Ariyana has always had music in her life; her father is a rock drummer, her mother loved to perform and dance, and her great grandfather was a talented ukulele player.
Introduced to bellydance in 2005 with Neena and Veena, she began bellydancing for exercise. After moving to Japan in 2008, she was inspired to join a local bellydance studio in Tokyo. Ariyana enrolled in the most prestigious and well known studio in Japan, Lapis Entertainment headed by Kayo Aoki. She learned Egyptian and Turkish dance from the many dedicated veteran teachers at the studio, such as Gamila, Miharu, and Tomoka.
From 2011, she began performing at large events and restaurant shows. Ariyana has performed on the same stage as superstar dancers Dina and Soraia Zaied from Egypt and Brazil. She also dedicated her time to attending many master teacher workshops and intensives to educate herself in presenting the dance in a respectful way.
Ariyana continues to study with various teachers and enjoys delving deeper to understand the culture that Oriental Dance originates from. She is a proud member of Middle Eastern Dance Artists of Hawaii and loves supporting her dance community.
