Around the age of four Rianna caught a glimpse of a bellydancer on television. Immediately captivated, she knew at that moment that this is what she wanted to pursue. However, growing up in a very rural area of upstate New York circumstances did not allow this yearning to be fulfilled, as there were no practitioners of the art in the area. Instead, Rianna explored other genres of dance over the next 15+ years including:
- Acrobatics
- Jazz
- Ballet
- Polynesian
- Hip Hop
- Irish Ceili (i.e. Social Folk Dance)
- Greek Folk Dance

The dream of studying bellydance slumbered until later in life when a good friend of hers mentioned taking bellydance lessons. Rianna’s passion was suddenly ignited again.

From that point on Rianna has worked diligently with some of the areas top instructors and performers, as well as taking workshops with nationally and internationally celebrated talent. She blends these styles with the clean isolations of jazz and hip hop, the soft hands and delightful hip work of Polynesian, the dramatic flexibility of acrobatics, the powerful lines of ballet, and the intricate footwork of Irish and Greek dance to captivate and thrill audiences.


Instructors Rianna has studied with includes, but is not limited to the following (in alphabetical order):

Marjorie Ely - Redwood, NY
Childhood dance instructor from ages 4 - 18

Amira Jamal
http://www.amirajamal.com

Katia of Boston
http://www.katiaboston.com

Lola
http://www.loladance.com

Melina of Daughters of Rhea
http://www.daughtersofrhea.com

Phaedra
http://www.ephaedra.com/index.html

Shadia
http://www.belly-dancing.info/trainers/shadia.php



Rianna has also attended workshops with:

Tayyar Akdeniz
http://tayyarakdenizdance.netfirms.com

Lee Ali
http://moroccandance.com

Rachel Brice
http://www.rachelbrice.com

Dalia Carella
http://www.daliacarella.com

Amar Gamal
http://www.bellyqueen.com/amar_bio.html

Hanan
http://www.hanandances.com/Site/Hanan.html

Nadira Jamal
http://www.nadirajamal.com

Jehan Kamal
http://www.jehanarts.com

Karim Nagi - Egyptian drummer
http://www.karimnagi.com

Artemis Mourat
http://www.serpentine.org/artemis/artemis.htm

Najmat
http://www.najmat.com

Piper of Daughters of Rhea
http://www.daughtersofrhea.com

Rhea of Greece
http://www.daughtersofrhea.com

George Rizk - Renown Lebanese master drummer
http://www.egyptianacademy.com/item_more.php?item=rhythmsE

Suhaila Salimpour
http://www.therealsuhaila.com

Nourhan Sharif
http://www.nourhansharif.com

Yousry Sharif
http://www.yousrysharif.org

Rianna would like to thank all those who have guided and continue to inspire her in this fine art.