Anatolia Demir The Fire Belly Dancer
By Rescue Nineleven
Anatolia Demir was introduced to fire performance on the Arumbul beach in Goa India. During sunset, when the hot sun settles into the Indian Ocean and the air cools off that the expat performers would come out to play in front of a back drop of rolling waves. An exotic mixture of Russian, Indian and Europeans gather on the sands, pound their drums, gyrate and spin flaming balls of poi. Although the whole scene is inspiring two long haired girls Alina Dorgyan (a Ukrainian former ballerina) and Uma (free spirited Korean with a very mysterious past) mesmerized caught Anatolia’s eye, as they danced. She stayed a month in India that year and over time became friends with both girls. One very special sunset they gave her a set of flaming fingers to try and that was the first time she had ever burned. Before she left India she bought a set of bootleg Indian poi. The next year she made it back to India, met more wonderful people and learned more fire tricks. After her adventures in India she was introduced to other local American fire performers. She joined a group of flame eaters in Torrington CT. Anatolia has studied the art of belly dance for over 10 years and she has been performing in NYC and Connecticut. She has traveled around the world and has studied various forms of it, such as Turkish Belly Dance in Istanbul. “For me, belly dance is the embodiment of femininity. The fluid and elegant movements fit the female form and this has been what has attracted me to this dance from the beginning. The controversy around belly dances sexuality is something I find immensely interesting. It’s sensuality is visually apparent, while the correlation to love making is undeniable.” Check out her website www.Anatoliaparties.com for free tutorials, merchandise and booking info.