I am Milena Davidova. Minasaida.
Call me what you will – I am, and will always be, nothing but myself. Walking my path means not following anyone else’s. As I teach, I learn. As I learn, I evolve — constantly growing into the person I am meant to be. Along the way, I meet teachers, students, friends, colleagues, acquaintances. And through it all, I share what I’ve discovered.
I am an Arabist, a PhD in Arab Social Studies, and a researcher of women’s dance in Muslim societies – particularly healing dance rituals.
I speak Bulgarian, French, Arabic, English, and a little Russian (though, like many Bulgarians, I understand almost everything in that beautiful language).
I am a certified Reebok step aerobics instructor. A ski teacher. A performer, choreographer, and teacher of Middle Eastern, North African, and Tribal Fusion dance techniques.
Founder of Bulgaria’s first school of Arabic dance – Alima.
Creator of the dance-energetic-spiritual practice for self-discovery through movement: “Dance, Love, Fly, Create!”
I have authored and directed numerous original dance and dance-ritual performances, including:
“The Epic of Gilgamesh” (2007),
“The Magic Lamp” (2009),
“Life” (2009),
“Love, I Love You!” (2011),
“Elements” (2014),
and “Path to Light” (2018).
I am also the author of “Fragments of Middle Eastern Dance History” – based on part of my doctoral dissertation, now published as a book dedicated to the dance form that so many around the world deeply love.
Through the dance-energy practice I’ve developed – the result of nearly 30 years of exploration and working with people of all kinds – I help conscious individuals dive deep into their own souls. And there, in that sacred depth, contradictions soften into acceptance, into self-love, into a gentler gaze toward life and others.
The heart of my work is dedicated to health and harmony of body and soul – achieved through awareness and self-discovery.
By delving deeply into the roots of Arabic dance, I gradually uncovered a unique way to blend it with teachings and practices from the Far East. In my work, I weave together the elegant movements of Arabic dance with yoga asanas, healing exercises, breathing techniques, relaxation, visualization, and self-massage.
All of this is enriched with the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda, which I study in depth to offer an even more complete embrace of the soul — and a deeper form of self-care.
If you’d like to know more about me, this is my personal story — a glimpse into the unconventional path I’ve chosen to follow!
Nearly nineteen years ago, when I first began dancing North African styles, I was living there — in the heart of magical North Africa, in Tunisia.
Even today, when I wander through the narrow zouks of the Medina — the old quarter of the capital — I can still hear the footsteps of the young woman I was then, rushing back to her student dormitory. To that hidden, protected, enchanted space where my Tunisian classmates and friends would gather — singing, dancing, cooking, laughing. And I was welcomed into their world.
Night after night we came together, sharing stories and laughter. With my first North African dance teacher, Hayet, we danced and danced and danced.
The desert opened something even deeper within me — a profound sense of the ancient wisdom embedded in the dances of those lands.
There, I encountered Islamic mystics and healers who offered me a completely different vision of dance — as ritual, as healing, as purification.
I knew, even then, that someday this would be my path.
Later, back in Bulgaria, I began teaching Arabic and North African dances and performing on stage. Like many of my peers around the world, I followed the familiar path: choreography, seminars, perfecting technique, collecting dazzling costumes, performing beautifully polished dances.
But the feeling I had once received from the desert — that sense of ancient, grounded wisdom — stayed with me, quietly rooted within.
As I created performances filled with soul and technical excellence, something else within me began to stir. A quiet longing — not for the stage, not for the precision of movement, but for something more…
I began to teach not only technique, but the history, symbolism, and later even the therapeutic power of Middle Eastern dance.
Even back in 2007, when I founded Alima, Bulgaria’s first school for Arabic dance, I already sensed that the stage and technique would only be a small part of the journey I was meant to take.
Then came my doctoral dissertation. I started writing with the intent to explore history, symbolism, classifications, and traditional dance rituals and customs in Egypt and Morocco — the focus of my research.
But the first deep inner conflict appeared when I realized how much Western artists had altered the authentic Arabic dance — and how local performers had accepted those changes.
Suddenly, I no longer felt comfortable wearing the two-piece costume with exposed midriff and arms — a Hollywood-imposed image.
As I delved into the symbolism and cultural context of the dance, I came to see that I was doing what many women in the West had unknowingly done: performing something exotic and beautiful without a deep understanding of what it truly expresses.
While writing, I became immersed in many new dimensions:
— the ritual of henna painting and its deep significance in Arab-Muslim societies
— the music and instruments
— the rich symbolism of jewelry and dance accessories.
All of this began to replace my earlier thirst for stage lights and endless choreographed rehearsals.
I finally arrived at my truth in dance: improvisation.
That, after all, is at the very heart of traditional Arabic dance — a living, symbolic improvisation shaped by the occasion and the energy of the moment.
At the same time, I longed to experiment — blending styles, cultures, and music from all over the world. Not only Arabic elements, but also Indian, African, even fragments of martial arts and ritual traditions.
And yet, my reverence for the source was so great that I refused to distort or disrespect the authenticity of what had been passed down.
So, I stepped away from Middle Eastern and North African dance for a while, and immersed myself in a Western style rooted in Arabic dance: Tribal Fusion.
In it, I could freely mix styles — Arabic, Indian, African — and add movement from martial arts, sacred rituals, and dance cultures from across the globe.
My dance grew more symbolic, more inward. It reached into the depths of my heart and soul — and it stirred the same hidden emotions in others.
At some point, I realized I was no longer simply dancing — I was performing a ritual.
This awakening coincided with the birth of my second son, which also brought a wave of health challenges. I transformed all of them — through dance.
And that’s how my spiritual dance practice, “Dance, Love, Fly, Create!”, was born.
The stage no longer called to me as it once had. Instead, another kind of presence began to emerge — one of energy work, inner balance, and harmony, all through Arabic dance movements.
I began to unite the teachings of yoga and Far Eastern practices about the body’s energy centers with the most authentic gestures of Arabic dance.
I discovered just how healing and recharging these movements could be — especially when performed meditatively, with full awareness, and without rigid technique.
Today, I teach dance individually only to those who seek more than choreography and steps.
For me, dance is improvisation. It’s fire. It’s a gentle caress of the soul — both mine and the soul of the one before me.
I now focus primarily on my dance-energy practices — offering a path to harmony and connection between body and spirit.
I create intimate performance-rituals for small audiences — more like energetic transmissions than shows.
I share my videos online and offer lessons for those who live far away but wish to enter my East — wherever in the world they may be.
