In this interview, we get to know Rebekah a little better — from how her dance journey began, to what inspires her, and what it felt like to take first place on the Celebrating Dance stage.

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The Interview

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Let’s start at the beginning — how did your bellydance journey begin? Do you remember your very first class or performance?

I'd been curious about bellydance for years, but I actually found my way to it during a difficult chapter with my mental health about eight years ago.

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My counsellor at the time suggested I find something that could engage my mind and tire my body enough to help me sleep. I searched on a whim for local bellydance classes, found one literally ten minutes from my home, and mustered up the courage to attend.

The rest is history.

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Who or what has influenced you the most in shaping the dancer you are today?

I see my dancing as a lineage of four teachers, each arriving at exactly the right moment.

Nadia (@nadiabellydance123) was my foundation — she gave me beginner technique and, crucially, my first paid gig, which made me believe this could be real.

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Eleanor Gaywood-Allott (@eleanor_belly_dancer) deepened that with one-to-one instruction and introduced me properly to the bellydance community and performance world.

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Charlotte DeSorgher (@charlottedesorgher), who has since retired from dancing, took me under her wing through her mentorship program The Undeniables. That was a pivotal chapter where I started to find my voice, and she was an incredibly nurturing person and teacher.

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Presently, I’m working with Aziza (@azizashimmy) through her Year of You programme. She's an incredibly warm and encouraging presence who makes me feel seen as a whole person, not just a dancer.

But I'd be incomplete if I stopped there.

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As a Western dancer, I spent years guilty of not doing the deep research — learning from source dancers and musicians, understanding the history and cultural roots. These last couple of years I’ve been trying to make amends for that.

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That research journey is ongoing and incredibly inspiring, and it has fundamentally changed how I move and what I respect about this art form.

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Every dancer has a character-building moment — what’s been the biggest challenge in your journey so far?

I think I have two intertwined challenges, both still very present.

First: I'm naturally deeply introverted. Eye contact, crowds, loud environments and emotional vulnerability in front of other people are big challenges.

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For a bellydancer, obviously this is a conflict. This art form demands interaction and presence — that reciprocal energy with your audience.

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So performance skills have been a deliberate and ongoing practice for me. This past year I made audience engagement the focus of my personal work, and I made some real progress that culminated in winning the competition at Celebrating Dance.

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The second challenge arrived about two years ago: burnout.

The joy and motivation I used to find almost automatically in dance became harder to access. I think this happens to most dancers at some point, but for me it’s tangled up with my mental health and this season of my life.

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This is also why Aziza’s Year of You programme has been a lifeline. The community, the routine and having a mentor who supports me as a whole person have helped enormously.

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Both challenges have taught me a lot about learning to work with my struggles rather than trying to simply overcome them.

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Was there ever a moment when you thought, “Yes — this is what I’m meant to do”?

I don't have one dramatic moment to point to.

For me it was more like a quiet recognition from that very first class: this feels right.

There's a kind of happiness I find in dance that I don't find anywhere else. Even eight years later, it still feels right.

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I literally cannot imagine my life without bellydance at the centre of it. That seems like proof enough.

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What inspired you to take the leap and compete at Celebrating Dance Festival?

It was partly a whim, honestly.

I wanted to attend the festival, and when I went to the website to register I stumbled across the competition details. I had considered entering competitions before but always talked myself out of it.

But Celebrating Dance felt different.

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I had been to the festival before and knew Zara, Anna and Sandra were lovely people. Because of that, I felt the environment would be friendlier and lower pressure.

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And since my personal work that year had focused so much on audience engagement and performance skills, it struck me that the competition could actually be practice.

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So I thought: why not? and signed up.

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Be honest — what was going through your mind before you stepped on stage?

I was very nervous — but not quite as nervous as I’d feared.

I was still finishing my costume thirty minutes before I came down, mentally running choreography while doing that.

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But once I reached the competition room I knew obsessing wouldn’t help.

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Performing first in round one was terrifying, so I reframed it: going first meant I didn’t have to follow anyone.

There were some amazingly good dancers in the competition — much stronger technically than me — so I told myself I didn’t expect to win or even reach the second round.

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My goal was simple: perform well, connect with the audience, and consider that a personal win.

What really helped was the atmosphere among the competitors. We were chatting, encouraging each other and genuinely rooting for each other.

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That warm atmosphere made a huge difference.

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Tell us about your competition piece — why did you choose that music?

The piece actually found me.

I was in a mentorship session with Aziza at the beginning of last year, feeling stuck and directionless with my practice.

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She suggested Era of Gold by Kareem Gad as a potential starting point.

I loved it immediately. It’s dramatic, rich and deeply musical.

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Researching the Golden Era it references also aligned with a personal goal of deepening my historical knowledge.

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And I knew Lenka Badriyah would be teaching in the Year of You programme, and she’s renowned for her Golden Era expertise.

It felt meant to be.

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Did anything unexpected happen during preparation or performance?

The costume nearly defeated me.

I had never made a Golden Era style belt before and even a week before the competition I was still struggling with it.

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I worked on it while travelling to the festival and in my hotel room between classes.

Then I ran out of thread completely and had to go searching through town the day before the competition.

When I finally found some, I was so relieved I actually felt like crying.

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During the performance I also mixed up the choreography slightly — but choreography rarely goes perfectly.

The beauty of solo performance is that often nobody can tell.

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What did the competition teach you about yourself?

I realised how easily we trap ourselves in stories about who we are.

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For years I told myself that expression, presence and audience engagement were my weaknesses.

Then I won on the strength of the improvisation round, and the judges specifically cited those exact qualities.

The things I thought were weaknesses became my strengths.

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That taught me that growth can be invisible while it’s happening — but it is happening.

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How has winning impacted you?

The first few days were actually difficult.

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Imposter syndrome hit hard. I convinced myself there must have been some mistake.

But sitting with the judges’ feedback helped me process it.

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Technical skill matters, of course, but what truly moves people is presence, musical understanding and feeling.

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That’s the kind of dancer I aspire to be.

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What would you say to dancers considering entering the competition?

Zara and the team do so much to support competitors.

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Before the festival she sent emails explaining what to expect and even created a booklet on receiving feedback constructively.

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There was also a competitors’ meeting where we introduced ourselves, and by the performance night we were genuinely cheering for each other.

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My advice would be: define what you're there for.

Set your personal goals before you enter. Decide what you want to learn and what success would mean for you personally.

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What’s next for you?

Part of the competition prize is a performance slot with a live band at Cleopatra Festival in Egypt, which I’m hoping to make happen this year.

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I’m also attending intensives with Esmeralda Collarbone in London and returning to Celebrating Dance.

My goals remain consistent: deepen my musical understanding, strengthen presence and audience connection, and continue researching Egyptian music and dance history.