Samantha Karim is an award-winning belly dancer, speaker, coach, and educator dedicated to helping women build confidence, overcome perfectionism, and embrace authentic self-expression. A 2013 USA Belly Dance Queen Champion with more than 20 years of teaching and coaching experience, Samantha combines her extensive background in belly dance with life coaching to help women cultivate body confidence, resilience, and self-trust both on and off the stage. Specializing in supporting high-achieving and perfectionist women through her workshops, speaking engagements, and coaching, she shares practical tools for cultivating body confidence, resilience, and the courage to live unapologetically, inspiring thousands of women to step into their full potential.

In this episode you will learn about:

- How an unexpected encounter with Palestinian and Jordanian roommates led to a lifelong passion for belly dance

- Why confidence isn't built through dance alone—but through the choices you make while dancing

- Practical strategies for overcoming frustration, self-doubt, and mental blocks in class

- How perfectionism and people-pleasing quietly hold dancers back from reaching their potential

- The mindset shift that helped transform a belly dance teacher into an award-winning coach and speaker

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Samantha Karim on FB, Instagram, YouTube, and website.

Details the BDE shows and training programs 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

Ruxandra is a Romanian Oriental dance instructor, performer, choreographer, promoter, and storyteller. A graduate of the Floria Capsalli Choreography High School in Bucharest and the Performing Arts Department of Gheorghe Cristea University of Sciences and Arts, she has a strong foundation in ballet and has also studied contemporary, modern, folk, Latin, flamenco, African, and Oriental dance. After living for two years in Egypt and three years in Benin, Africa, Ruxandra came to believe that she did not choose Oriental dance—it chose her. For almost two decades, she has worked to challenge stereotypes surrounding belly dance in Romania, becoming the only teacher in Bucharest to establish dedicated Oriental dance classes for children and creating welcoming spaces where women of all ages can reconnect with their bodies, confidence, femininity, emotions, and joy.

In this episode you will learn about:

- Why many women still feel ashamed to admit they take belly dance classes in Romania

- The harassment and safety risks belly dancers face while performing

- Why teaching belly dance to children remains deeply controversial in Romania

- The ways movement can reconnect women with emotions held in the body

- Why she created a women’s dabke group as an artistic voice of solidarity

Show Notes to this episode:

Follow Ruxandra on Instagram, FB, and TikTok.

Details the BDE shows and training programs 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

Maris is an Estonian belly dancer, instructor, performer, and recording artist who has built an international career across Europe and the Middle East. After beginning her dance journey in 2005 and teaching from 2012, she launched her professional career in Egypt with daily performances in Sharm El Sheikh before moving on to Dubai and eventually settling in Cairo, where she has become a sought-after performer at prestigious weddings, events, discos, and Nile cruise shows. She has also taught and performed in numerous countries worldwide and is widely recognized in the Arab world for her appearance in Mostafa Shawki's 2019 hit music video Maltashet El 2loub. In addition to performing, Maris regularly teaches workshops internationally and, in 2024, released an album of original music created specifically for belly dance performances.

In this episode you will learn about:

- What it really takes to build a sustainable performing career in Egypt

- How media exposure can completely change a dancer's career in Cairo

- The truth behind common myths and gossip about Cairo dancers

- The changing trends in Cairo costumes, music, and audience expectations

- Practical advice for dancers dreaming of building a career in Cairo

Show Notes to this episode:

Find Maris on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Previous interview with Maris:

Ep 137. Maris: Finding Joy & Transformation in Belly Dance

Details the BDE shows and training programs 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