Category: Belly dance

My friend and belly dance student Maria, who also has a blog, sometimes wants to write about the same things I do about what happens on Wednesday nights at dance class. She was going to take a photo of the mysterious shoe, then saw I already wrote about it.

Last Wednesday, we had such an incredible, spontaneous moment just before our zilling drill practice that left everyone like, “wow, where did that come from?” Maria beat me to writing about that moment, so rather than rewrite the event; she tells the story brilliantly. 

You must read her post before you continue reading mine. The link to her blog post, “He had it coming.”

While discussing positive self-image, I thought about how much “hate talking” I do to myself about not having a size six body anymore. It’s still a hurdle to overcome and a big one for me, but I accept it more each day.

When Maria spoke up and told everyone about her father calling her mother every day and asking if she did her sit-ups, I stopped looking for a zilling song and said with lots of drama, “some guys just can’t hold their arsenic!”

That’s when Kathleen and I started singing the song “He had it coming” from the Broadway show Chicago. While driving home that night, I was smiling because it was such a great moment and interaction between Kathleen and me. 

Many years ago, before my mother had her stroke, my belly dance group was having our annual fundraiser, a belly dance show with not only all of us but many other dancers from VT and other nearby states. 

I asked my mother if she was coming to the show, I knew the answer would be no, but I always invited her anyway. 

The few times she did come to gigs in Bennington over the years, she came and slept through one set and left. She never came to watch me cheer at games and only came to the first night of our senior play, while almost everyone else’s parents came all three nights. It was as if she had lost all interest in me and the things I was good at.

When I was little, before she started treating me like Cinderella when I was nine, she would be excited to get me into my two costumes and do my hair and makeup for my dance recitals.

I took solo dance lessons and performed solo as well. She strutted around like a proud peacock after the recitals and always had a bouquet of flowers for me.

Back to that belly dance show, my mother walked in ten minutes before the show started. She walked up to the circle of dancers I was chatting with. 

I said, “Oh good, you changed your mind!” She replied, “No, I’m going to bingo next door and wanted to see what you looked like.” Disappointed, I said, “Oh, okay.”

Before she left, she told me, “By the way, you should wear that color lipstick more often; it doesn’t make your teeth look so yellow.” I thought,” lady, you are such a bitch! Are you even fucking kidding me right now?”

She said goodbye, turned on her heel and walked next door to bingo. I was furious and embarrassed she said this in front of my fellow dancers.

I said something like, “I can’t fucking believe she just said that! Oh, wait, yea, I can.” It was perfect timing for her to get a jab in since the show started in five minutes. 

I had five minutes to get my shit together before turning into a Sahidi Sister and dancing, the show’s opening. Then I had to turn into DJ Julz since I ran the music for the show and kept everything on schedule.

That’s my relationship in a nutshell with my mother. The moment was so awkward for everyone in the circle, and it affected my dance sisters about to perform with me. It is a painful memory for me and still makes me enraged.

When I thought about how angry my mother made me that night after reading Maria’s blog, I sang the Cell Block Tango song again but dedicated it to my mother.

“Some women just can’t hold their arsenic! She had it coming; she had it coming, she only had herself to blame. If you’d a been there, if you’d have seen it, I’m sure you would have done the same.”

When I read Maria’s blog post, when I got to the part about Kathleen and me standing next to a cauldron, I instantly had a soul memory from a past life with Kathleen; when we were, are you ready for it? Witches.

I mentioned in my series, “My gifts,” I was a witch in many lifetimes and promised I wouldn’t be in this lifetime. I also knew Kathleen and I had been together before in other lifetimes; I just didn’t know when, where, or what. Now I know one time, at least.

Because of Maria’s blog post, I immediately knew she was with Kathleen and me in that lifetime since what she saw was a soul memory watching us. Interestingly, all the people we have meaningful relationships with, good or bad, are part of our soul cluster.

We keep coming back with our soul cluster members lifetime after lifetime, helping each other learn our soul’s lessons. Some people are there to test us and try to make us fail, some hurt us because we deserve it from a lesson we didn’t learn, some push us along, and others help us succeed with our lesson.

A few weeks ago, during a journey, a beautiful female spirit guide told me I was here to help my mother succeed in a lesson, but we all know how that ended. I told her, “that’s too bad since I was hurt and abused for nothing then.” She immediately told me, “it was a business contract and not to take it personally.” Easier said than done, beautiful spirit guide.

I sent Maria’s blog post to Kathleen, and when we spoke on the phone, she thanked me for sending it. After I told her about being witches together a very long time ago, she laughed. We kidded that the next time someone asks us how long we know each other, we can legitimately say for centuries! Lol.

Thanks, Maria, for your blog post; it had a much more significant impact on me than I thought when I first started reading it. I told Maria a while back I want to dance with her around a bonfire, which she and Jon always have during the full moon; now I know we probably have before!

I walked into the Old Mill building on Wednesday afternoon and laughed while gasping, “shoe is gone!”

I wrote a piece a couple of weeks ago titled The Mysterious Black Shoe, which I heard from many people that they had never heard of hidden shoes before and how interesting it was. 

Before I started my dance class, we discussed the shoe; funny enough, everyone else noticed it was gone. 

That being said, it wasn’t the case of who lost the shoe; it was about what the lost shoe meant to the people who noticed it or “found” it. 

For me, it was that I found a  new idea and took a big step in my writing career. 

For a couple of my dance sisters, it also had different meanings, indicating new paths for them to follow. 

So is that in the lost shoe saga? Maybe or maybe not; only time will tell. 

I have a few food posts to write; hopefully, I can do it in the next few days. Time is going by faster and faster, and there aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I wish to.

We’ve all seen a single shoe on the side of a highway or maybe in a parking lot. Before I wrote this piece, I had no idea how big a phenomenon a single shoe left behind is.

People have been finding”concealed shoes” for centuries in Europe. People have very different thoughts regarding concealed shoes, depending on who you talk to. 

Different countries and religious beliefs come into play when discussing concealed shoes. Concealed shoes are found in the walls of castles, churches, chapels, homes, and other buildings. 

Homeowners here in the states renovating their homes are also finding a single shoe in their walls or hidden in basements. 

These shoes may not always be concealed but hidden. Some are found up on shelves or windowsills right there in the open. But why? Some people believe on a spiritual level that losing a shoe is good luck for several reasons.

The first reason is protection. Shoes protect the feet from harm, cold or hot, and bug bites. Shoes make walking easier in rough terrain. Some say that leaving a shoe in a building or home protects it or the people who live there.

Losing a shoe can represent freedom. Freedom to walk on a new path in life or away from something negative. Some people think losing a shoe is a sign to travel or a new opportunity is waiting. 

Others believe losing a shoe can be a bad omen or not being fully in control of one’s life or what path to take. It may also mean you cannot handle a problem you face.

A person who loses a shoe may have been in danger or been running away from a crime scene. There have been many lost shoes found at crime scenes. Missing shoes became clues that later lead to the capture of many criminals and murders.

Our belly dance space is in an old mill building in Bennington, VT, which now houses many businesses. I love people are rehabbing old buildings instead of leaving them empty and eventually becoming eye sores.

Businesses such as gyms, doctor’s offices, retail businesses, creative spaces, and business offices. The building is in rough shape and not necessarily nice in the hallways and stairwells. 

The hallways and stairs are dark and dingy; the public bathroom is literally a shit hole. The business owners renovate their rented spaces to fit their needs. We have two gorgeous new bathrooms in the space where we dance, called Time for Yourself.

In true Irish fashion, telling a long story before the story, the point of my post, in late November, Kathleen and I noticed a black high heel shoe at the entrance of the Mill building at the bottom of the staircase. 

“Kathleen said, “There must have been a wild party; someone lost their shoe.” I replied, “No if it were a wild party, there would be a pair of panties too.” “True,” Kathleen agreed. Lol.

We saw the shoe every week, then right before Christmas, it disappeared. I thought someone must have finally found their shoe. Kathleen did too, but we never discussed it.

Yesterday, we both gasped, “The shoe is back!” It was proudly displayed on a wooden box at the bottom of the staircase. 

Kathleen shared with me her theory of the black shoe.”It’s a signal for something or someone.” “You mean like, ‘come up and see me sometime,’ as May West said. “Could be,” Kathleen said. 

Then I started thinking of different scenarios of why the shoe was there in the first place. It could have fallen out of someone’s gym bag. That’s a good guess. 

Many people come straight from work to the gym, but after living in Vermont for 30+ years, I know that hardly anyone wears high heels to work. Even getting dressed up super fancy, requiring high heel shoes, is a rarity. Medium heels, yes, those are doable.

I found out quickly when we moved here that the sidewalks and parking lots are unlike in metropolitan areas; if you wear high heels, you are sure to break your neck. Seriously.

Another far fetched theory, it could be a one-legged woman or drag queen needed a shoe for a Christmas party. It was spotted by a friend who took it. The one-legged person wore it to a party; their friend returned it afterward. That’s probably unlikely, so back to Kathleen’s idea of the shoe being a signal. 

I picked up the shoe last night as we left after dance class. It was a Jessica Simpson brand shoe in size 7 and in worse condition than it looked from far away.  A size 7 meant a one-legged drag queen didn’t borrow it, that’s for sure.

I hope I am not offending anyone who has only one leg. Please forgive me, I don’t mean it to be hurtful, but it’s part of the investigation and included in the files.

After further inspecting the shoe in question, I saw a mysterious piece of painted paper inside the shoe which looked like a piece of bacon to me. It was cut out and not torn, and why was it in the shoe?

When I showed it to Kathleen and Emily, they agreed it definitely didn’t look like bacon. Is the bacon paper another signal for something? Is it a clue? The bacon was not in the shoe before it vanished.

Will we ever find out the meaning of the black shoe? Do we care? Hell yeah! It’s winter in Vermont, so playing Scooby Doo by solving a mystery passes the time and is entertaining.

My last theory is since I can feel the building is haunted, an old mill ghost is screwing around and having fun with the shoe, making a strange noise that sounds like a peg-legged pirate. Ghosts love pulling pranks like this! 

In closing, I don’t think it is a lost shoe anymore since it vanished and reappeared. What do you think? Scooby dooby doo! 🧐

No, magic isn’t one of my spiritual or supernatural gifts; however, I’ve always been a big fan of magicians. I loved a magic kit I had when I was a little kid.

One of my close friends and dance bestie, Bethany, moved to North Carolina 5 years ago. I was sad when she left, but I knew it was the right decision for her. 

We danced at so many gigs together and went to many events, all of which we took selfies of beforehand. Our selfies always came out great with my selfie technique, not overthinking it and just snapping the photo in less than 3 seconds.

Dance just wasn’t the same for a while. Kathleen and I continue to dance in our dwindling professional troupe, The Sahidi Sisters, as a duet which is fun, but not as fun as a trio, quartet, or when we had 7 Sahidi Sisters. 

Bethany is now wrapping up a year-long cross-country adventure and was able to pass through VT on the final leg of her trip. 

I was so excited when I found out she could visit and be able to come on Wednesday, our belly dance day. I quickly set up our guest room and started planning what food I would make. It’s what I do. Lol.

Kathleen, Bethany, and I danced together for 13 years, twice a week, for thousands of hours. We danced very tight, meaning you wouldn’t believe it was improv, and we could read each other’s minds when it came to dancing.

After Bethany arrived, we had a quick bowl of pasta fagioli and went to meet Kathleen at the dance studio. 

Bethany told us she was rusty since she hadn’t danced our style for so many years and didn’t dance during covid or her year-long adventure.

I put on a music set, and bam! Magic. Not just magic, but fucking magic. It was as if no time had passed. We were a tight trio again, so tight we could have performed right there and then seamlessly. 

The three of us locked into each other’s energy and were able to read each other’s minds again. It was so familiar, honestly, as though no time had passed—the magical power of music and dance. 

I know music is magic since it can bring back memories to dementia patients and muscle memory from activities such as dance and other movements. 

Bethany stayed and danced with our students during our classes, some of whom she danced with for 10 years. Again, as though no time had passed. She got to dance with students who had joined us since she left. 

Yesterday, we hung out all day and just chatted. We ate a lot of yummy food and drank lots of red wine. 

Marty, Bethany, and I watched a live arena production of Jesus Christ Superstar that was filmed 10 years ago in England but seemed like it was filmed last week. It was fantastic with such a talented cast. We all enjoyed it; we are all big musical theater fans.

Bethany’s visit was easy since I didn’t have to fret about her coming since she’s been here so many times before. Otto and Klausie may have remembered her since they loved her so much, taking turns cuddling with her.

They say true friends are the ones where you can pick up right where you left off, even after not seeing or talking to each other for long periods. They are right!

She has one more week of her long journey then it’s back to North Carolina for her. We promised each other we wouldn’t wait 5 years to see or dance with each other again. ☺️

It did feel great playing hooky yesterday, but today it was back to work, making deliveries and packing for the Troy Farmers Market tomorrow. 

Happy Friday, guys! Enjoy your weekend! Safe travels, Bethany! 😚

Last night, Callie, Emily, Trish, Maria, and I performed at the Bennington Museum, celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the North Bennington Art Park. 

This was Maria and Trish’s first real performance. They both danced at a few farmers’ market gigs where people only walk by or watch for a minute or two and return to buying their produce and baked goods. 

Dancing at a farmers market isn’t a “feel good” gig because people don’t expect to see belly dancers, and many are prudes who look away as they walk by. It’s not like we are strippers, for fucks sake! 

Maria’s husband and my writing mentor, Jon Katz, attended the performance and was gracious enough to take photos and videos of us. 

Jon, who is an award-winning writer, author, and photographer, did a fabulous job describing the event in his blog Bedlam Farm Journal. Click on the link to read what Jon had to say and see video clips and photos. I just saw Jon wrote a second blog post about the gig; here is the link to that one.

My student Maria, an artist and blogger, wrote about her first performance experience on her blog Full Moon Fiber Art. You can click on her link to read about it and see some photos. 

This was our first performance in over 3 years, and it felt great. I can’t remember when we have ever had such a fun and smooth performance. The setup was easy, the dancing was seamless even though it was improv, and the audience was fantastic and appreciated what we were doing! Yay!

When we rehearsed for this gig, we danced to the music and discussed how we would start and end the two sets, but we left everything else up in the air, the beauty of dancing improv. 

We all danced “in” that moment in time and were present. We were the vessels of the music, but most importantly, we had so much fun together! 

We all knew we needed to remember to smile while we were performing, but after watching the video clips, the smiles were real and not phony ones pasted on our faces. 

My students have improved so much in the last 2 years; their technique is getting better every week. They are dancing tighter together and learning to DANCE; not just link moves together; there is a huge difference. 

I was so relaxed at the gig, something that never happens. It felt like it was everyone’s gig, and each dancer took responsibility for it, not me being the mother hen like I needed to be in the past. We were in sync, not just while dancing but as a whole.

I am incredibly proud of everyone; the buttons are popping on my jacket, which is an old-fashioned saying. I smile when I think of the fun we had and how it really felt like we emerged, coming out from under the big black covid cloud and stepping into the bright sunshine. ☀️

I am truly blessed with my abilities to teach and dance with such a wonderful group of women, my dance sisters. We all have the performing bug now; we need to find more gigs to dance at; that was the only sad part of the night when I realized we don’t have another one lined up. Hint, hint…

Happy Friday, everyone! Cheers!

We just got done with production around 11:30 am; we kicked ass. I wanted to get it done early in the day, so I could relax, eat and start getting ready for our gig tonight at the Bennington Museum.

Our dance troupe hasn’t danced publically in three years. When the museum asked if we wanted to perform at the 25th-anniversary celebration for the North Bennington Art Park, an event we have danced at many times before, we said yes immediately.

I will be dancing with four other dancers in two 15-minute sets which is a generous amount of performance time. We’ve done shows where we drove two hours to get there for a five-minute time slot. That’s showbiz for you; you take what you can get.

Two of our dancers are experienced performers, and two are new to performing. We are performing as a multi-level troupe and our number one goal tonight is to enjoy ourselves while dancing together and having fun. Period.

Performing shows true dedication since it takes a long time to get ready for a gig. I am out of practice, so I expect it will take me between 2-3 hours to do my hair, make-up, costuming, and jewelry. I have to load the sound equipment in the car, make sure my phone is charged, and have lots of water with me.

When everything is done, I take my traditional selfie before the gig; then, I am off to see where we are dancing, set up our sound system, and do a sound check—all things I’ve done a million times.

I’m not nervous about performing; it’s in my blood which I have found out since my biological father was a performer as well; not a belly dancer, though. Lol.

All week I’ve taken small snippets of time and got out everything I am wearing, and I practiced doing my hair and make-up. I liked how my hair came out, but I hated the make-up since I tried something new.

This was not a good look for me; the super dark eye shadow and liner made my eyes look like slits, and did not open them up the way I wanted. So it’s back to what has worked for me for the last 19 years of performing. Why mess with what works?

For lunch, I will have my traditional good luck meal that I ate for 15 years before any gig; a bowl of pasta with marinara sauce, grated parmesan, and a dollop of ricotta cheese. This meal holds me over until I get home and gives me energy; plus, it’s one of my favorite meals.

Wish us luck; I can’t wait to report how well the gig went, and hopefully, I will have some photos that other people take and possibly a video if we can find someone to do it.

I love teaching *ATS® belly dance every week, but last night’s class was even more fun and inspiring. Nothing springs everyone back into performance mode as a real gig on the calendar for late August. We haven’t performed in public since October 2019.

Our dance troupe could keep dancing during the pandemic with the help of videos I made and Kathleen and Emily holding zoom classes. 

We all came back to dancing in person last April. It was interesting that everyone improved over the pandemic despite not having classes the traditional way. I took 6 months off from dancing and didn’t even listen to belly dance music. I came back fresh and stronger than ever like everyone else.

Since the beginning of this year, classes have been energized with the addition of our three new students. Classes went back to beginners fundamentals and basics. We were all amazed at how fast the three picked it up. I love watching them get better and better each week and having fun, something vital to me. 

After we received our invitation via email for a performance opportunity last week,  it got me in full-on drill sergeant mode. While everyone was has been at classes and dancing every week there was a lot to do to get ready for a real public gig. 

Maria and Trish have minimal performance experience but are super excited and were the first to say they were in. Callie, who has performance experience, and I will round out our quad for the gig. As soon as everything is finalized I will post more about the gig if anyone local would like to attend. It’s always nice having familiar faces and encouragement in the audience.

Last night, we reviewed what we needed to work on and my expectations. Everyone in the class, not just the ones doing the gig, got as excited as I did and were happy to drill their asses off.

They want to correct their technique and go over what moves they aren’t comfortable with. They also want to practice leading starting and stopping songs. I encouraged Trish and Maria to practice zilling at home, so it’s one less thing to worry about at class and the gig.

Right now, I am concentrating on everyone’s arms and posture. No more sloppy or limp arms; I am preaching about how proper posture is even more essential to help all the moves look better.

This was a great place to start. Over the next few weeks, we will also be working on stage presence and group dynamics. We are an ATS® group improv belly dance group that is only as good as the energy the dancers put out to the audience.

So what exactly is stage presence? It is not being dressed up in costuming and makeup looking good. It’s the way you hold your head, have a smile, or at least a pleasant look on your face.

Dancers should act professionally at a gig since you are “on” at an event, even if you aren’t on stage. Showing up on time and ready to go is a must and reduces stress before the gig. It sucks when it doesn’t happen and is hard to let go of before going on stage. This may be my biggest pet peeve of all when performing.

The most significant part of stage presence is being confident. Walking on stage or at a gig with a confident air about you automatically makes people think you know what you are doing. It’s “fake it til you make it” in the beginning, and that’s ok. Hell, I did it for the first year. It’s doing everything with a purpose, even if you fuck up. “I meant to do that”kind of attitude goes a long way.

Group dynamics is when a group of dancers is having fun dancing together. It’s getting into each other’s energy zone and feeling what they will do next. It’s encouraging each other with smiles, little “yips” and zaghareets when they do something extraordinary. Ramping up the energy gets the audience excited that something fun is happening.

So what in the hell is a zaghareet anyway? Here is an excellent description I found on the website Kesavah Bellydance.

“A Zaghareet (also known as an ululation) is a loud trilling that sounds something like “loo loo loo loo loo….” and often ends with an “eeeeeeeee” sound. It’s a combination of a high pitched, quite loud, “shriek” for want of a better word, as well as the “loo loo loo loo” trilling of the tongue layered on top.

The sound is made in celebration at weddings, births, and other auspicious events. Women usually cover their mouths while zaghareeting – some say this prevents evil spirits from entering; others say it’s to be polite and hide your open mouth.

It is an expression of joy, excitement, encouragement in the arab culture. It’s totally welcome to do when another dancer is on stage, also in a Zaffa (wedding parade in front of the bride and groom). It lends an air of excitement and charges the room/dance with a lively electric current.“

So last night was like someone lit a match under everyone’s ass. The class had fun and is genuinely excited to work hard on their technique and get better by “dancing” together, not just stringing together a series of dance moves and calling it dancing. There is a vast difference. 

One of the most complex parts of ATS® group improv dancing is there isn’t any choreography to follow, so everyone is dancing in the moment. We can dance to the same song ten times in a row, and it will never be the same. It’s truly organic and beautiful. People can’t believe it isn’t choreographed; we have heard that by hundreds of people over the last 18 years.

How ATS® group improv dance works, each dancer takes turns leading the group with small cues or gestures. Everyone hears and feels music differently, making it fun and ever-changing. Since things are changing all the time you have to pay attention.

One of the hardest parts about learning to lead is getting out of your head and letting the dance moves come from within and not overthink them. This is when things go wrong and look forced. That smile or pleasant look on their faces goes away, and they look like they are concentrating too hard.

Dancing from within takes a long time; it took me a couple of years not dreading taking the lead at gigs and enjoying it, plus feeling confident about it.

Kathleen and I laughed yesterday during our practice time about how whenever we step into the lead, neither of us knows what we will do ourselves until it happens. We are as surprised by what moves come out as much as the other dancers. 

To get people to feel comfortable and not afraid of taking the lead, we start our new students right away by learning how to step in and out of the lead position. Once they feel comfortable with that, they can lead a move or two.

The new dancers are always amazed that everyone knows what they are trying to do and can follow along. I don’t push anyone past their comfort zone because, after all, dance is supposed to be fun and not stressful. Everyone moves at their own pace.

I haven’t been this excited about dance in a very long time. I have an upbeat and enthusiastic teaching style, but now it’s on complete overdrive. 

Driving home at 8 pm on Wednesday nights after three hours of teaching classes and practicing with Kathleen, I am exhausted but always have a massive smile on my face because I am so proud of how my students danced, how far they have come, and how much fun we had.

I haven’t written about belly dance for some time, but I think I will be much more in the future! Yip! 😉

*ATS® stands for American Tribal Style Bellydance

Last night, I taught my first belly dance class of 2022, and it was awesome! Last Wednesday, I missed the first dance class of the year because I had a terrible headache and a sore throat. I took a negative covid test, but I was too under the weather to dance. 

The last time I danced was in mid-December, so I was looking forward to dancing all week. I found out the night before class that I would have a new beginner student joining us.

Typically, we have new students show up to class as part of their New Years’ resolutions, 98% don’t stay long. Trish, one of our core students, is part of the 2% who stick it out. She came to the first class of the year six years ago. 

I teach a 20-minute warm-up and strength-building class before our level 1 class begins. In this class, I make a different music playlist every week with all sorts of music from swing to Latino and everything in between.

I repetitively use many of our dance moves, along with exercises for our lats, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. We dance group improv style, so this class is as well. There is no routine for our students to learn; they follow along. For me, it’s the most fun 20 minutes I have all week.

I noticed a young man and woman come into the dance studio during the workout class. We weren’t expecting anyone besides a new woman who emailed us the day before, who had already joined us. Kathleen went over to talk to them while I continued.

The good news was, they were there to take belly dance lessons. Wow! Because of the pandemic, we haven’t had new students join us in two years. They saw a flyer in the Cambridge Co-op and decided to come. The couple was looking for something new to do together and decided to go to our class. Yip! 

This was the first male belly dance student I have ever taught. Our dance troupe has always been open to anyone 16+, including men. No dance or musical experience is necessary.  

The couple had some previous dance experience, and the male student brought his own zills (finger cymbals), which was a great surprise. He could play zill correctly after a few minutes while I was teaching the new group zills. 

I love teaching belly dance just as much as I love dancing and performing. I am a good teacher and try always to make new students feel welcome, at ease, and laugh. I have them dancing before the hour class is up and leave them with a preview of what to expect the following week. 

This group of three new students learned quickly, and we covered more ground than usual. I think they had fun and enjoyed themselves. I have felt this many times before; those students never showed up again. I thanked the three of them for joining us and hope to see them next week. Fingers crossed. 🤞🏼 

After the newbies left, I joined the rest of the group for the level three class. We had Maria and Kat, who couldn’t make it in person to class, join us earlier with zoom. They can follow us just like they are in person, which is pretty phenomenal to me. 

During level three, we drilled moves and corrected techniques. Maria, who stayed for the advanced class, followed along with the drills. I was able to watch her and the in-person students and help her with her technique as well. 

When the classes were over, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Dance is my happy place. It’s my joy and the one thing I do just for myself.  Teaching dance not only helps students learn, but more importantly, it makes me continue to learn. 

This quote from Sensi Mochizuki Minoru couldn’t be more accurate, “A teacher is a student who teaches to continue his study.” 

It finally feels like a new year and fantastic to do what I love. 💗 

Yesterday our belly dance group Bennington Beledi Tribal Bellydance( BBTB), had its annual Holiday Hafla…a belly dance holiday party.

Our dance group has been around for a long time; April marks my 19th year. I’ve danced with many women over the years, but Kat, Kathleen, and I have been dancing together for over 18 years.

Callie has been a member of our student troupe Sisters of the Shaw for at least 14 years. Emily also a member of Sister of the Shawl comes next with 7+ years, then our students Trish with 6 years, and finally Maria who has been with us for at least five years. These are the core women that danced at our hafla yesterday. Kathleen beats us all; she started dancing our style of belly dance 26 years ago.

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Since covid hit, our troupe has remained together and dancing. This year turned out pretty good, all things considered. Last winter, Emily & Kathleen kept everyone dancing on zoom; before that, I made weekly videos for everyone to dance along to. An unbelievable thing happened when we were all able to dance in person again after almost six months apart; we all got better and improved tremendously! It was like we didn’t skip a beat.

I am proud to be a part of BBTB and watch our students blossom. Callie is our “oldest” sister of the student troupe, meaning in dance years, not age. She is the rock, the steady one, the one who keeps it together by keeping things in line when they are dancing together.

Emily stepped up last winter and helped teach by dancing with Kathleen during zoom. Emily improved so much during that time. Yesterday, Emily performed a solo basket piece. Basket work is when a dancer balances a basket on their head and makes the basket part of the dance. Emily’s solo was stunning and smooth.

Callie and Emily dance as a duet in our student troupe, Sisters of the Shawl. They are a tight duet, they get into each other’s energy and dance so in time with each other, you would swear it was choreographed. Our biggest compliment after a gig is that when people are floored, it was improv.

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Trish came back stronger as well. Trish works hard to correct her technique and zilling, which is getting better and better. She has had to learn to slow down and listen to the music and dance from her heart, not her head. For several months Trish and Callie have been practicing sword work. Sword work is when a dancer dances with a sword balanced on their head. It isn’t easy and takes a lot of practice. Ironically, sword practice forced Trish to slow down, or she would drop her sword, in turn slowing down when she didn’t have a sword on her head.

Trish and Callie performed a sword piece yesterday that was smooth and graceful. It’s much more complicated than it looks with the possibility of dropping the sword at any given time with just one wrong move. Trish and Callie were a perfect duet, they practiced hard, and it showed.

Then comes Maria. When Maria started taking classes with us, she couldn’t step on the beat or hear it. Maria had never danced before and had zero body awareness meaning she was not aware of what the parts of her body were doing when she was moving or standing still. We had to teach Maria how to walk first, then dance.

It seemed a bit hopeless for the first few months, but she showed me little signs that she could dance. Maria didn’t believe me, but with patience, instructions, corrections, and building her confidence, she improved week after week. She was so dedicated and practiced at home, which is rare. She still practices at home, and I can tell each week.

I always say that you have to build up muscle memory first then the moves will follow. The same thing goes for zilling, playing our finger cymbals. Maria didn’t believe me initially, but over time she understood what I meant.

As teachers, Kathleen and I teach the same dance moves repeatedly. The explanations and instructions are different every time we teach them, depending on how we feel that day. For me, it’s whatever inspires me. Kathleen has her way of teaching, and I have mine, meaning there is always something for everyone to learn even if they don’t hear it that time or the next. Trish and Maria have said over the last year, “I never heard you say that before.” I die laughing and tell them they weren’t ready to hear it yet. This is 100% true.

Once you learn to step on the beat, learn the dance moves, play the zills, you have to learn how to lead. We are an improv style of dance, meaning nothing is choreographed. Learning how to lead is intimidating and scary. There are many things to consider when it’s your turn; the rest of the group follows what you are doing, so if you mess up, they do too. We never push someone to lead before they are ready; even if they aren’t too sure, we are.

When Trish would get into the lead, she used to look down, and you could see her thinking so hard it would hinder her dance. She is becoming more comfortable in the lead and is learning to start and stop songs. She is looking up now, thanks to that sword practice again.

When Maria used to step into the lead we had to teach her “how” to step into the lead with confidence. Before, she would have a look on her face like here goes nothing. She didn’t take it seriously because she didn’t think she could lead. We knew she could. When the time was right, she heard the right words at the right time and began to take leading seriously. It’s still intimating and scary for her, but she gets better every time she does it.

When Maria began taking classes, she wanted to dance with an attitude and confidence like we did. After many attitude and confidence lessons, she “gets” it now and is more confident and has a baby attitude, not giant ones like Kathleen and I have when we dance. Lol.

Yesterday, when we watched these four ladies dancing together, you could see how much they trusted each other and enjoyed dancing together. Maria truly was part of the “quad” and looked like she belonged there and believed she did. I can’t tell you how proud I am of her.

Kathleen and I danced to two songs with skirt work. Skirt work uses your skirt as part of the dance, much like the other props, baskets, and swords. The best part of skirt work for me yesterday is that you don’t lift your arms overhead or drop your skirt. My left arm still hurt too much to lift, so these two short songs were perfect.

Kat retired from our dance troupe a few years ago but still comes to my Tribal Workout class each week. Yesterday, she danced to a song with us, and it was wonderful to have her there with us. Kat, Kathleen, and I have danced so many gigs together we couldn’t even count. Even though we don’t dance together often we would still be able to perform together if we had to since we all know each other’s dance moves so well. It’s just like riding a bike.

Wednesday is our last class of the year. My homework for everyone, including myself, will decide what they want to achieve and work on next year. We’ve been around a long time and aren’t going anywhere; our new motto is “We are still here.” You bet your ass we are.