Ajsa Samia

 

Marina Rehbein, born Radosavljevic, stage name Ajsa Samia, is married to Stefan and they have two children,  Aleksandra and Nikola. Growing up in the Eastern Yugoslavian town of Pirot, Ajsa Samia was immersed in oriental, folk and Gypsy music and dance. She danced 10 years for the folk dance troupe from Pirot in child and teenager age. At the age of 26 she moved to Germany where she worked as a registered medical nurse. Her hobby, Belly Dancing, Folk Dance and Gypsy dance became her profession. She furthered her dancing education in different forms of oriental dancing styles with the following world famous teachers: Gamal Seif, Aladin Seif  and Hassan Afifi from Egypt; Lobby  from the U.S.A.; Habib the trainer of the Tunisian National Folklore Dance Troupe; Wawa Slavisa Jovanovic who specialised in Yugoslavian Folklore and Balkan Gypsy dance, El Templao specialising in Spanish and Flamenco dance…

For 10 years Ajsa Samia was the sole owner of the Oriental Dancing Studio “Palace of the Winds”  (Quasru-R-Rijah”) in Buch in Rhain Land Pfalz/Germany. She was also the organizer of the biggest Open - Air Belly Dance Festival in Germany ( Sommerfest in Buch). She also organised  “A fairytale of 1001 night comes true” and International Dancing Performance “Around the World on a Magic Carpet”.

In September 2004 Ajsa Samia and her family moved to Cape Town, South Africa.

Ajsa Samia has International Oriental Dancing Schools in Cape Town, providing instruction from beginner to professional level in Classical Oriental Belly Dancing, Folk and Gypsy Dancing from various Oriental and Balkan countries, Modern Oriental Dance, Arabic-Flamenco…. 

Given her background of being a medical nurse, she also uses belly dancing in a therapeutic manner, helping people to regain balance, litheness and movement after illness, injury or surgery as well to help abused women deal with the physical trauma of there abuse and find a safe working through the pain of their experiences..

Ajsa Samia is the creator, founder and director of Oriental Dance Theatre Palace of the Winds, registered as a non profit organization NPO 052-395. The dancing theatre is one of the most famous Belly Dancing group in South Africa performing nationally and internationally.

Ajsa Samia is a member of the International Dance Council CID, Reg. number 12326 ( UNESCO)

 Ajsa Samia and Palace of the Winds initiated and organize annual International Oriental Dance Festival in Cape Town  in aid of Saartjie Baartman Centre for abused Women and Children in Athlone / Cape Town .

The 4th International Oriental Dance Festival 2009  was visited by approximately 45 000 people www.iodfcapetown.com

 

Ajsa Samia is the founder and director of rakSAfrica Magazine, first and only Magazine for Oriental Dance and everything around it in Southern Africa www.raksafriva.co.za

 

Ajsa Samia was performing and teaching at different International Festivals as well International Shows:

 

·    Orient Magazine Festival Ransbach Baumbach / Germany

·  Orienta in Frankfurt / Gemany

·   Orientalisimo Gala in Frankenthal/ Germany

· International Show in Souss/ Tunisia

· International Oriental Dance Festival Cape Town/ South Africa

·  Oriental Shows in Windhoek / Namibia

· Oriental Shows in Zanzibar/ Tanzania

· Oriental Festival Stuttgart International / Germany

· OrisSwiss International Festival  in Zuchwil / Switzerland

· XI Festival Interamericano Árabe CIAD  Bauru / Brasil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

E-mail: ajsasamia@yahoo.de

E-mail: iorientaldancefesival@webafrica.org.za

Cape Town, South Africa

Cell.: 0027 73 8109208

Fax: 0027 86 512 8363