PEOPLE | interview September 2022 www.womanthismonth.com 48 DISCOVERING DANCE “When I was just four years old, my parents had a blanket with a border of a different colour. I’d set it down on the floor and it would be my ‘stage’ while I’d dance to a whole album of ABBA. That’s the earliest memory I have of myself dancing,” she reminisces. On noticing her love for dance, Ranya’s parents enrolled her in a classical dance preparation class, commonly known as ballet. When asked if she believes it laid a foundation for her skills she says: “I think this is a controversial topic. I don’t think it’s necessary to have a ballet education if you want to be a good hip-hop or belly dancer, but I will say that it’s always useful to cross-train. It helps with balance, turns and discipline but you don’t need to go into pointe shoes and put your body through all of it. As a classically trained dancer I will say yes.” When the time came for Ranya to progress to pointe shoes, she opted instead to dabble in jazz, ballroom and Latin dance. “I came across belly dance by chance and wanted to try it, so I joined just for fun,” she says. “The Middle Eastern community in my country was quite small, and so they approached me to perform on special occasions since I already knew the songs. That, in a way, changed the course of things.” Over the years, Ranya thrived and so she competed in several regional and international competitions for performance and choreography. “I would place in every one of these events, but the one I consider to be the most memorable is the WADF World Championships in 2017 as I had won three categories,” she says. ON BAHRAIN Ranya’s experience of being a performer in Bahrain has been largely positive to date. “When I first arrived in Bahrain seven years ago, I was only meant to be here for three months. There can be a lot of stigma around female performers. I’ve performed in Egypt, India, France, Netherlands, Austria, Poland and Hungary too, but I felt the most comfortable and safest here in Bahrain out of all other Middle Eastern countries. It was one of the determining factors which motivated Dancing Queen Ever since she was a little girl, Ranya Malovic. knew she had an affinity for the performing arts. Years down the line, she has grown to be one of Bahrain’s most popular performers and, more recently, an artist manager too. She speaks to Farah Baig about her love for dance, efforts to create an inclusive agency and thoughts on the Kingdom’s entertainment industry. “I am a professional performer. My work is basically what defines me. It’s my life.” These are the words of the supremely talented Ranya M. who is known across the island for her mesmerising performances. Since the Kingdom bounced back from the effects of the pandemic, events and entertainment have returned in all their glory. If you’ve recently been at a large-scale event, wedding or prestigious hospitality venue, chances are you’ve seen the stunning Ranya performing or managing full-scale shows with some of the artists that she manages. “The style that I perform the most is belly dance, but I also do commercial styles including jazz which is my biggest passions, and fire shows which are a mix of dance and stunts using fire props,” she says.
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