Getting to Know…Joanna!
Upper body shot of Joanna wearing an embellished black belly dance bra and wrist gauntlets.
Photography by Elizabeth Fox
The gorgeous Joanna has been with us here at Maison for a few term’s now. Bringing her years of experience in performance and teaching to the faculty, we thought it was about time that we sat down and found out a bit more about Joanna and her inspirations. But first, here is Joanna’s current bio to get you ready for more…
Described as the equivalent to a firework on New Years Eve, Joanna is Australia’s own internationally acclaimed belly dance performer, instructor and powerhouse entertainer.
For over 25 years, Joanna’s experience in the performing arts has lead her to achieve proficiency in numerous dance forms outside of belly dance - including ballet, jazz, and musical theatre. She holds a Bachelor in Entertainment Business Management, as well as Certificates across music theory, performance and sound engineering.
Joanna’s love of MENAHT (Middle Eastern, North African, Hellenic & Turkish) dance has thrusted her into the international realm, where she has performed on festival stages across France, Spain and Greece. Her belly dance style is described as traditional oriental, however she is known in Australia for her strong influences in musical theatre, queer culture and cabaret.
With her technique based, culturally accurate and history driven teaching style, Joanna aims to encourage her students to find their niche and distinctiveness in belly dance. Her priority is to advocate how welcoming this dance form is of all ages, sizes, experience levels, and gender identities.
Like what you read? Oh goodie! We sat down with our Belly Dance instructor and asked some “hard hitting” questions…
How did you first come into the world of Belly Dance? What was it that drew you to the art form?
Growing up in a heavily Greek household, belly dance (or at least ‘Greek belly dance’, otherwise known as ‘tsifteteli’) was constantly around. It was present everywhere in my childhood - whether it be social events like birthdays and weddings, or on a casual Tuesday afternoon in the living room. I give a substantial amount of praise to my mum who opened me to a wide range of arts and culture within both music and dance.
I also gained years of experience within ballet, jazz and musical theatre from when I was two years old, which helped provide me with the fundamentals of rhythm and movement. All these influences drew me not only into belly dance, but cabaret art as a whole. I like to think my dance persona is a massive love letter to my heritage and my mum.
What is your favourite thing about being a belly dancer?
Primarily having brought joy to thousands of people, and continuing to do so. Sharing the rich culture of MENAHT (Middle Eastern, North African, Hellenic & Turkish) dance and music with a wide variety of people truly puts a fire in my soul. I love showing children the magic in this art form, and giving them space to show pride in their cultural identities. I love teaching MENAHT dance and history to my beautiful students at Maison, and watching them ooze into their own dance styles effortlessly.
I also can’t forget about all the rhinestones and costumes!
How would you describe your unique style? Has it always been like that?
My style is interwoven with a few very specific branding concepts I created for myself. I started conceptualising it during the 2020 lockdowns and slowly built upon that. My oriental style is predominantly American Cabaret belly dance. My involvement in musical theatre and the Melbourne queer arts has a big influence on my theatricality and bubbly persona. Connecting with my audience will always be a priority, and being able to convey this with my little twist allows me to experiment with endless possibilities.
I also have training in folkloric styles from across Egypt, the Persian Gulf, Turkey and Iraq. So I also enjoy weaving my cheeky character into these cultural dances whilst staying true to their respective elements.
Where do you gain your inspiration from?
A wide range of places! A lot comes from my favourite modern belly dancers across the world, such as Shahrzad, Alla Kushnir, Oxana Bazaeva, David Abraham, Ariel Khalih, Tito Seif. My stage personality is heavily inspired by my Maison Burlesque colleagues and friends (every single one of them!), and the many drag artists I look up to around Australia. My grace and professionalism is constantly influenced by my two belly dance mentors, Ekaterini Floratos and Josie Palermo. I also give a lot of credit to my best friend in the belly dance industry, one of the most breathtaking dancers I have ever met - Maria Rosales from Brisbane, Australia. Her style, technique and vivacity is something I try to encompass into every show.
Have you faced any challenges in starting belly dance or developing your belly dance career?
There are two big challenges that come to mind.
At first, being taken seriously as a professional took a while for me to overcome. I started professionally gigging at 24 years old, and I had to quickly adapt a stern approach when dealing with clients and colleagues to stand my ground in how fairly I deserved to be treated.
Another challenge is potentially the negative way we’re viewed, mostly by the western world or those who don’t understand the cultural and historic facets of our dance form. This can be personified by women who grab us without consent, men asking us to give them lap dances, being vilified by people we don’t know, fighting through false censorship by conglomerate businesses - like Meta - due to the content we post online. And it’s not even belly dancers who go through this - it’s all those who work in the entertainment industry. That’s why it’s so crucial to support each other as artists, because what is life without art? All in all, I would not change this career for the world because the positives undoubtedly outweigh the negatives!
What advice do you have for new and emerging performers?
Pay yourself exactly what you’re worth. Make friends who are also in your dance form. You’ll never be ‘too established’ to stop learning. There will always be an audience who appreciates your new weird idea. Comparison is the thief of joy. Do your taxes and put money into your marketing early. Start out doing little local gigs, so you can send that footage to prospective clients. Give yourself days off. It’s a red flag if your partner won’t let you venture into performing. You’re never too old, young, large, small, shy, loud, masc or femme to invest in your creativity. You will always good enough.
You can book a Joanna class now by going to our booking page! HERE