My way to dancing – qualifications
I’ve been dancing since I was six years old. During the summer programs, I used to take all dance classes possible, no matter whether it was ballet, jazz or even folklore. Even though I enjoyed all styles of dancing, my main dance training was ballet. So I pursued a dance degree as a classical ballet instructor at the University Espíritu Santo in Ecuador, graduating in 2005, followed by two degrees at the University of Bern: DAS TanzKultur (2011) and CAS Dance/Performance Studies (2018). Since 2006 I’ve been dancing professionally in private gigs and different dance events such as haflas and festivals.
Finding my new passion: oriental dance
In 2000 a friend made me participate in an oriental dance class for beginners. It was love at first move! The music, the mystic, the culture … all of it enchanted me! After moving back to Ecuador in 2001, I took part in different dance formations of oriental dance. I started with Palestinian’s folklore and oriental dance in Ecuador at Danzárabe. Later on in Europe, I finished an instructor certification at Khadiishe’s dance school in Switzerland, the first school I taught in Europe 2009, followed directly by Jomdance by Said el Amir and the prestigious Arabian Dance School (ADS) certification by Amir Thaleb. I also attended the ESTODA certification until level 3. In 2016, Sahra Kent’s program Journey Through Egypt (JTE) turned my perception of the dance and culture of Egypt upside down. JTE is a certification based on twenty years of ethnographic research, which showed me how much there is still to learn. Even today I enjoy reading and researching about MED (Middle Eastern Dance) dance, music and culture very much and JTE encouraged me to keep finding sources to deepen the knowledge I have.
Milestones & memorable moments
One of my most memorable moments was finishing the dance teacher degree at Amir Thaleb’s School ADS (Arabian Dance School) in 2010. In 2014, I was honored with the Halima Award, which is the most prestigious award for oriental dancers in Germany. A great honor was also being invited by Nour and Yasser Alama to teach in Moscow (2017 and 2019) at their Assembly Festival and furthermore in Cairo at Cairo Khan Festival in 2017. Moreover, I joined Nesma’s “Al-Andaluz Dance Company” in 2016, what has pushed my boundaries as a dancer and tremendously inspired my development as a dancer and teacher.