5 Minute Belly Dance Interview Series: with Valeria Lo Iacono
Last Updated on January 25, 2024
In this post Valeria of worldbellydance.com is interviewed in the interview series.
Would you also like to be interviewed about your passion, interest, and experiences with belly dance? We include a link back to your own site and to your social media. Contact me here.
Hello Valeria, welcome to the Worldbellydance five minutes questions.
How did you start becoming involved in belly dancing and what made you interested in this dance form?
Well, I have always been interested since a young age, because I have always wanted to dance.
I have also always liked Arabic music and I have always wanted to dance to it. But when I was growing up in Sicily there was nowhere to learn it and then it happened.
I was living in South Korea a friend of mine, Iraqi-American, started teaching belly dance there.
From then on, I started learning from her and I taught her Italian in exchange for belly dance classes.
That was a great way to start because belly dance was part of her culture and therefore it was such fun learning from her.
Who are the belly dancers that you have most been influenced by?
There are many. I’d say every teacher has something to give but if I can choose two of my two favorite ones.
The ones who influenced me the most are two Egyptian dancers and one of these is Dandesh.
From Dandesh I have learned to be relaxed and smile and try to be natural on stage.
The other is Randa Kamel. Randa has inspired me because she has such incredible energy and so much passion and energy in her dancing.
She is so specific and so particular when it comes to detail in her dance.
She does not leave anything to chance and she tells you how to move your hands and your face. She’s trained a lot herself and knows how to convey what she has learned to her own students.
What is your favorite belly dance style and why?
It’s Egyptian oriental Raqs sharqi because of the music that goes with it.
The music allows the dancer to practice different moves, and to experiment with fluid movements. Furthermore, as well as percussive movements and energetic movements, the music changes a lot throughout a song and I love it for dancing to.
And that’s why I like Egyptian Raqs sharqi!
What do you like most about belly dance in general?
In general, I like the freedom it gives to you as the dancer.
The fact that improvisation is so important and the fact that every dancer has her own style means this form of dance is not prescriptive.
Even though there is a dance vocabulary, every dancer can develop her (or his) own style because it’s not so codified as other dance types.
And also because it’s so natural for the body, it feels natural it doesn’t force you into unnatural positions.
If you could give one piece of advice to people who are looking to get into belly dance what would it be?
It would be to learn from different teachers!
Try to learn from as many teachers as you can and want and pick up different things from different teachers.
Also, try to develop your own style!
Do not just copy someone else even though they inspire you. Develop your own individual style too.
How has belly dance benefited you, if it has?
It’s benefitted me in different ways.
On a physical way, because of my back before starting belly dancing I had a stiff lower back I had scoliosis when I was a child.
Then since I started belly dancing my back has been fine ever since.
Also, on a creative and psychological level it’s been amazing because with belly dancing you can, a dancer, do your own dance i.e. have flexibility.
I mean you can create your own choreography or improvise, whereas with other dance forms you will always have somebody to teach you a routine.
You will have to do what you are taught, whereas with belly dance, even if you are not a choreographer, belly dancers they make their own routines and they perform solo if they are willing to.
Additionally, on a social level, belly dance has benefitted me because you can say that belly dance has a community worldwide so wherever you go around the world for events and workshops you always meet the same people and it’s great to catch up.
What music do you prefer to dance to?
I prefer Egyptian Raqs sharqi music played with an orchestra because there is a great variety of instruments.
This music gives you a lot of different nuances that you can dance and that you can interpret in different ways.
Every instrument has got its own moods, so I like it because it is intricate in a way, you can layer and interpret the rhythm or the melody.
Do you have a favorite belly dance moment or memory that you want to tell us about?
The time I remember more fondly was when I started belly dancing in South Korea, and the first time I performed in an Egyptian restaurant in South Korea.
I danced in Seoul with my teacher, an Iraqi-American friend, and an Irish friend.
It was such an international environment and so I have fond memories of my first performance because it was the first performance.
Do you have a favorite belly dance prop?
The veil, my favorite one is the veil, because it flows and it looks good on stage.
I particularly love colorful veils and I like, yes, the grace that one can express with the veil.
Do you think it’s important for belly dancers to travel, to learn belly dance, or not needed?
I think it is, from my own experience it is important to travel to the countries of origin of belly dance because, in this way, you can feel the atmosphere of the place where the dance originated.
In other words, you can really experience and get a feel for the dance.
It’s not just about the history and the cultural understanding but also a general feeling for the place, which is hard to explain in words.
Furthermore, it’s that you get to know the climate, the people, the colors, and lots of information that related to the place where the dance in from. It’s roots!
This all makes you understand the dance better I feel.
What countries have you been to for belly dance training?
So far I have been to Egypt twice, to Luxor and Cairo, and I’ve been to Morrocco several times for belly dance workshops.
What inspires you when creating a belly dance routine?
First of all, it’s the music.
It has to be music that I really like and that I enjoy.
And then I start improvising to the music, just so that my body will suggest to me some ways of moving.
Then I improvise, and then more some movements almost fall into place.
Some movements feel and look better with certain music, so it gradually develop. But the first inspiration I have is from the music and then improvisation.
What are your belly dance plans for the future?
My plans are to still keep on learning and developing and training because you can always learn.
I just completed a Ph.D. all about belly dance heritage so I might write more academic papers on that.
I will keep traveling and learning belly dance and also other dance forms.
You never finish learning and experiencing when it comes to dancing!
Summary
Thank you Dr Valeria Lo Iacono, that’s the end of the first Worldbellydance 5-minute interview. Thank you very much!
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Dr Valeria Lo Iacono is a belly dancer and a dance researcher with a PhD in dance and heritage. Valeria also teaches and performs as a belly dance but also enjoys learning ballet, jazz dance and other dance genres.
Latest posts by Dr Valeria Lo Iacono (see all)
- Belly Dancing over the Age of 40, 50 and Beyond - January 21, 2024
- Health Benefits of Belly Dance - January 20, 2024
- 10 Countries for Learning Belly Dance - January 18, 2024
