Malaysia World Belly Dance Day to feature renowned French dancer

THE annual Malaysia World Belly Dance Day will be held in the Klang Valley for the first time since it started four years ago.

The show on Saturday from 5pm to 9pm at the Ministry of Sound in Sunway Lagoon Resort, Bandar Sunway is in aid of the Handicapped and Mentally Retarded Children Centre Selangor.

Organiser Brancy Nekvapil, director of Belly Fusion, said the event was held in Penang in previous years as it was started off by Penang-based Conny Lim, the director of Zero Fitness Centre.

Nekvapil said World Belly Dance Day was being held this month in a few other countries, with the objective of promoting the authentic forms of belly dance.

Great show ahead: Guests can expect a variety of belly dances at the 4th Malaysia World Belly Dance Day in Sunway Lagoon Resort.

“We invite a master teacher to be part of the event every year as our VIP performer. This year will feature renowned French dancer Yael Zarca, who has a very personal style that fuses tradition and modernity,” Nekvapil said.

Zarca discovered Middle Eastern dances in 1999. To share her passion, she teaches all year long in various dance schools in Paris and elsewhere in France besides conducting workshops overseas in countries such as Japan, Serbia, Switzerland and Belgium. In February 2010, she released a DVD teaching Middle Eastern dance for beginners.

Zarca actively promotes Egyptian dance through art events that she co-organises with Mounia Sultana Association, for which she works as the art director, and also with Oriental Dance Circle that she created with other teachers to promote Middle Eastern dances. She also created the Adila Forum, a blog dedicated to exchanges among Middle Eastern dance fans.

Dance for charity: Belly dancer Zarca will be performing at the show in aid of the shelter for the mentally and physically disabled.

Nekvapil said the Malaysian edition was also aimed at helping the underprivileged in society.

“I was looking for a welfare home to raise funds for and a student of mine told me about this centre for special children.

“This shelter is in a very hidden place, so I would not have found it without my student taking me there.

“The home is well-organised and clean. Among the residents are adults who are mentally and physically disabled.

“The one thing I can do for them is keeping this centre running by donating money and letting more people know about the shelter,” she explained.

Nekvapil herself was a rhythmic gymnast for over 10 years. She started dancing when she was eight and had performed and competed in rhythmic gymnastics, hip hop dance and sports aerobic.

She has 13 years of experience in teaching dance and fitness classes in fitness centres. She is now teaching at Celebrity Fitness in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.

She also made it to the top four of Malaysia’s first season of So You Think You Can Dance TV reality show in 2007.

Nekvapil took up belly dancing in 2005 and is active in performing and choreographing belly dance routines for annual dinners and private functions in Malaysia and participating in belly dance festivals abroad.

Nekvapil was part of Belly Dance Evolution, an international belly dance crew who performed in South Korea and Indonesia last year.

She has been invited to teach and perform in Argentina this year along with several Argentinean teachers.

Tickets for the 4th Malaysia World Belly Dance Day is RM85 each. Finger food and drinks are provided. Ticket-holders also stand a chance to win prizes from a lucky draw.

For tickets, e-mail brancy@bellyfusion.com or limconny@yahoo.com.