I was so delighted to receive an Honourable Mention at the art exhibition "Distant Thunder", hosted by Artists for Climate Awareness. Thank you so much for selecting my painting, and to the Arts Alliance Centre for sharing such a beautiful space to raise awareness of climate change!
The painting captures the journey of self-reflection and discovering inner peace, intertwined with the serenity of flowing water in nature.
What struck me about Norwescon was how family-friendly it was—I saw kids, dogs, people in wheelchairs, gender-nonconforming folks—everyone coming together and sharing their passion for science fiction and fantasy.
In my home country, Japan also has remarkably vibrant “nerd” cultures and communities, such as the Tokyo Comic Market I once had a peek at, but I always get the impression that their primary targets are loner adults, not families.
It was also lovely to be warmly welcomed as my big nerd’s plus-one by the community, and to see him glowing as he nerded out during the discussions too!
On April 12–13, 2025, I had the great opportunity to attend all three workshops led by the London-based Turkish star Mr. Özgen at the Habibi Dancers’ 41st Annual Spring Event. I also had the joy of performing a Turkish pop duet with my dear dance friend and Troupe Oasis director, Deborah Kull.
I originally learned the choreography Kadehinde Zehir Olsa from another wonderful Turkish teacher, Serkan, in Tokyo about five years ago, and performed it with my dance mate Farhana in Yokohama. It was wonderful to revisit and improve my performance this time around, and such fun to share and practise it with Deborah.
Although I have taken online classes with Mr. Özgen before, this was my first time meeting and learning from him in person. His dance style is like a kaleidoscope – graceful yet energetic, masculine yet feminine, classic yet creative – a beautiful diversity embodied in one person. His arm movements, especially, were even more mesmerising in real life.
As I danced in the same room with him, I found myself reflecting on the meditative aspect of dance. As a serious dancer, it’s easy to fall into the temptation of categorising everything in a cut-and-dried way, but the free energy he brought to both the studio and stage reminded me that dance can liberate both body and spirit in a way that transcends borders or labels.
Mr. Ozgenのオンラインレッスンを受けたことは以前にもありましたが、実際にお会いして学ぶのは今回が初めてでした。
I am so grateful to Mr. Özgen for travelling all the way from London, and to the organiser, Garnett Kepler, and the Habibi Dancers for putting together such an amazing event!
Hello, this is
Nisreen! Welcome to the 20th episode of Season Two of my podcast! It’s lovely
to speak with you again.
The other day, I heard
some tragic news: legendary Turkish belly dancer Tanyeli had passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was
only 54. I have been performing and teaching belly dance for years now, and
Tanyeli has always been one of my dance icons.
Today, to celebrate
the memory of her legacy, I’d like to highlight three aspects of her style that
made her stage presence so unique. I hope this will help a broader audience
appreciate her artistry, beyond just the belly dance community.
The thumbnail of this episode is my pen drawing of Tanyeli. Please find the episode below. The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts , Spotify and YouTube as well.
Hello,
this is Nisreen. Welcome to the 19th episode of Season Two of my podcast! It’s
lovely to speak with you again.
The other
day, I finally finished reading Buddenbrooks!
This 1901 novel by the German writer Thomas Mann follows the decline of a
wealthy North German merchant family over four generations, from 1835 to 1877.
The story
is incredibly rich, layered with social commentary and beautiful visual
storytelling. In today’s episode, I’d like to share three reasons why this
classic family drama remains highly relevant today—especially for artists. No
spoilers, and I hope you enjoy it!
The thumbnail of this episode is my oil pastel piece about the story. Please find the episode below. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts , Spotify and YouTube as well.
At first, I was a little nervous about the lower engagement and bookings in the event ads, to be honest. However, in the end, the event turned out to be a great success, with many participants and a fantastic audience for the gala show.
More than anything, it was incredibly rewarding to see people connect and support each other through their love for this beautiful and diverse dance form! All the board members, including our president April, have been nothing but excellent and hardworking.
This year’s workshop lineup was particularly unique, featuring multiple sessions by musicians. Our headliner, Istra, brought her strong theatre background into her teaching, providing warm and insightful guidance to her students. It was wonderful to witness their creativity flourish.
As for me, I ended up stepping in at the last minute to assist a musicality workshop run by musician Andy from a dancer's perspective and also performed a completely improvised piece to his original song, Khamsa, filling a last-minute spot in the gala show.
It was definitely a challenge but such a fun experience! Andy’s workshop was incredibly well-prepared and packed with information—I can't even imagine how he managed to do that alongside all the work he put in as an event coordinator!
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