UKRAINE: Julia Farid is a well-known oriental dance artist, a choreographer, and an instructor, from Ukraine. She is the founder of an online dance platform named, ‘TIPS4HIPS,’ where she helps people to learn oriental dancing.
Farid and her colleagues are assisting Ukrainians through their dancing platform, collecting donations and other forms of assistance from the general public while ensuring that the assistance is delivered in a timely manner.
Farid and her colleagues are known for their graceful styled oriental dance, and they use their dancing platform to aid people in need, ensuring that the money goes to the right individuals.
“A lot of individuals have gone to Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary; they require lodging; many of them do not understand English, and many of them are confused as the invasion is unforeseen,” she added of the current situation.
“Many are embarrassed to leave the country. However, Ukrainians are receiving assistance from all over the world, which is fantastic,” she continued.
Talking about the TIPS4HIPS, Farid acknowledged that, the COVID-19 pandemic was what inspired her to create the online platform for oriental dancing advice.
Moreover, she stated, “This online platform helped many dancers to remain motivated. Through this platform, I wanted to create a dance family, a space to communicate and support each other; the concept worked well.”
Revealing the hilarious story behind being a belly dancer, Farid said that she wanted to learn the Indian dance; but she unintentionally enrolled herself in an oriental dance workshop. “I realized that it was a belly dance workshop, after a month; But I liked it, so, I decided not to walk out,” she admitted.
Speaking about her interest in dancing ‘Golden Era,’ Farid quoted, “I was scared in my mind, when I performed a Golden Era, as one of the most important performances, in France, in 2018; but audience appreciated the performance. I realized that it is amazing to preserve this culture, it is the way to respect the culture, I believe,” she said.
Extending her advice for the ones who want to be an oriental dancer, she quoted that, the one should know what is their goal, where do they want to be, as a dancer. She said, “You mustn’t concentrate on other people’s goals. Besides, there will be different barriers, always; but you have to be ready for that with certain power within you,” she added.
Watch the whole interview here:
Also Read: “People Try to Link the Art to Their Ideology,” Says Indian Blind Comic Artist Abhay Kumar Sharma
