Get the $30 Secret to Belly Dance Success

Are you frustrated with your dance progress? Is your creativity on the down swing? Do you have big goals that never seem to get any closer to reality no matter how much work you put in? Maybe you are like I was. Maybe you are limited by techniques that can only get you so far. [...]

Go With Your Flow

If you look at movies or read biographies based on the lives of famous entertainers, one thing that stands out is that they all are compelled to perform and are true to who they are. Ray Charles was a good performer when he copied other people’s style. People definitely appreciated his talent, but he didn’t [...]

Don’t Call it Belly Dance

There seems to be a lot of merging of adult entertainment styles with belly dance these days. Burlesque and pole dancing are popular variations. I don’t have any problem with that, but don’t call it belly dance. This isn’t an argument about whether or not each dance is a legitimate art form. This isn’t a [...]

Why You Should Do Dance Assessments?

If you’ve checked out my book Beyond Moves, Combos and Choreography, you know that I am a fan of dance assessments. If you don’t know why you should do dance assessments, read on! Studies show that people and organization that utilize assessments have many advantages:   * Improved performance (results) * Improved learning (insight) * [...]

A Comparison of Live and Videotaped Belly Dance Competition

Competition is a great way to push the limits of your ability, expand creativity, get unbiased feedback on what you are doing well and not so well, get recognition for your talent, and get support from a community of people who are interested in the same thing. With the rise of technology, it’s no wonder [...]

Bullying in Belly Dance

Earlier this year Jezebel.com posted an article posted an article entitled Margaret Cho Rightfully Loses her Shit. The article recaps that a facebook poster said that Cho lost a fan because the fan couldn’t condone Cho’s language. Cho explained that she didn’t like losing fans, but if you grow up being told that you are [...]

Will Work For… Nothing? No, Thanks.

I am not sure if some people don’t understand what we do, don’t appreciate it, or just don’t get it, but when I get proposals to work for nothing, I just have to say no. We’ll Give You Dinner Sometimes it’s a “will work for food” type offer. I’m not trying to be hard, but [...]

Hey, Teachers! Don’t Be Stingy.

I recently attended a non-dance class where the teacher was obviously avoiding direct questions to keep from giving away “trade secrets.” Now I ask you, why would you teach a belly dance class when you have no intention of sharing what the students need to be the best that they can be? I just don’t [...]

Are We Losing Our Essence to the Mainstream?

This article was published in 2004 When I first started belly dancing nine years ago, there weren’t many places to find costumes. Workshops were a rare and special treat. Videos were available but high priced. Shows were virtually non-existent and the audience was almost solely populated by other dancers. Most people I knew had never [...]

How To Get The Most From Your Belly Dance Classes

When I started dancing, I didn’t have the slightest clue of how to get the most of my dance classes because I started as an adult. I didn’t grow up with a background of classical dance where you did this, then that, and took several classes per week and were expected to practice several hours [...]