Athena Najat - International Bellydance Star

Athena Najat is a Greek-American professional dancer, instructor and choreographer. Athena began her career
in the exciting and diverse cultural capital of New York City, and has since travelled the world studying dance and
culture at its roots.

Athena spent 7 years based in Athens, Greece. and is now performing in Istanbul, Turkey.

She has a Master of Arts (MA) degree from New York University in Performance Studies with a focus in Dance Ethnography and a Bachelors of Arts (BA) degree from Gallatin-NYU.

Studying dance from the age of 3, she has classical training
in Ballet, Modern dance, and character/folk dances. She is a graduate of the dance program of Walnut Hill School for the Arts and has trained and performed with the New Jersey Ballet company and AP Motion Dance Company.

Beginning Oriental Dance classes in New York, she was offered a rich education in traditional and theatrical styles. She has since enhanced her training with study with top teachers in Egypt and Turkey.

Athena has been a featured dancer / instructor throughout the world, in Japan, Turkey, Egypt, Cyprus, Morocco, Greece, Sicily, Israel, and in many cities in the U.S.A.

She has won awards at international performance and choreography competitions in Cairo, Egypt (Nile Group Festival-April 2009) and in Prague, Czech Republic (Let’s Dance Festival -July 2010)

Athena is a rising star in Oriental dance, being sought after as a performer and teacher. She is recognized for her integrity and respect for the dance’s history and cultural traditions as well as for her theatrical innovation, creativity and sincerity in performance.

As an instructor, Athena brings a friendly and relaxed approach to teaching, and strives to implement a strong foundation of healthy movement techniques with a conscious effort to connect the body-mind-soul-breath within the dance. In Athena’s class, each dancer has the opportunity to learn, at any level, to unlock one’s own artistry, and evolve eternally within the art.