The sublime Hayal, dancer and teacher in Lyon (France), describes this amazing, warm, and joyful cocktail called Bellysamba. An original merger between Bellydance and samba, not practiced a lot in Europe.

How did you have the idea to mix oriental dance and samba?

“Bellysamba” as it’s called has existed for a long time and been practiced by many dancers. Being a samba dancer myself since I was a little girl before becoming an Oriental dancer, I naturally leaned toward this merger, which also allow me to share and make sure that my Brazilian origins are better known in Europe.

In your opinion, what are the distinctive features of this merger?

For the Bellysamba merger, I mainly work with Oriental percussion because it is similar to the samba one. Then each dance has its own basic movements: samba is more focused on the feet while Bellydance focuses on the pelvis. Nevertheless, both dances use the whole body, which allows a fun mix of moves. My Bellysamba teaching goal is to make sure samba is known and spend a great time dancing with happy and catchy music.

What are the advantages and benefits of this merger?

The advantages of samba at the artistic level are that it brings more dynamism, energy, and joy to the Oriental percussion. For students, the work at the coordination level is more demanding because the step of samba is quite difficult. Physically, samba requires more cardiovascular efforts. Finally, this festive mix pleases students a lot.

What is the perfect outfit and what music should we choose to practice this merger?

The principle of a merger is to have both dances mixed so I always advise to wear a dance costume which reminds us of both dances while making sure not to be vulgar. For samba, a more denuded costume is normal but for Bellydance it doesn’t really work so you have to choose your costume carefully. When it comes to music, it’s very difficult because there aren’t many compositions mixing these two kinds of music. So I create my own music using several pieces in order to have something interesting. However there is a well-known title which represents this merger well, “Sambuka“ of Artem Uzunov.

When and where can our clients find you to learn this merger?

I mostly teach Bellysamba in workshops and all the information can be found on my social networks.

What’s your experience in dancing?

I started when I was young in Brazil, practicing several styles. In 1997, I discovered Bellydance and haven’t stopped since! First I was a Bellydance teacher and a professional oriental dancer there before moving to Portugal where I pursued my career both as a solo dancer and in a company.
In 2012, I was chosen for the “Bellydance Évolution” show, an international theatrical show touring all over the world. At the same time, I worked on various other projects in several countries.
When it comes to my teaching, I developed several Oriental dance teaching methods. In fact, I have a Physical Therapist degree, and I use my knowledge to take a slightly different teaching approach based on body awareness and thus facilitating learning.
These past few years, I also had the opportunity to work in Egypt, which brought me a great knowledge of the Arab culture.
Now, I live in Lyon (France) where I regularly give Bellydance lessons.

Bellysamba demonstration: