Vanja came to Florida with her family from former Yugoslavia where she spent her childhood living through a civil war that brought her family much grief and hardship. She went through numerous near-death experiences that have altered her perception of life forever. These incidences have helped her become the person she is today – full of energy and life… appreciative of every opportunity that comes her way.
After coming to Florida in 1997, Vanja had to adapt to a completely different way of life, a new culture, and a new language. As a sophomore in Lyman High School Vanja quickly integrated into the student population where she rapidly flourished and excelled in her academics and extracurricular activities. She was a 4.0 student and an officer in numerous clubs, including,Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Student Marketing Association (DECA), French Club, Spanish Club, National Honor Society, Psychological Club, etc. She was also the recipient of a prestigious Disney’s Dreamer and Doer Award. Even tough English was her second language Vanja managed to graduate from Lyman High School in the top 10% of her class.
Vanja furthered her education at the University of Central Florida where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with a bachelor’s degree in Social Science Education and with a minor inPsychology. While working on her bachelor’s degree, Vanja devoted herself to helping the international community at her university. She was Vice-President and Special Event Coordinator of the International Student Association. These roles enabled her to bring a great deal of educational events to the University of Central Florida. These events provided local students with opportunities to learn more about cultures, fashions, and ways of life in countries from all over the world. Vanja even started an organization of her own, the International Explorers of Florida (IEF). IEF enabled international students to easier acclimate to life in America.
After finishing her bachelor’s degree, Vanja was accepted into the honors MBA program at the University of Central Florida. Within a year she obtained her Masters degree in Business Administration.
While pursuing her academic endeavors, Vanja stumbled upon something that completely changed her life. While visiting a local restaurant she witnessed a Belly dancing performance and she immediately fell in love with this exotic dance from. Vanja took a Belly Dancing course at the Seminole Community College after which she joined the Shimmy Knights, a UCF student organization dedicated to preserving and practicing the art of Belly Dance. Ever since then she has been devotedly working on perfecting her craft. She has extensive training in traditional belly dance, cabaret belly dance, and bollywood. Captivated by these amazing dance forms, Vanja finds nothing more rewarding than performing for live audiences.
Hire Vanja for your next event
- Weddings
- Bridal showers
- Birthday parties
- Baby showers
- Corporate events
- Bachelorette parties
- Girls night in
- Surprise parties
- Anniversary Parties
- Retirement parties
- Themed parties