel seen, accept themselves and witness each other. I want them to feel so powerful that they gain respect for themselves.
Empowering women brings me the greatest joy, so we can live in a world full of confident and happy women.
Thank you so much for the interview, Naria!
You are an inspiration.
Do you love to dance and want to inspire other women? Then join our international community of excellent dance teachers and start teaching your own ESSENCE OF BELLYDANCE™ classes.
You can do it!
ESSENCE OF BELLYDANCE
Reclaim your body, your power, and your life.
