What We’re Thankful For

Greetings from Belly Dance Geek!  It’s Heather here. Instead of our usual geekery, we thought it would be nice to share a quick podcast about some of the things that we are most thankful for in our dance life.  So with that, I’m going to ask Nadira to come on…

Hi it’s Nadira.  Here are a couple of things that I’m grateful that I’ve had in my dance life.

One of those is live music.  Here in the Boston area, we have a long tradition of venues with live bands and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to dance with live music.  I’m also especially lucky in that we also have a tradition of live music venues with student nights.  So I was able to learn how to dance to live music when I was still “coming up”.

I’m also really grateful to my first teacher, Amira Jamal for her encouragement to learn from a variety of sources.  A long time ago, I heard the advice that you should run from any teacher who forbids you to study with other people.

Well not only did Amira not forbid me, she actively encouraged me to go and seek out other teachers, workshops, other sources of information.  And…while I definitely learned my most important lessons from her, that played a big role in my development as a dancer and as an artist.

And last, I’m really grateful to have grown up in an artistically diverse community.  I was really lucky in that I was exposed really early on to different styles both cabaret and tribal.  As well as a lot of the different ethic styles of belly dance.  I’m also lucky that I knew dancers from different eras.  I’ve studied with dancers who danced in the 60s and I’ve known dancers who ended up in the Bellydance Superstars group.

And so, I was exposed to not just different flavors of belly dance but also to how much they can change over time.  And that gave me a much broader sense of what the dance is and really drove home the idea that there are lots of different right ways to dance, not just one way.

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Thank you Nadira!  And continuing on…

I admire and am thankful for the energy and tenacity of traveling dance instructors.  They spend weeks and months away from home, family and friends and give so much of themselves to share this dance with their students.  I am grateful that even the biggest stars of the dance community are approachable, gracious and down to earth.

I hadn’t even thought of taking a belly dance class when I happened upon my very first teachers, Dianna Olsen in 2007 and Annwyn Amar in 2008 on a military base in Okinawa, Japan.  I am forever thankful that what I learned from them planted the seeds that helped me continue to where I am today in my dance career.

I am thankful for Arabic music and that it is so different from western music.  The feelings generated from this music are so deep and intense.

I am thankful for the new friends I meet at every, single workshop and show that I participate in.  It’s so nice to know that I have friends in every corner of the world as a result of this fabulous dance journey.

It’s not always possible to attend live workshops and not everyone has regular access to live classes.  I am thankful for the enormous amount of quality, online learning resources that are available to dancers today.  Studying online can never (and shouldn’t) fully replace a live teacher. But these resources are an excellent supplement to our dance learning.

No matter how crappy or sad a day has been, when I step into the studio (or get online) and take or teach a class, something changes.  I forget all the junk that was weighing me down.  And if I’m sad, I am thankful for the catharsis that dancing provides.  I am thankful for the magic of belly dance.

Now it’s your turn.  Tell us what you are thankful for in your dance life.

And since Nadira and I are so grateful that you’ve listened all the way to the end, you’re getting early access to our GIANT Black Friday sale!  From now through Monday, 11/26/18, enjoy 25% off all Belly Dance Geek programs.  Just enter coupon code FRIDAY at BellyDanceGeek.com/store.