Dorien van de Belt has been interested and active in international folk dancing since a very young age. As a kid she learned her first dances during the weekend camps of Imago, a youth organization originating from the AJC, the Labour Youth Movement in the Netherlands. In her teens she joined her mother’s and sister’s folk dance group.

Dorien studied mechanical engineering at the ‘Technical University Twente’ where she joined the International Folk Dance Association Agapo. After graduating, Dorien continued with a two year training program for folk dance teaching / dance instruction developing personal dance skills in Romanian, Bulgarian, Armenian, Russian, Dutch and American dance styles. She found a post-doc position in the UK where she was combine work (biomechanics) and passion (dance) again: a project involving developing software for the animation of dance and joined the London folk dance scene.

Currently she is a popular dance teacher among international dance groups in the region around Enschede and is regularly invited for workshops. Therefore she made the choice not to specialize in one style but to appreciate multiple styles. She is really looking forward to teaching some of her favourite dances at the DCFF.