Laman Hendricks is an acrobatic gymnast, Azerbaijani and Caucasus folk dancer, teacher, and choreographer, as well as the Artistic Director and Founder of Dances of Caucasus. Born and raised in Azerbaijan and Turkey, she trained in classical ballet and folk dance at the Baku Choreography Academy while also competing as a member of Azerbaijan’s national gymnastics team and founding the country’s first post-Soviet women’s cycling team. A silver medalist in both cycling and mountain climbing, Laman has combined her athleticism with artistry, earning recognition at the 2015 Rakkas Istanbul International Dance Festival for her innovative performance as a male Caucasus dance part. She has since performed and taught at festivals and events across the United States and internationally, sharing the rich traditions of Azerbaijani dance while continuing to explore the intersections of ballet, gymnastics, Middle Eastern dance, and folk heritage. In this episode you will learn about: - How a 1001 Nights ballet production sparked her lifelong curiosity about belly dance. - The transition from professional ballet training to belly dance, and tips for loosing up your shimmies. - The challenges of cultural stigma around belly dance and the tension of being recognized only as a folkloric dancer. - Folklore versus belly dance, and how folk dances enrich belly dance but are undervalued at festivals. - How Azerbaijani and Caucasus dances remain a parallel passion alongside Laman’s belly dance career even today. Show Notes to this episode: Find Laman Hendricks on Instagram , and website . Check links of ballet productions mentioned in the interview: Fikret Amirov - "1001 nights" 1983 Fikret Amirov - "1001 nights" 1981 A scene from Alibaba and 40 thief’s From movie “Koroglu” Details and training materials for the BDE castings are available at www.JoinBDE.com Follow Iana o n Instagram , FB , and Youtube . Check out her online classes and intensives at the Iana Dance Club . Find information on how you can support Ukraine and Ukrainian belly dancers HERE . Podcast: www.ianadance.com/podcast
