22nd Bellyqueen Teacher Training in NYC

Name: 22nd Bellyqueen Teacher Training in NYC
Start: 2026-08-12T10:00:00-04:00
End: 2026-08-16T21:30:00-04:00
Location: Bellyqueen

Schedule

Wed, 12 Aug, 2026 at 10:00 am to Sun, 16 Aug, 2026 at 09:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Bellyqueen | New York, NY

WHAT: Deepen your belly dance practice and understanding of teaching tools, anatomy, history, culture, music, business, marketing and more with the 22nd Bellyqueen Teacher Training. This course is ideal for serious students, current and aspiring teachers. Includes a teacher training manual. Students present for all sessions will receive a certificate of attendance. Students who pass the written and practical exam and practice teach 20 hours will be awarded a Bellyqueen Teacher Training certificate of completion. Limited to 12 spots.
WHEN:
Bellyqueen Teacher Training
Wed Aug 12 - Sun Aug 16
10am-6pm
Optional Group Performance
Sun Aug 16, 7-9.30pm
WHERE: Bellyqueen School @ Playwrights, 440 Lafayette St, 4th Floor, Studio TBA, New York, NY 10003
Show: Djam NYC Arabic Night at the Secret Room, 707 8th Ave, NYC
INVESTMENT: $895, $795 Unlimited Pass Holders
• $250 deposit to hold your spot
• Pay the balance at your own pace—must be paid in full by the first day of training
• $50 admin fee applies to the payment plan
$895 + $50 = $945, $845 members
Sign up now by sending your balance via Zelle to "[email protected]" or Venmo @Bellyqueen, last 4 digits 0168
Sign Up Now!
https://bellyqueen.com/bqtt
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FACULTY:
Kaeshi Chai - Curriculum, Teacher Tools, Business, Marketing
Lissa Michalak - Anatomy
Phaedra Darwish - Music: Melody
Rami El Aasser- Music: Rhythms
Tarik Sultan - History + Culture
Please note that topics taught by Lissa, Phaedra, Rami and Tarik are ala carte options that you can attend even if you are not enrolled in the teacher training. Please stay tuned.
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WHO
KAESHI CHAI is a dancer, director, producer and artist based in NYC. She co-founded Bellyqueen - a professional dance company and school - and PURE (Public Urban Ritual Experiment), a global community focused on healing and social change through dance and music.
She is trained in many modalities spanning fitness, pilates, yoga to physical theatre and dance. She developed the Bellyqueen teacher trainer curriculum and is a proud member of Evolutionary Leaders, a circle of innovative thinkers who have dedicated their lives and work to human and social transformation. Kaeshi has taught / performed in 47 states and 39 countries, and has performed with the Bellydance Superstars, Jillina’s Bellydance Evolution, Kenji William’s Bella Gaia, Spector Dance, and the Shahrzad Dance Academy. Kaeshi curates the Djam NYC event for dancers and musicians to create and play together. Current projects include Lunar New Year and AAPI presentations in schools and libraries, and Nature Stories, integrating art and science at museums and cultural institutions. www.kaeshi.com | www.pureglobe.org | www.bellyqueen.com
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LISSA MICHALAK has been teaching movement for more than 25 years and has been a confirmed anatomy nerd through them all. Lissa has been a professional belly dancer, a sea and whitewater kayak instructor, a personal trainer, and a Pilates teacher at the Kane School of Core Integration. Lissa is currently a certified Dynamic Embodiment® practitioner and practicing Somatic Movement Therapist specializing in musculoskeletal injuries, and teaches anatomy at the Bellyqueen School of Dance.
Lissa's favorite thing about teaching is teaching other teachers. Her teacher training resume includes training Pilates teachers for the Kane School of Core Integration, teaching anatomy to bellydance instructors for the Bellyqueen School of Dance, and teaching anatomy for Moving for Life © teachers. www.somaticanatomy.com
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PHAEDRA DARWISH
Coming from a background in instrumental and vocal music and musical theatre, Phaedra Darwish was mesmerized by belly dance and Arabic music after studying different types of dance from around the world. She feels that dance and music are beautiful ways to share the culture of her heritage. She regularly performs and teaches workshops and classes in Chicago and throughout the US, hoping to spread enthusiasm and respect for Middle Eastern dance as more and more people get acquainted with its health benefits and enchanted by its beauty.
With its lively music and rich historic tradition, oriental dance, or raqs sharqi, brings with it more than just dance moves. By examining the music, regions, and cultural aspects behind the movement in her classes and performing Arabic dance at a professional level both inside and outside of its traditional environment, Phaedra seeks to fulfill her mission as an artist: to increase cultural awareness, appreciation, and understanding by sharing the dances of her heritage with as large a population as possible.
https://www.bellydancebyphaedra.com
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RAMI ‘TABLA’ EL-AASSER has a MS from NYU (2010) and BS from Northwestern University (1997). He plays darbuka and sings worldwide with groups including Alsarah & the Nubatones, Raquy Düm, and Zikrayat. Based in New York & the Berkshires, he is a regular at NYC's taraab and dance parties with traditional musicians from across the mideast. With roots in Egypt, his repertoire includes classical and folk traditions from the Arab World, Greece, Balkans, Turkey, East and North Africa, by way of Brooklyn.
Rami's grooves also can be found on many recordings, soundtracks, and live theatre productions, most recently on Broadway at The Band’s Visit. www.ramitabla.com
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TARIK SULTAN is one of the world’s best known pioneers of male Oriental Dance,(Belly Dancing). He began his formal training in the dance 1985. In addition to classes, he spent countless hours in the Dance Research Library at Lincoln Center trying to learn as much as he could about the dance, its history and the culture from which originated. In 1988 he traveled to Egypt for the first time and observed the dance in its native homeland, allowing him to distinguish the truth about it as versus many of the popular myths that were created about it in the media.
Inspired by his travels, TARIK SULTAN began teaching his first class in the early '90's, trying hard to convey all that he had learned and observed. Over the years his talent and dedication to the art had earned him a reputation as a dynamic performer, and gifted, inspiring teacher and choreographer. He has taught many successful seminars across the nation as well as internationally in The UK, Japan, Australia, Trinidad and Argentina. Some of Tarik’s international performance credits include the Jerusalem Festival, the Dar America Association in Marrakech Morocco and Alexandria Egypt. In 2003 he became one of the first male dancers to perform at the Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival in Cairo, Egypt. Other credits include the United Nations, Lincoln Center and The Museum of Natural History.
Tarik holds the distinction of being the only male dancer to be featured in the top venues in New York City such as Casbah Rouge, Mehenata Bulgarian Bar, Babylon, Horus, The Habibi Lounge and Feluca and 1001 Nights in Brooklyn NY. From 2003 to 2014 he was the premier dance at LeSouk in NYC. Until recently he taught regular weekly class in NYC, The Bronx and Jersey City. He is available for private lessons, Zoom classes, private parties and workshops upon request.