Sometimes you just need an idea. Whether it’s something fresh to motivate you for a personal practice session, planning a class or something to spark a solution for a section of choreography. Those are good times to think out of the box. Having a few prompts on hand can help you get started. Let’s look at one and some ways you can use it. Prompt: Choose a shape and see how many ways you can express it. We […]
Recently I’ve been doing a lot of reading and research on practice techniques – both for my own personal practice and to better help my students achieve their dance goals. In my reading this week, I came across this description of an expert baseball hitter’s skills. It instantly resonated with me and I recognized the parallel in my own world: “These hitters have just a split second to decide whether to swing and, if so, where […]
I recently had the opportunity to interview Joana Saahirah, international performer and instructor. Joana’s dance career has taken her around the globe, including living and working in Egypt for 8 years, performing with her own orchestra. In this interview, we discuss the different views of Raqs Sharqi she has encountered, originality within the confines of a traditional dance style and more. Mahin: It’s a pleasure to be able to speak with you! You have […]
Bad people are out there – and some of them have their sights set on the the bellydance community. In particular, I’m talking about scam artists. Recently, I’ve seen a lot of people posting about this on Facebook, asking if a request for services they have received is legitimate. I have been getting these for so many years, I was really surprised that so many dancers had never seen or heard of it before. So […]
“Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage” is a collaboration by Sara Shrapnell, Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya. All of these women are experienced belly dance performers and bring their own voice and experience to the content. This is one of the most unique things about this particular book – and one of it’s strengths, in my opinion. Reading it is like attending a panel discussion on entering the pro bellydance track. […]