Originally from the land Down Under, Belynda moved to Korea in early 2003 where she works as a musical actor, singer, dancer, TV show host and actress, and model. No stranger to the international entertainment world, Belynda had already appeared in an American film, British TV commercial, and Korean catalogue, and was working full-time at a talent agency prior to her relocation to Korea.

In recent years, Belynda Azhaar has toured throughout Asia teaching and performing, judging competitions, and sharing her passion for Middle Eastern and World music, dance, and culture.

As a performer, Belynda Azhaar is known for her musical approach to dance, her use of sagat (finger cymbals), innovative theatrical concepts, and ability to captivate and entertain the audience. Her dance style is mainly influenced by Egyptian dance (classical, modern, and folkloric), but she also incorporates elements of Lebanese, Turkish, American Cabaret, American Tribal Style, Modern Tribal Fusion, Flamenco, Indian, Hip Hop, Jazz, Ballet, Salsa and other styles into her dance. As a dancer, Belynda's number one goal is to portray the music in the physical realm such that if the audio is turned off, the audience can still "hear" the music through her movements. She is equally comfortable performing elegant Egyptian raks sharki as she is powerful Dark Fusion, and can switch between these distinctly different styles with ease.

Actively involved in community work, Belynda Azhaar has performed at and organised many fundraiser charity events. Most notably, she organised the Aid Gaza Benefit Night (AGBN), which raised about US$3,000 for the UNRWA Special Gaza Appeal, and performed with Chinese celebrities at a special charity show in Deyang, China, for victims of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. She also created and manages two community information groups on Facebook: "Bellydance in Korea" and "Bellydance Events in Asia." Additionally, she organises monthly haflas in Seoul, Korea so anyone interested in Middle Eastern food, music, and/or dance can meet each other and have fun in a casual environment.

Belynda considers herself a life-long student and regularly travels to the Middle East to improve her dance skills and experience the culture behind the dance. She has attendended numerous workshops with master dancers, and continually strives to improve and create.

As well as dance, Belynda studies Middle Eastern music and instruments including Arabic percussion (sagat, tabla, def, riq) and the oud.

Apart from continually educating the public on Middle Eastern culture, music, and dance, Belynda Azhaar's future goals include owning her own studio, and combining her Oriental dance and musical theatre skills to produce theatrical bellydance shows.

Background:

Music is an integral part of Belynda's life. Coming from a musical family, Belynda was constantly surrounded by music of all genres. At the age of 7 Belynda taught herself how to read music and began to play the piano and acoustic guitar. When she was 11 she joined a stage band as pianist, regularly performing with this band for the following 6 years. Belynda has also been a member of rock bands playing a variety of instruments including keyboards, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, and percussion. Although gifted with instruments (she also taught herself to play the clarinet, saxophone and trumpet, and will give any instrument a go!), Belynda's main musical passion is vocals - she has performed in various vocal ensembles and choirs since 5 years of age. She has performed in many concerts, both as a soloist and chorister, and is experienced in musical theatre as well as orchestral, choral productions. She is currently employed as a musical actress in South Korea.

Not surprisingly, Belynda was also fascinated with dance from a young age. As a child she would mimic the ballet, musical, and opera dancers seen on TV, and experiment with movement on her own. Eventually (about 20 years ago) Belynda commenced formal dance training at the Bjelke-Petersen School of Physical Culture in Port Macquarie. Physical Culture is the uniquely Australian competitive dance sport (solo and team) comprised of marching, aerobics, gymnastics, classical ballet, jazz ballet, and modern dance. Each year, solo competitors perform set routines and are graded on technique and individual expression; teams of 8 dancers perform the same routines and are graded on technique, homogeneity, group expression, and creative team patterns. Belynda attended various "Physie" clubs around New South Wales until her relocation to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in 2003.

It was a combination of her passion for ethnomusicology, Egyptology, mathematics and art (hence Islamic geometric art) which led to Belynda's "discovery" of Oriental dance. (Belynda majored in both mathematics and art at high school, and holds a B.Math and PhD in Statistics.) Her discovery soon became an obsession and since 2004 Belynda has dedicated her life to the pursuit of this expressive dance form.