YEREVAN/CAIRO — Alla Vats is a renowned Russian dancer, teacher and choreographer. She was born in 1985 in Yerevan. When she was 8, she and her family moved to St. Petersburg, where she graduated from high school. From 2002 to 2007, she studied at the department of Oriental Cultural Studies (Chinese Studies) at the Faculty of Philosophy of St. Petersburg State University. In 2011, her monograph, Dance Art of China: History and Modernity, was published. In 2012, she defended her thesis on “Religious and Ritual Aspects of Chinese Dance Art.” She has won a number of prizes at international dance festivals and participated in dance competitions as served as a member of the jury. Alla is the holder of official title of Vice-Miss Belly Dance St. Petersburg; she is a prize-winner and winner of various competitions both in Russia and abroad, including Cairo Mirage (Moscow) and Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival Winter Teachers Course (Cairo). She is the organizer of the Cairo Stars Cup Festival in China.
For the past three years, Alla has been living and working in Cairo.
Dear Alla, how would you assess the current state of Eastern dances for women in Russia?
The peak of the popularity of Eastern dance in Russia came after the TV series “Clone.” Crowds of girls, myself included, started to study belly dancing. A few years ago, interest in the dance began to wane, and the influx of new students decreased noticeably. And during Covid, in principle, there was a crisis in all dance styles. Now the situation has improved and there is a new influx of students.
By the way, dancers call this dance in different ways. Some do not accept the word belly dance. What term do you use?
Yes, you are right. We use such terms as belly dance, oriental dance. These are the most common names for this dance trend.
