Nadiya Natali

My name is Nadiya Natali. I am a dancer, choreographer and teacher of Dutch-Turkish descent, and the founder of Bellydanceschool.

I was drawn to bellydance the moment I first saw it. There was something in the movement, the music and the presence of the dancer that felt almost impossible to explain. It was strange, beautiful and completely captivating. I took my first class because I felt an irresistible urge to understand what I had seen. After that first lesson, I was hooked.

Since then, bellydance has become a language, a practice and a way of being. Movement comes from within: from rhythm, breath, emotion, imagination and deep listening. For me, dance is not only something the body does. It is something the body becomes.

My teaching is rooted in precision, musicality and embodied expression. I help students understand the details of the movement, so the dance can become clearer, freer and more personal. Technique gives the body confidence. Musicality gives the movement meaning. Expression gives the dance its soul. This gives each student room to develop their own relationship with the dance.

At Bellydanceschool, the atmosphere is warm, safe and welcoming. We work hard, we laugh a lot, and every level is welcome. Students are encouraged to grow with care, curiosity and joy. Students leave class more open, more grounded and more alive in their body.

 

The Journey

Nadiya’s dance background combines Egyptian bellydance, contemporary bellydance and fusion, shaped by years of training, performing, teaching and creating. With additional experience in ballet, flamenco, and African dance, her movement language became refined, deeply embodied and known for its soulful interpretation, layered quality and hypnotic presence.

 

Nadiya studied with renowned teachers and artists from both Egyptian and contemporary bellydance traditions, including Farouq, Salomé, Khariya Maazin, Dina, Raqia Hassan, Mira Betz, Suhaila Salimpour, Rachel Brice, Kami Liddle and Amy Sigil. Their influence shaped her understanding of movement, music, technique and expression in different ways. As part of her ongoing artistic development, she later travelled to the United States with The Uzumé Dance Company to perform and further deepen her training.

 

Nadiya’s professional performance career began in 2001, when she debuted at Lowlands Festival with the Fool Moon Band. She returned to Lowlands several times in the years that followed, performing in different settings and collaborations, including shows with DJ Mystic Grooves and Silent Disco.

 

Alongside festival and theatre performances, Nadiya became a familiar presence in the Dutch Middle Eastern restaurant and event scene. For several years, she was a resident dancer at well-known venues including Sultan in Breda and Rotterdam, Obba and De Bazaar in Rotterdam. During some periods, she performed up to twelve shows a week while teaching classes four evenings a week.

 

Her performances also brought her to venues such as Paradiso, Melkweg, Rasa, Zuidpleintheater, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Nighttown, Ahoy and many other cultural stages and events.

 

Nadiya also performed extensively in Egypt, including Cairo and Luxor, and appeared in Marrakech, Morocco, in a music video for NuMedia. One of her most memorable early performances in Egypt took place at a wedding celebration on the West Bank in Luxor. The heat of the evening, the music, the village gathering and the intensity of the moment left a lasting impression.

 

Her image was also selected and licensed by ARC Music for the cover of the internationally released album The Best of Bellydance.

 

Alongside her dance training, Nadiya studied yoga for several years and became a certified yoga teacher for adults and children. This background continues to inform her teaching through breath, posture, body awareness and a deep respect for the body’s natural intelligence.

 

Since 2010, she has regularly taught at the respected Cultural African Centre in Oslo, Norway. Over the years, she has worked for organisations such as Shimmy Shake Festival and Talent Search, Kunstgebouw, Basic Drum Promotion, SKVR, Tobe Cultuurcentrum, Music in Motion, Manouck Events, SWF, Silent Disco and many more.

 

Some of the work Nadiya is most proud of was created with her advanced students. Through projects such as De Oma’s, Volucres, Clair Obscure and The Muses, she explored bellydance beyond technique, using choreography, character work, film, performance and emotional depth.

 

In these creative processes, students were invited to go beyond steps and technique. They worked with assignments, imagery, emotional themes and physical research to explore movement from the inside out. De Oma’s grew into a memorable performance project and was even performed at Ahoy. Volucres was inspired by cranes, birdlike movement, transformation and flight. Clair Obscure explored mental vulnerability, darkness and the strange beauty of the unstable mind. The Muses focused on attachment, connection, restriction and the tension between limitation and freedom.

 

This is what Nadiya brings to Bellydanceschool: technical depth, artistic imagination, warmth, discipline and a deep love for the dance.