Teachers
Meet our experienced teachers from around the world.
Cinzia
Cinzia is an internationally recognised belly dancer, choreographer and teacher, known for her refined technique, charisma and distinctive teaching approach. She has taught and performed on stages around the world and also teaches students internationally through online classes. She is the owner of Badia Opera’ Academy and Mashrabiya Festival.
Yulianna Voronina, Ukraine
Yulianna Voronina is an international belly dance judge with the IDF and a teacher who has led workshops in more than 50 countries. Her achievements include championship titles in Ukraine and Italy, a world championship title with her Empire belly dance school, and multiple awards at world and European championships. She has coached numerous world champions and created online courses for teachers and dancers that have reached more than 20,000 students worldwide. A top-40 contestant on So You Think You Can Dance, she is also the director and organiser of the Orient Empire festival in Odesa, Ukraine.
Kristina Derkach
Kristina Derkach is an internationally recognised teacher, choreographer and performer who has taught belly dance in more than 30 countries over a decade of international teaching. Known as Kristina of Cairo, she brings powerful technique and a distinctly feminine quality to Egyptian-style dance. She has taught and performed as a featured artist at the Nile Group festival in Cairo, appeared on leading Cairo stages, and performed with Mohamed Reda’s Cairo band. She also organises Al Hayat Festival, a major international belly dance event in Ukraine.
Anna Chepets
Anna Chepets is a professional belly dancer, teacher and judge who travels internationally to lead workshops and perform. She is a multiple award winner at championships and festivals in Ukraine and abroad, a licensed UAVST judge and coach, and a certified teacher of the Professional League. She also co-organises the Bagira: The Way to the Stars festival.
Tapdygova Ramile, Ukraine — Azerbaijan
Tapdygova Ramile is a professional oriental dancer and teacher from Ukraine with Azerbaijani heritage. Known for her powerful charisma and distinctive stage presence, she teaches masterclasses and has won numerous competitions in Ukraine and abroad. Her achievements include victories at the Battle of Champions in 2019 and 2022 and Elena Ramazanova’s crown in 2019. Her specialities include Dabka, Khaliji, Saidi, pop-song choreography, Raqs Sharqi and Turkish Roman Havası.
Dana Siropolka, Ukraine
Dana Siropolka is a charismatic professional belly dancer, certified teacher and choreographer from Ukraine. She leads Dana-Dance Studio and Dana-Dance Online School, teaching international students through online classes. A licensed international-category judge and coach, she brings extensive experience from festivals and competitions around the world, first as a multiple award-winning competitor and later as a teacher and judge.
Igor Kischka, Brazil
Igor Kischka is a Brazilian dancer, teacher and choreographer who has worked professionally in Arab dance since 2011. He teaches and performs nationally and internationally, developing a distinctive style that brings together masculine and feminine qualities with innovative technique. His individual approach has helped him build a prominent international career as a male belly dancer from Brazil.
Diana Gabrielyan, Ukraine
Diana Gabrielyan is a charismatic Ukrainian belly dancer and a multiple champion in Ukraine and internationally. A Miss Bellydance Europe titleholder, she has taught at the renowned Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival and led workshops in different countries. She is also a licensed judge and teacher with the Ukrainian Oriental Dance Association.
Margo Sheikh Ali, Ukraine
Margo Sheikh Ali is a professional belly dancer, international teacher and judge from Ukraine. She is a UFOD judge and teacher, the director of The Sheikh Ali School of Belly Dance, and the organiser of The Sheikh Ali Cup. Her achievements include winning the Battle of Champions of Ukraine and numerous competitions at home and abroad. She was also named UFOD Coach of the Year in 2019.
Julieta Marlene, Argentina
Julieta Marlene is a professional belly dancer, international teacher and judge from Argentina, recognised for her charisma, technique and distinctive style. She teaches in different countries and directs her own dance school. Alongside her extensive training in Arab dance, she has also developed her skills in classical and contemporary dance.
Valeriia Bakurova, Ukraine
Valeriia Bakurova is a professional Ukrainian belly dancer, teacher, judge and choreographer. A multiple award winner at national and international festivals, she earned a silver medal at Israel’s Eilat Festival in 2012 and won at Ahlan Wa Sahlan in 2019. She has performed internationally, including in Vietnam, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Hungary, Jordan, Oman and Cairo.
Mohamed Kazafy, Egypt
Mohamed Kazafy is an Egyptian choreographer and stage director specialising in Egyptian folklore, and a principal choreographer with the Reda Troupe. Drawing on his Egyptian background and professional training, he offers an in-depth understanding of the traditions behind the dance. His extensive career includes creating choreography and staging performances in Egypt and around the world.
Vlada Yanuk, Ukraine
Vlada Yanuk is a professional belly dancer, qualified choreographer and the owner of Pearl of the East dance school. A world champion and winner at the Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival in Cairo, she is also a judge and teacher with the Ukrainian Federation of Oriental Dance and an experienced workshop instructor.
Elina Karamyan
Elina Karamyan is a professional oriental dancer, international coach and judge. She has won awards at numerous prestigious international festivals, including Cairo By Night and Cairo Mirage. She is also the director of DCS Oriental dance studio.
Irina Pereklo, Ukraine
Irina Pereklo is a professional oriental dancer, teacher and choreographer from Ukraine. As a judge, lecturer and teacher with the Ukrainian Federation of Oriental Dance, she delivers training and professional-development courses for UFOD judges and teachers. She has performed in France, China, South Korea, Bahrain and other countries, and has won awards at competitions and festivals in Ukraine and abroad.
Angella Kim, South Korea
Angella Kim is an award-winning dancer and teacher from South Korea. Her competition achievements include second place in the semi-professional category of the Nagwa Fouad Cup in Korea (2007), first place in a World Dance Association oriental dance competition in China (2008), second place at Top Belly in Korea (2009), and first place at the Asia International Bellydance Competition in Bali (2010). She won the Dina Cup at Greece’s Oriental Passion Festival in 2015. Her teaching and choreography honours include Best Choreographer at El Sa’wah (2016), Best Teacher at El Sa’wah (2017), Best Master Teacher at Ahlan International Bellydance Festival (2018), and Best Instructor at Cairo Klan (2019).
Shahrzad, USA
Shahrzad is a professional dance teacher and performer specialising in Raqs Sharqi and traditional and social dance styles from North Africa and the Middle East. She began dancing at the age of 11 and has spent several years living and working in Egypt. Based in Cairo, she performs and teaches locally while travelling internationally for shows and workshops.
Violetta Subbotina, Ukraine
Violetta Subbotina is a professional belly dancer, international teacher and judge from Ukraine. She won world championship titles in 2021 and in Egypt in 2022, and is a ten-time Ukrainian champion. She has also won cups awarded by Alex de Lora and Assala Ibrahim, and was the overall winner and a teacher at the Aywa Salamanca festival in Spain.
Julia Farid
Julia Farid is an oriental dance artist, stage director, teacher and choreographer associated with Ukraine and Italy. She organises the Isadora Cup Festival and Dream & Dance Intensive Course. She is also the founder of the Tips4hips online platform, Ukraine-based Isadora Dance Academy, and Isadora design studio, which creates distinctive costumes for dancers around the world.
Warda, Bulgaria
Warda is a professional dancer and certified belly dance teacher from Bulgaria. She has led workshops in Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Ukraine, Germany, Egypt and Russia, and organises major oriental dance events in Sofia. A competition finalist and judge, she is also a member of Kazafy’s International Egyptian Folklore Troupe. She speaks and teaches Arabic, has performed at weddings, on boats, in five-star hotels and at parties in Egypt, and has appeared in music videos by Arab artists.
Kira Habibi Lal, Ukraine
Kira Habibi Lal teaches workshops and intensive courses in Tribal Fusion belly dance, yoga, fitness and cardio training. Her teaching has taken her across Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and other parts of Europe. She organises the annual Tribal Autumn in Lviv festival, participates in Ambrosia Art in Motion, directed by Slovenia’s Vesna Zorman, and directs the Ukrainian dance project Apsaras’ Breath.
Ariel Khalih, Brazil
Ariel Khalih is a Brazilian belly dance teacher known for her powerful technique. An international coach, she has taught in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Russia, Ukraine, Spain, China, Paraguay, Venezuela, Italy, Peru, Colombia, Japan, Taiwan and beyond. Her achievements include three Mercado Persa championship titles, five DU titles, two CIAD titles and victories at several other festivals.
Maris, Estonia — Egypt
Maris began studying oriental dance in her native Estonia and at European festivals in 2005. She started teaching and performing professionally in 2011, and began her international career with an engagement in Egypt in 2013. She has also performed in the USA, the UAE, Lebanon, Qatar, Kurdistan, Palestine and many European countries. In Egypt, she is known for her appearance in Mostafa Shawki’s music video Maltashet el 2loub and for supporting roles in television series.
Veronika Kremenskaya, Ukraine
Veronika Kremenskaya is a professional dancer, judge and coach from Ukraine, known for her charismatic Egyptian style. She teaches masterclasses in Ukraine and internationally. In 2023, she placed third in the professional category at Cleopatra in Egypt and became the overall professional-category winner at the Heba International Festival in Korea. She has also won Mohamed Shahin’s main professional cup and numerous professional-category titles at festivals in Ukraine and Europe.
Samir, France — Mexico
Samir is an internationally recognised teacher and performer of Egyptian oriental dance. He trained with renowned artists including Dina and Randa Kamel, and has won competitions around the world. He teaches, judges and performs at major international festivals, manages dance schools in Paris and Oaxaca, Mexico, and has taught at Cairo’s Nile Group Festival for more than six years. A master teacher at Raks of Course in Cairo, he is known for refined technique and a charismatic style rooted in Egyptian dance.
Tanya Bukhinnik, Ukraine
Tanya Bukhinnik is a professional belly dancer from Ukraine and a multiple champion at competitions in Ukraine and abroad. She won a European championship title in the Czech Republic in 2018. She is the head teacher of TaBu Dance School and works as a competition judge and coach in Ukraine.
Valeria Karnysh, Ukraine
Valeria Karnysh is an internationally recognised dancer, choreographer and teacher from Ukraine. Her achievements include multiple world championship titles, a European championship title, and the overall winner’s title at Ahlan Wa Sahlan in Cairo in 2019. She also received awards at Cairo By Night in Greece and Talysma in Italy in 2023. As an instructor at Ahlan Wa Sahlan, she shares her expertise with dancers from around the world.
Mariia Muradova, Ukraine
Mariia Muradova is a professional belly dancer, licensed choreographer and founder of Art Imperia Dance Centre in Ukraine. An eight-time World Cup champion, six-time European Cup champion and the overall champion of Ukraine in 2022, she is known for her powerful technique, musicality and distinctive style.
