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Tough it out or sit out? Your Belly Dance Practice vs Cold & Flu Season

Tough it out or sit out? Your Belly Dance Practice vs Cold & Flu Season

It’s that time of year – you are probably surrounded on all sides by sneezing, coughing people! Dancing and exercise in general help strengthen your immune system, along with other healthy habits  like eating well and getting enough sleep. Still, you may find that you’ve fallen victim to the germ attack. It’s frustrating to have started the year on a roll with consistent dance practice, regular class attendance and a good supplemental exercise routine to […]

Belly Dance Backstage Etiquette: Dos and Don'ts for Sharing the Dressing Room

Belly Dance Backstage Etiquette: Dos and Don'ts for Sharing the Dressing Room

Last week there was  a pretty lively belly dance discussion on Saqra Raybuck’s Facebook page  regarding how to be a considerate dressing room companion.  As bellydancers, we rarely have spacious, luxurious, star-quality dressing spaces. The reality is usually a crowded room with  suitcases on the floor, a few mirrors and a table – if you’re lucky – and poor lighting. Most of the contributors to the discussion were experienced professionals – and among us, we had […]

Finding Your Sweet Spot: Tips for More Effective Belly Dance Drilling

Finding Your Sweet Spot: Tips for More Effective Belly Dance Drilling

We all love progress – it’s exciting to finally  master a new move or layer we’ve been working on . As an instructor, I am genuinely as excited as my students when I see them solidify new skills. Getting there is the hard part, and the decisions we make about how we drill and practice can either help us hinder us along the way. The key is to practice in your “sweet spot.” Every skill […]

Filtering Feedback and Harnessing Its True Value

Filtering Feedback and Harnessing Its True Value

As performers and belly dancers, we pour a lot into a performance – time, energy, sweat, When the time comes, we put it out for all to see and then comes the last phase, evaluation. It’s an important one and we lose a valuable tool for improvement if we don’t process it for all it’s worth and harness its true value. There’s self-evaluation and then there’s the less formal evaluation we get from others in […]

Mind Over Muscle

Mind Over Muscle

Life can be hectic. Multitasking seems like the new normal. We listen to audiobooks in the car, check email while waiting in line at the grocery store and maybe you even read on the elliptical machine or watch a movie while you’re working out. It may seem like these productive moments are in your best interest, but when it comes to your physical training, that may not be the case – especially if you are […]