The
talented Cape Town based dancer Asja Samia, born Marina Radosavljevic (now
Rehbein), is regarded as one of the best dancers in the oriental genre. She is
the owner of Palace of the Winds, a dance studio and school in Cape Town.
Born in the
small town of Pirot in the former Eastern Yugoslavia (now Serbia), Marina was exposed to Oriental dance
from a very young age. She was part of the Pirot folk dance troupe for ten
years. At age 26 she moved to Germany to pursue her career as a medical nurse.
She still continued dancing and later turned her love for Belly Dancing, Folk
Dancing and Gypsy Dancing into a full time career.
Marina,
dancing under the stage name Ajsa Samia, trained with international dancers and
musicians to further her knowledge of her chosen art form:
- Gamal Seif, Aladin Seif and Hassan Afifi from Egypt
- Lobby from the U.S.A.
- Habib the trainer of the Tunisian National Folklore Dance Troupe
- Wawa Slavisa Jovanovic who specialised in Yugoslavian Folklore and Balkan Gypsy dance
- El Templao specialising in Spanish and Flamenco dance
Her
approach to dance teaching is grounded in her nursing background as she uses
her studio to teach women to regain balance in their physical and emotional
lives. She is married to Stephan and has two children. She is the guiding force
behind South Africa’s first (and only) Belly Dance magazine, RakSAFrica.
 |
| With some of her dancers during a POTW European tour |
Marina is
responsible for organising the annual International Oriental Dance Festival,
held at the V&A Waterfront in October of every year. She is also involved
in many different non-profit, charity-based initiatives in and around Cape
Town. Apart from her studio and the festival she dances in various national and
international events and, for many Belly Dancers in the Gauteng/Northwest area,
the highlight of the year is her annual Balkan Gypsy workshop, usually hosted
by Harties Belly Buttons, owned by Marinda Alblas-Schnetler-Sauerman.
 |
| Ajsa Samia at the Belly Buttons Harties Gypsy workshop. To her left is Marina (owner Belly Buttons Harties) and middle row, second from right is Jacqui Chandler (owner Rusty Belly Dance) |
If ever you
have the opportunity to take part in a workshop with this mistress of dance, or
to see her in action, do not miss it!
(Source: www.palaceofthewinds.co.za and www.youtube.com)
Happy Shimmying
XxX
Marina
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