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How To Tame Your Backstage Nerves and Find Your Inner Bellydancing Superhero

How To Tame Your Backstage Nerves and Find Your Inner Bellydancing Superhero

3 more dancers and you’re on. Your stomach is churning and sweat is running down the inside of your arms before you have even started dancing. Not feeling like thisTamin? Backstage nerves are no fun and I’m pretty sure every dancer has experienced them at some time. Even if you are an experienced dancer and are used to being calm, cool and collected in front your audience, if you find yourself in a new situation where […]

Making the Most of Your Belly Dance Music

Making the Most of Your Belly Dance Music

Around this time of year, I get the urge to clean out things and get rid of what I no longer have use for. I literally spent 8 straight hours ripping my bedroom apart this week.  I even vacuumed under that bed – take that dust bunnies!  Not only did I clear my room of useless clutter that just got in the way, I found things I had long forgotten I owned or that I had […]

Let’s Get Specific: The Training Principle of Specificity and Belly Dance

Let’s Get Specific: The Training Principle of Specificity and Belly Dance

As serious dancers, we should always be looking to grow, expand and improve on our skills. Sometimes this means taking on new physical challenges in strength, balance, flexibility and maybe even endurance.  The key to success in training for these kinds of belly dance achievements is to define a clear path of how to get there. In situations like this, some thought to the specificity of your approach will make your efforts more effective and less […]

What Beginners Should Practice & Study Outside of Belly Dance Class

What Beginners Should Practice & Study Outside of Belly Dance Class

This is the latest installment in the occasional series, “Raks Me A Question” where I answer bellydancers’ questions about learning, teaching, performing or doing business in Bellydance Land. If you’ve got a dilemma, an obstacle you haven’t found your way around or a sticky situation and you’d like some advice – just send it in ! You may find your answer in the next installment of “Raks Me A Question”!   You’re new to belly dance […]

Stretch Yourself: Using the Right Stretch at the Right Time

Stretch Yourself: Using the Right Stretch at the Right Time

Stretching has become a bit controversial in bellydance classes. Should you stretch before class or after? Yes. You read that right – it depends on which kind of stretching you’re talking about. Let’s clear up some confusion about how and when to stretch for the best dance performance and flexibility gains. Dynamic Stretching Dynamic stretching takes you through a joint’s  normal range of motion with control. The range can start out small and gradually increase […]