Asena Onur Cakmak

About Asena Onur Cakmak

Asena is an Istanbul, Turkey-based belly dancer, choreographer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the late 1990s and 2000s for modernizing Turkish oriental dance and introducing it to international audiences.

Asena was born in Istanbul, Turkey. Her father was originally from Rize, and her mother was of Russian origin. Raised by her grandmother in Germany from infancy, she studied ballet for three years and returned to Turkey at the age of 15. She completed her high school education in tourism and later graduated from Marmara University's Tourism and Hotel Management Department. She also studied hotel management at Istanbul Bilgi University and received modeling and etiquette training at the Language and Culture Centre.

Asena began dancing professionally in 1995, initially performing on a television program hosted by Mustafa Topaloğlu . After a brief hiatus to complete her education, she returned to the stage in 1999. Her energetic performances and theatrical flair helped elevate oriental dance into Turkish mainstream media. She became known for performing at private events attended by international figures such as Bill Clinton, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, Mel Gibson, and Elizabeth Taylor.

She served as the vice president for oriental dance at the Turkish Dance Sports Federation until 2009 and is also a licensed kickboxer. In 2003, she survived a gunshot wound to her leg in an incident that garnered media attention