Introduction
Fanny Delesham
An enchanting modern fusion dancer, a teacher and a performer.
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Fanny Delesham's path to movement unfolded on the side of an academic career. Despite pursuing a Ph.D. and working on nature conservation, the call to dance became stronger over time, leading her to a career as a dancer. Today, she is a fusion belly dancer, dance instructor, and performer.
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Delesham has been dancing since childhood, primarily focusing on oriental dance while exploring other styles such as contemporary dance and popping. However, she feels completely in her element in fusion bellydance (also known as Tribal Fusion Bellydance & Transcultural Dance).
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In fusion belly dance, precision and technique are crucial to her. The language of movement provides a framework within which she can experiment and create. Movement is her way of expressing herself and breaking free from societal expectations and frameworks. Dance provides space for even the most challenging emotions and empowering.
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It is common for tribal fusion bellydance to challenge and take one beyond their comfort zone, but surrender to the movement brings empowerment and liberation. Movement adds confidence and joy to life while opening a connection to one's creative feminine energy and offers an opportunity to explore sensitivity, sensuality, and the creative aspect within oneself.
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She believes it's crucial to understand and value the background and culture of dance beyond just herself. That's why she got her Oriental Dance Theory diploma in spring 2022. Alongside teaching and dancing, she's also studying education and multiculturalism.
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She's not only into traditional oriental dance and Arabic music but is also interested in Persian music. This curiosity led her to delve into Persian language, culture, and literature. She's always exploring different cultures and dance styles.
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Delesham teaches weekly classes in Helsinki Metropolitan Area. She also teaches workshops, tailored and online classes available in Finnish and English.
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Fusion Bellydance
Fusion Bellydance is an umbrella term for Tribal Fusion Bellydance.
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Tribal Fusion, also called Transcultural Dance, was founded around the 90s in the United States, from where it spread across the world. Tribal Fusion is a Western style of Bellydance, in which dancers usually fuse elements from different dance styles, for example, popping, hip hop, flamenco, kathak, etc.
The dance combines isolated, flowy movements with strong accents. Besides soft elegance, it has power and strength. The dancer can use different props, such as swords and finger cymbals, zills.
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Nowadays, there is much discussion about the terminology of Tribal Fusion. For example, the term tribal is being abandoned in many cases. Therefore, the term Fusion Bellydance is mainly used on this webpage.
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Oriental dance
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Oriental dance is a popular name to describe the range of dance styles from the Middle East and North Africa.
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Oriental dance refers to different dances of the MENA area (Middle East and North Africa), from folkloric dances to modern. Oriental dance can be called Raqs Sharqi – a dance from the East.
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Even though dance is thousands of years old, the name Bellydance came into use in the 19th century when Europeans and Americans first saw oriental dance.
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