Suhaila Salimpour, of Sicilian-Greek and Kurdish-American heritage, is a second-generation belly dancer and a pioneering figure in the global dance community. A former house dancer at the legendary Byblos nightclub in Beverly Hills, she toured internationally for over a decade, performing across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and North America. As the visionary creator of the first codified pedagogy and certification system in belly dance, she transformed both performance and teaching, building a worldwide network rooted in discipline, anatomy, and cultural respect. Now directing the Salimpour School of Dance, she continues her mother’s legacy through global online education, choreography, and community leadership. A recipient of the Gerbode Foundation’s 2024 dance award and the Isadora Duncan Special Award (2023/24), she also serves on multiple dance boards and is completing her MFA in Dance at Saint Mary’s College of California.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Suhaila’s decision to pursue an MFA in Dance after decades on stage

- The need for Arab and immigrant voices in academia

- Her research on how colonization codified cultural dance forms, and the idea of “outside and inside colonization”

- The growth of the Salimpour School into a full online institute

- Three generations of Salimpour women carrying the dance forward.

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Suhaila Salimpour on Instagram, FB, YouTube, TikTok, and website.

Previous interview with Suhaila Salimpour:

Ep 156. Suhaila Salimpour: Renegotiating Your Dance Identity

Details and training materials for the BDE castings are available at www.JoinBDE.com

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club.

Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE.

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Badriyah is a professional oriental dancer based in Belgium, dedicated to Egyptian classical and folkloric styles, modern fusion, and the Golden Age of belly dance. With over a decade of teaching experience, she offers regular classes at Shoonya Dance Centre in Ghent and travels across Europe to teach and lecture. A former lead and troupe member of Jillina’s world-touring company Bellydance Evolution, Badriyah has performed more than 60 shows across 13 countries, from Hollywood to Morocco. Passionate about preserving dance heritage, she is also the founder of the Raqs Sharqi Museum project and a devoted collector of vintage belly dance artifacts dating from the 18th to the 20th century, bridging the past and present of this art form through both performance and research.

In this episode you will learn about:

- How becoming a mother and going through a divorce reshaped Badriyah’s life, art, and priorities.

- The transformation of her dream of “Raqs Sharqi Museum” from a private project into a global cultural collaboration.

- How the war in Gaza profoundly affected her worldview, anxiety levels, and artistic expression.

- Practical methods for managing anxiety and creative burnout — from micro-task planning to “first aid for the mind” through movement.

- Her unique approach to storytelling in Golden Era acts — blending historical recreation with deeply personal authenticity.

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Badriyah on Instagram, FB, Youtube and website, as well as Raqs Sharqi Museum and Leylet Raqs festival. Find out more info about the T-shirt project mentioned in the interview HERE.

Previous interview with Badriyah:

Ep 147. Badriyah: Dreaming Big, Digging Deep!

Details and training materials for the BDE castings are available at www.JoinBDE.com

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club.

Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE.

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast

Melissa Gamal is an award-winning dancer, instructor, and event producer based in Toronto, Canada. As the director of the Ya Amar School of Dance, Melissa is dedicated to providing comprehensive training in Egyptian dance, blending refined technique with a strong awareness of history and cultural context. Her work has taken her across North America and to Egypt, where she continues her studies to bring the most authentic and up-to-date knowledge to her students. In recent years, she’s gained recognition for her elegant Golden Era style and her mastery of sagat—culminating in a remarkable performance at the Cairo Opera House in 2021.

In this episode you will learn about:

- The turning point that made her quit a stable 9-to-5 job to follow dance full time.

- The moment she decided to open her own studio instead of staying “comfortable” with already established organization.

- The story behind her performing as a zill player at the Cairo Opera House.

- The advice she’d give her younger self about self-doubt and body image.

- Why dancers must go beyond aesthetics and stand in solidarity with cultures of origin.

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Melissa Gamal on Instagram, FB, YouTube and website. Watch Melissa’s performance at Cairo Opera House HERE.

Follow Iana on Instagram, FB, and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club.

Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE.

Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast