The art of bellydance lies in the dancers mastery of elegance, precision and passion. Irina "Bellyqueen" Akulenko is the very embodiment of such characteristics. Her soft delivery of deliberate movements seem natural and instinctual, yet that is precisely what took her almost 10 years of vigorous cross-training to develop. She is not a product of her environment rather she is a product of her will. Irina's determination in the field propelled her from a student of the craft to a bonafide Queen of Bellydance who is actively shifting the way Westerners view the art form.

Irina was born in 1985 in her native Ukraine. As a child she participated in diverse creative clubs involving ballet classes, piano lessons and choir practice. She discovered her passion for performance there. Eventually her family decided to relocate to the United States and soon afterwards settled in New York City. Irina was 11. Temporarily she took time off from her creative interests to adjust to her newfound life but resumed dance only a few years later evolving it into an impressive career.

When asked how she discovered her passion for belly dance, she enthusiastically states that "it happened by accident". When Irina was in high school, her mom bought instructional Belly dance VHS tapes which became Irina's first exposure to the craft. Her interest developed further after witnessing a mesmerizing performance by a belly dancer at a Dominican Republic resort. Impressed, Irina decided to take classes upon her return home. This step led her to actively seeking out various teachers in the field.

Her college offered a belly dance club. Irina studied under a motivated and experienced instructor while continuing with private classes outside of her school. Soon the instructor of the club graduated and Irina inherited the group. The club was successful and Irina proceeded with teaching. It is with this club she performed her first solo and became addicted.

Despite of her seeming success, Irina was unable to find music she thoroughly enjoyed dancing to, this was quickly rectified. Still in college, Irina met a teacher who opened up her world. Fusion dance is a style that emerged in the 1980’s in the  United States. It fuses various elements of dance forms such as traditional belly dance, break-dance components of pop and lock, and flamenco allowing for a wider scope of music to dance to. “The basic articulation of movements of traditional belly dance is the same but the layering of varying influences over the articulations create a new and interesting movement”. She finally got the break she was searching for.

Irina expanded on her dance education after college. She continued to cross-train in many variations of belly dance ranging from improve, Egyptian, Indian and Lebanese styles to gypsy caravan styles and others. She was part of the Alchemy Dance Theater where she worked as the assistant director and attained Queen status at Bellyqueen where she currently works as a full time instructor. Through out all of this she maintained a solo career as a performer and teacher.

And at the peak of her seemingly unstoppable trajectory, she recently made the decision to temporarily step away from her main influences to find her own voice, "her signature". Belly dance is a beautiful and sensual and takes time to master much like any other craft. However, staying with the same dance group puts one in danger of imitation at the expense of creating a unique and original style. Irina, determined to create her own niche in the field decided to take this time to come into her own.

Irina shares the philosophy with other professionals in that field that belly dance belongs on the formal stage. The common misconception about belly dance is that it's easy and quickly adapted. Many have seen belly dancers perform in restaurants and fancy parties, while some of those dancers may have been professionals, most are not and discredit the dance. In line with her beliefs Irina tends to collaborate with others who feel the same way.

As Irina continued performing fueled by her determination to be original, her style tend to be softer than other dancers creating a very different effect when she performs. This unique sensual style impacted by early ballet training brought her to the attention of a producer who helped Irina create a Tribal Fusion Workout DVD. The release of which led to her being approached by Howcast. Together they  recently completed an instructional belly dance series available on their website.

“I want to say, I’m an artist and a dancer, I chose a relatively unique art form and I hope it reaches the public, I want to be a part of a movement that eventually sees belly dance performed on all the best stages across all of the world. I want people to understand how hard it [belly dance] is. I want to show how long it takes to develop the muscular control. And you can’t become a dancer in two years or a few months or even 5 years the same way you can’t become a professional ballet dancer in that time”.

Her inspiration for performance comes from a variety of sources. Irina is not just another pretty face, she is also highly intelligent and sharp. She dedicates a large portion of her time to researching and learning various symbolism and history behind each project she picks for herself. With a degree in Political Science and a minor in Art History she is endlessly inspired. She crafts original choreography as well as makes her own costumes. Yet, when asked directly about her inspiration she states that her “team mates are the biggest inspiration” and working in a group tends to be her favorite aspect of performance.

With a strong interest in women’s rights and empowerment she teaches her students to accept their bodies, improve their self-confidence and accept their sensuality. Irina’s dedication to her personal evolution as a belly dancer and historian, she muses and shares her knowledge of the sociological and political components of belly dance. She is not only the embodiment of ungodly beauty but a strong and vivacious artist with intelligence as fierce and sharp as the sword she balances on her head.

For information about classes, performance schedules or her DVD’s please visit her official website at http://www.danceirina.com/.

Photo by Mat Jacob

For more TimesSquare articles like Irina "Bellyqueen" Akulenko please visit the New Yorkers Section of TimesSquare.com