Ep 126. Estelle Zaghloul: Why Has This Dance Entered Your Life?

Estelle Zaghloul was born in Lebanon, lands of Cedars. She moved to Costa Rica with her whole family, whose members are all artists, and together she undertook an incredible career in Dances and Arab Arts from the age of 16. This is why though she retains her love for oriental music from her native country, her identity also embraces that of Costa Rica which she loves so, including its musical rhythms like salsa, merengue and cumbia. Her eclectic style mixes Egyptian influences to a concocted feminine Dabkeh, with a sprinkle of Greek and Turkish flavors, all powerfully tickling our senses. Estelle won in Hezzi Ya Nawaeem (season 1), which was first produced in 2007 for Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation - LBC, based on a concept created by Amelia Zidane and IMagic. It was The First World Belly Dance Championship in the region, and helped revive this lost forgotten art. The Jury on the show included Simon Asmar, Najwa Fouad, Zaza Hassan, and Nadra Assaf. Estelle is also a part of Costa Rica 2017 Women’s Empowerment Icons, and first belly dancer to perform at the National Theater of Costa Rica and Nicaragua with outstanding productions, among her many other achievements and contributions to the community. Artemis is listed in the International Dance Council (CID) Who's Who of Dance. Her photograph can be found in the International Encyclopedia of Dance under the listing for "danse du ventre" (translates to "belly dance") which is produced by the Oxford University Press. She has won the "Ethnic Dancer of the Year Award" presented by the International Academy of Middle Eastern Dance (IAMED) and has won the "Most Popular Ethnic Dancer Award" from Zaghareet Magazine twice. Artemis has also won their "Lifetime Achievement Award."