★   Belynda Azhaar   ★ Middle Eastern & World Dance Artist Using music and dance: For artistic expression, physical well-being, and internal healing; To bridge the cultural gap, bringing people together. ***   NEWS   *** Belynda Azhaar is now in London, the United Kingdom.

Dr. Belynda Azhaar, PhD, is a professional Performing Artist (dancer, actress, musician, singer), Instructor, and Choreographer with more than 20 years’ experience in TV, stage, and screen productions. Belynda is known for her musical approach to dance, finger cymbal and fan veil technique, innovative theatrical concepts, and special skills such as dancing on a drum. She combines her acting, musical, and dance skills to create powerful performances - from soulful, to playful, to exciting! Belynda is equally comfortable performing elegant Egyptian Raqs Sharqi as she is bone-chilling Dark Fusion, and can switch between these distinctly different styles with ease.

Belynda is now based in London, UK, and has toured worldwide teaching, performing, and researching Middle Eastern, Theatrical Bellydance Fusion, and World Folk Dance. To date she has taught workshops in 16 countries (Australia, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Philippines, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, and Vietnam), and was a featured instructor at the 2012 first edition of the Lelah Masriya festival in Cairo, Egypt. (Click here for Belynda's career highlights.)

Belynda has been involved in education and training since 1995, and brings a wealth of teaching experience to the dance studio classroom. She specialises in teaching Egyptian dance and Dark Tribal Fusion. Her students range from absolute beginners through to professional dancers.

Actively involved in community work, Belynda Azhaar has performed at and organised many fundraiser charity events. 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.

Belynda organised several annual World Belly Dance Day fundraiser events in Korea which have donated approximately US$7,500 to local Korean women's charities. She created and managed the Bellydance Events in Asia Facebook group, and founded MECDACK (Middle Eastern Culture, Dance & Art Club in Korea) which held regular educational, family-friendly events and created a safe and supportive environment for student dancers to showcase their skills and gain performing experience.

Belynda considers herself a lifelong student of Middle Eastern arts; she regularly travels overseas to improve her skills and knowledge, as well as experience the traditional music and culture behind the dance. She has attended numerous classes with master dancers, and continually strives to improve and push the boundaries of creativity. Belynda's passion for ethnomusicology and dance ethnology has driven her to research Al-Andalus and the Silk Road, and she would like to conduct field research in Central Asia in the near future.

Music is the driving force behind Belynda's dance. She is a continual student of Middle Eastern music and instruments including Arabic percussion (sagat, tabla, def, riq) and the oud. She has studied (live) with renown percussionists Karim Nagi, Issam Houshan, Mansour, and Youssef. In addition, Belynda is proficient at a variety of Western instruments (piano, 6/7/12-string guitar (acoustic and electric), and 4/5-string bass guitar) and in her spare time composes lyrics and music. Most recently Belynda has taken up playing the hang drum, hammered dulcimer, and hurdy-gurdy. For more on Belynda's musical activities and inspirations, visit:
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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. Her house is full of instruments including 9 guitars, keyboard, and various world instruments including, most recently, the hurdy-gurdy.

Not surprisingly, Belynda was also fascinated with dance from a young age. As a child in a small country town, Belynda did not have access to dance classes - instead, she would mimic the ballet, musical, and opera dancers seen on TV, and experiment with movement on her own. At 15 years of age, Belynda finally commenced formal dance training at the Bjelke-Petersen School of Physical Culture. (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 for a few years, but became frustrated and disillusioned by the cliquey nature of the clubs. She yearned for something more ...

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.) Her discovery soon became an obsession, and since 2004 Belynda has dedicated her life to promoting the Middle East and its arts.