Belly Dance Geek Blog
Geek Out with Alia Thabit – Again!
Belly Dance Geek Clubhouse Episode #47: Opening Yourself Up to the Audience with Alia Thabit. Monday, February 27th at 8pm Eastern Time. Sign up now to join us live, or to be notified when the recording is ready.
read moreThe Muse Doesn’t Show Up Until You Do
Don’t wait for inspiration One thing that used to keep me from practicing in my “feast or famine” days was waiting for inspiration. If I wasn’t “in the right mood” to practice, I didn’t. And I wasn’t often “in the mood”. Don’t get me wrong. I was thinking about dance all the time: Listening to music Visualizing combos Tapping out zil patterns on my thighs Brainstorming costume ideas And I showed up for class like clockwork. But I wasn’t showing up to...
read moreHow Thinking Like a Toddler Helps You Practice
Why “eyes on the prize” doesn’t help you create a consistent practice habit – but thinking like a toddler does.
read moreCould Your Dance Practice Survive a Zombie Apocalypse?
Zombies probably won’t threaten your practice habit, but plenty of other things will! Make a plan now, so your practice will survive.
read moreHow Themes Keep Your Practice Flexible
A strong and flexible practice is one that will last!
read more10 Trivial Things That Derail Your Practice
Pay attention to every little thing that makes it harder to practice. And take them seriously, no matter how trivial.
read moreEmbrace Your Excuses
Just don’t take them at face value… When you’re trying to make practice a habit, a lot of excuses are going to crop up: I don’t have the time… I don’t have the energy… I have to watch my kids… I don’t have a good practice space… We’re used to thinking of excuses as the enemy. And for good reason: excuses will hold you back, if you believe them. But the “just do it” method of ignoring your excuses doesn’t work either. ...
read moreLanguage Geek Corner: Aferin
A New Column! Besides being the Belly Dance Geek™, I’m also a language geek. I speak 5 languages (although I’m incredibly rusty at two of them…), and I’ve been studying Turkish for just under 2 years. Learning another language opens doors. Besides helping you understand the music you’re dancing to, it lets you connect with the culture beyond music and dance. (Even if you’re not very good at it! Most people are thrilled that you want to learn their language.) ...
read moreHow to Build a Sustainable Practice Habit is Back!
Do You Want to Practice, But Never Find the Time? Most of the techniques we try work just fine – but only in the short term. Willpower-based advice like “just do it”, and panic-based techniques like external deadlines (prepping for an important show, etc.) motivate you for a little while, but fizzle out when the urgency fades. (That’s a big part of why New Years Resolutions fail so often.) So you get stuck in a “feast or famine” cycle. You practice like crazy for a few weeks (or maybe just days),...
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