PEOPLE | interview www.womanthismonth.com September 2022 49 me to stay,” she says. “I definitely feel like in Bahrain sometimes if you create the offer, then the market comes. One of the other reasons that I love Bahrain is the fact that women are encouraged to have a professional role and not just expected to fulfil a family role.” BUILDING AN EMPIRE Ranya recently co-founded a performance arts business, Flames Dance Company, which provides entertainment for all kinds of events. “COVID was a catalyst for Flames in a way. When there were lockdowns, I had plenty of time to prepare and train my dancers for the world of art,” she says. “The all-style company started with two dancers but has grown to have sixteen professionally-trained dancers in just under a year. We have ballerinas, gymnasts, Latin dancers, urban dancers and aerial artists. “Partnering with the founder of Spin Tribe, Moayyed ‘Mo’ Feroze, to start Flames has been fantastic as we are both equal in every decision. I couldn’t have asked for a better business partner,” she says. Spin Tribe now has the biggest fire formation, not only in Bahrain but the Eastern Province of KSA too, and fire shows have grown to be one of the company’s most booked acts. “We have eight fire performers who do everything from poi to fire eating,” she says. She explained that performers are similar to high-performance athletes in the sense that it involves intensive training and lots of hard work. “I knew that once I finish performing actively, I would want to stay in the field as a choreographer so going into artist management made sense. As part of Flames, I provide a complete production which includes costumes, props, choreography and even light and sound,” she explains. As an artist who has performed at several venues across borders, Ranya found that her experience working for various managers was also a driving factor when deciding to start her own company. “Not all of them were great so I decided that I would be the sort of manager that I wished I had. As a woman, I felt the need to create an agency which would be safe for women and as body positive as possible. We have dancers from the age of 18 through to 41 and hope to be an inclusive agency which gives everyone an opportunity to develop,” she explains. MOVING FORWARD As a foresighted individual, Ranya has plans which involve extensive expansion across the region. “I definitely intend to grow Flames in terms of the number of performers and performances we have. We’ve also had bookings in Saudi Arabia and would like to expand further. That’s another reason that motivates people to book with me – you don’t have the hassle of having to fly in performers and make any other necessary arrangements,” she says. Ranya believes that Flames is positioned to be the perfect agency as it is run by someone who is both a performer and a manager. “Hence, I understand every aspect of the clients’ and performers’ needs. My ultimate goal is for Flames to be one of the largest, most successful agencies in the region,” she says. On a more personal level, Ranya shares that she is an animal lover and hopes to make a difference in the lives of senior animals. “I’ve always been a dancer, but I always thought I’d be a vet. I actively support shelters and TNR efforts and hope to adopt as many older animals that most people do not see as very adoptable to give them a beautiful end to their life with a loving family,” she says. “That’s something I would really like to achieve together with my partner. That’s my family.”
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