Bellydance Archives - Mahin's Bellydance Quickies

A Lesson from Twyla on Creating Dance and Keeping Secrets

Posted on February 1, 2022February 1, 2022 by Mahin Sciacca

New projects have opened up new ways of thinking about “bellydance” for me – and I am thoroughly enjoying exploring them. Here’s an example… I am currently (re)reading Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit – if you haven’t yet, I highly recommend it! In it, she discusses the importance of having a “spine” for your work – and the perils of sharing it openly. As I understand it, she sees the “spine” as the guiding idea in a dance’s creation, a sort of compass […]

Belly Dance Veils, Props & Zills – Belly Dance Spring Cleaning – Week 3

Posted on April 22, 2021April 22, 2021 by Mahin Sciacca

Welcome back to Spring Cleaning for Belly Dancers! We’re into week 3 with our veils, zills and props. This is the week we’ll be dealing with any swords, wings, palm flames and other bellydance “toys”! Let’s look at this week’s tasks: Gather and inspect your veils Get all your veils together and go over them one by one. Spread it out on a clean surface like a bed. Check it for any holes, snags or […]

Belly Dance Spring Cleaning – Week 1

Posted on April 1, 2021April 6, 2021 by Mahin Sciacca

Welcome to Spring Cleaning for Belly Dancers! Over the next 5 weeks, we’ll be “freshening up” our dance life together. Each week we’ll focus on a different area with a short list of tasks to tidy up and refresh your dance wardrobe, makeup, jewelry, accessories and even your digital dance life. Think of it as KonMari meets bellydance! Take it one step at a time – you don’t have to do everything at once! If […]

How To Get (& Retain) The Most From Your Bellydance Classes… At Any Level

Posted on April 24, 2020April 24, 2020 by Mahin Sciacca

A typical question I get from beginner bellydance students is how they can remember what they learned in class from week to week. Retaining and building movement vocabulary is a big part of the beginner phase. But no matter what level you are – beginner to pro – we all know we never stop learning, so let’s look at this question more broadly. How can we effectively retain important points from any bellydance learning experience? […]

Let’s Break It Down…

Posted on July 14, 2019July 4, 2019 by Mahin Sciacca

It’s been a while since I did the original breakdown of the 3/4 “on the up” walking shimmy – 2010 to be exact! I like to think I’m a better teacher with better explanations than I was 9 years ago, so I decided to redo this in demand topic! This week, I’ll break it all down, including the top things I see students have trouble with… and how to fix them! Let’s get under the […]