Elena Nayiri

Instructor

Bellyqueen School of Belly Dance

Elena Nayiri is an Armenian-Iranian dance artist specializing in Persian Dance and Belly Dance, exploring the dialogue between those traditions and other dance forms in the modern world. From a young age Elena studied and performed in underground dance schools of Tehran, where she became fascinated by the freedom and power of individual expression in improvised dance forms. Her approach was later influenced by flamenco and Afro-Cuban dance, both of which she has studied and researched over the years.Elena is the founder and director of Almas (formerly Aatash) Persian dance project. As an artist, she is in constant pursuit of authentic emotive lyricism and musical eloquence.Elena has been interweaving her expertise of different dance traditions in her recent works with Caribbean/Middle Eastern fusion jazz band Telavana, where she interacts with the music in an improvisational setting, relying exclusively on her knowledge of the different musical languages the band explores. She has also been part of the cast for the MET Opera rendition of Thaïs by Jules Massenet, performed as a member of Dalia Carella Dance Collective, and as a soloist at Samba Colorado dance company. Off the stage, she is a proud mom, a passionate salsa dancer, chess player, and a dedicated educator.