Passionate about dance from an early age, Ranya started to take dance lessons at the age of four. After accomplishing basic ballet preparation, she then moved on to try out various dance styles in her early teens until she fell in love with oriental dance at the age of 17.
Dance took Ranya around the world – from France, where she lived and worked for 6 years, to the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic and other European countries as well as India, where she is currently represented by Ameen Productions.
In 2008-2009 and summer 2010 Ranya also worked in Cairo, Egypt, as a folkloric and oriental soloist with the Reda Yassin Folkloric Troupe, performing at such high class venues as the Semiramis, Grand Hyatt, Dream Park and various Officers’ Clubs. After auditioning, she also had the opportunity to study with the state-owned Mahmoud Reda Folkloric Troupe in the Balloon Theatre during her first stay in Egypt. Due to strict laws, very few non-Egyptian get this chance.
Thanks to her knowledge of Arabic language and culture, Ranya is a popular performer with middle-eastern audiences across Europe. She also tries to transmit her knowledge in her classes, which she constructs in a fun yet challenging way, so that the students can enjoy the dance and learn at the same time.
Ranya is a multi-award winner (Egyptian Fever Festival, Berlin Summer Festival, Orient Express Festival Vienna, Liptov Orient Festival) and a frequent guest performer and teacher at festivals internationally. She also judges dance competitions and was a guest judge for the IDO Holland Championship in 2012.
While performing and teaching herself, Ranya strives to continuously improve her skills and keeps on studying with renowned and accomplished dancers and teachers from around the world. From an extremely long list of teachers, Ranya’s biggest inspirations so far were Camelia of Cairo, Ahmed Refaat, Ahmed Fekry, Orit Maftsir, Jillina and Osama Emam. The latter was,together with his wife Nasra, also a mentor for Ranya during her stay in Egypt, helping her out and supporting her professionally, for which she is extremely thankful.
She currently lives in Vienna, Austria, where she works at the high-class Al Fayrooz restaurant. She is also a dance teacher in TanzEuphoria dance studio, under the direction of famous belly dancer Nelly.
She is a co-founder of Sharqiyat Dance Ensemble based in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Ranya also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies and a Master’s degree in Security from the prestigious Paris Institute of Political Sciences (currently Paris School of International Affairs – PSIA).
