Hayat Gaamouche: Dancing Her Life to Reinvent It

met Hayat Gaamouche about ten years ago when we were both working at a company in the beauty sector. Lively, radiant, perfectly at ease in an environment where you had to prove your worth every day. An almost Darwinian culture where only those who kept up the pace stayed standing. Nothing gave me a hint that behind this mastery was brewing a turning point, an inner movement that would lead her to leave a well-trodden path and return to her first passion: dance.

Today, she supports women through their professional or more personal transitions by helping them reclaim a space where the body speaks the truth. And it’s precisely this journey that I wanted to explore with her.

Welcome to Chemin de traverse, the Evoluxis podcast where we explore the art of building a career differently.

Nathalie: Hello Hayat, thank you for being with us.
Hayat: Hello Nathalie, thank you, it’s such a pleasure to see you again.

Nathalie: Could you introduce yourself in a few words?
Hayat: Yes, as you mentioned, introducing myself in a few words… I am a woman who dances. I would say that sums up who I am. I accompany women in expressing themselves personally and authentically, both in group workshops and individually when they need to work on a specific aspect of their body. That’s it.

Nathalie: But tell me, when I met you, you were in a completely different dynamic. When did you realize your professional life no longer suited you?
Hayat: I studied science in biology, focused on phytotherapy and wellness. I then spent a few years in this field internationally, working in Italy, Belgium, and Luxembourg, developing the French market for dietary supplements and brands in the mid-2000s. I’ve always been a bit hyperactive and get bored when I’ve explored everything. At that time, I was in the south of France and moved to Paris to join my best friend, who said, “Come to Paris, it’s even better.” So I moved to Paris at 27. I had already worked three years in the wellness sector and then resumed studies in communications, sending my CV without a very defined career path. A beauty company hired me, and that’s where we met. I stayed five years, and during that time—the transition from my twenties to thirties—I gradually realized I had explored Parisian life, which was dynamic but exhausting: métro-boulot-dodo.

I had a great job, well-paid, a lovely apartment, friends, a full life—I had nothing to complain about. The warning came from my body. I started feeling a bit sad inside. I went to work less and less enthusiastically and had pain in my body, especially my back. It was as if somewhere in me, there was an alert. I knew I was flirting with burnout. I asked to leave the company, with which I had collaborated very well, and was allowed to do so via a mutual agreement, explaining I had a project that would nourish me internally. That’s really the word. It was a beautiful phase of my life. I regret nothing. And truly, when the body speaks, you can’t lie to yourself—physical pain cannot be ignored.

Nathalie: How did you transition from working in communications to dance?
Hayat: I think it was a reminder of an activity I’d done when I was younger, resurfacing when my barriers were lowered, when I was vulnerable, questioning myself. I realized, “I’m in a situation I dreamed of.” Everyone else thought everything was fine: I was earning a living, independent. But there was an inner conflict. And at that moment, something almost innocent tapped at the door.

Even before leaving my job, I had a small reminder: it would be nice to take up dance again. Two years before leaving, I looked for dance workshops, not knowing exactly what I wanted. I tried Indian dance, a bit of oriental dance, some modern jazz. One day, I realized that each class left little room for true self-expression. I felt something missing, life dimmed. I kept searching until I stumbled upon biodynamic dance workshops. I started training with Raphaël Bailey, who still teaches an approach based on the movement of the living. I knew dance helped me, and when I left the company, I also wanted to return to my first loves: plants, beauty, wellness.

It was connected to my origins. My father was a gardener. I was born in Morocco; my grandparents were farmers, very connected to nature. The value of nature, the earth, the plants, was part of my DNA. At that time, it felt almost like survival. In France, I felt trapped, and the only way out was to return to where I came from, to feel truly alive.

My first trip back was with my sister over ten years ago. I felt alive, like a plant replanted in its soil. Suddenly, my face lit up, I ate better, I felt like I had returned to a land that had chosen me to exist there.

Nathalie: A return to yourself.
Hayat: Yes, exactly. A reconciliation. When we arrived in France at seven, I didn’t speak French and had to adapt intensely to find my place. I wanted to become French and put aside my origins and culture. Now I am proud of being Moroccan and oriental, but as a teenager, I just wanted to blend in. This return to Morocco was essential, and it was facilitated by returning to an art that reconnects us to our inner self. Dance is a path through the body and cannot lie.

So I traveled with a guide, exploring Morocco with the focus on aromatic and medicinal plants.

Nathalie: And how did your surroundings react?
Hayat: It was scary. Even my Moroccan family worried I was traveling alone as a woman. Friends advised me to consider a skills assessment. But the only voice to truly listen to was my inner voice; otherwise, it would scream louder and possibly stop me completely. I was fortunate to have a kind of innocent faith that I would do it and see what happens.

I discovered women’s cooperatives, which inspired me to start LavieZoe in 2016, a natural, fair-trade cosmetic brand based on simple, ancestral recipes: argan oil, rose essential oil, pure floral water—products without preservatives, made in collaboration with small cooperatives providing the ingredients.

Nathalie: What pushed you to become an entrepreneur?
Hayat: I had the regulatory, marketing, and product development knowledge to leverage my previous experience while giving my life more meaning. Even before finishing my dance training, I launched my brand, first testing products with friends in my dance workshops—they were my guinea pigs.

Eventually, dance became my main activity. I initially supported mixed groups but have focused solely on women’s bodies for the last four years. Today, it’s my main work. The dance took over naturally.

Nathalie: Tell me about your approach to dance.
Hayat: My approach is seasonal, connecting participants to nature’s cycles. It’s intergenerational: women aged 20–75, fostering harmony. The magic emerges from within.

Nathalie: You must have witnessed transformations.
Hayat: Absolutely. Women of all ages reconnect with themselves, sometimes after leaving work, sometimes guided by the body calling for change. Dance cannot be faked; it serves our identity, helping the living inside us find its path.

Nathalie: What would you say to someone in transition?
Hayat: Take your time. Don’t rush to decide or reassure yourself by finding something else. Ask yourself: if you had no constraints, what would bring you joy? Start small: a bath, reading a book, writing down your feelings. Listen to your inner self. Explore your earliest affinities from childhood—they reveal treasures to nurture. Respect the living within you, like trees and flowers.

Nathalie: How can people join your workshops?
Hayat: I’m in central Lyon, workshops on the Presqu’île. All info: studiobiodynamique.com. The link with Morocco and the rose is alive, now expressed through retreats for rose-picking and desert walks.

Nathalie: Wow, wonderful program. Thank you so much, Hayat, for sharing your journey.
Hayat: My pleasure, Nathalie.