Alla Kushnir

Alla Kushnir became one of the most publicly recognisable Ukrainian Oriental dancers through both competition and television. She entered Oriental dance as a young adult and quickly achieved major international competition results. Her visibility grew substantially after reaching the finals of *Ukraine's Got Talent* and later participating in major Arab-world dance competitions. In 2014 she won the Egyptian television competition *Al Rakesa*, bringing her to a broad Arabic-speaking audience. Kushnir subsequently spent several years living and working in Egypt and developed a career across Cairo and other Middle Eastern entertainment markets. Her combination of competition technique, athletic stage presence and mainstream media visibility makes her one of the strongest examples of the globalisation of modern Raqs Sharqi.