Belly Dance Geek Blog
Geek Out with Amira Jamal
The Power of Learning Styles Episode 22 of the Belly Dance Geek Clubhouse: My guest, Amira Jamal, will talk about different learning styles. We’ll approach this from both the teacher and student perspective. You’ll Learn: What learning styles are How they help teachers get through to their students Specific techniques for accommodating different learning styles Why understanding your own learning style helps you get more out of class AND practice time What to do if your teacher isn’t accommodating your learning...
read moreGeek Out with Treasure Marshall
How to Use Costuming to Enhance Your Performance Episode 21 of the Belly Dance Geek Clubhouse: My guest, Treasure Marshall will talk about how to use costuming to help your show make more of an impact on your audience. Download the Slides You’ll Learn: How to costume yourself for large vs. small stages How to choose skirts for skirtwork and other types of dance Considerations for quick changes And a LOT more! We’ll also have some discussion time, so you can participate too. About...
read morePerfect vs. Progress
Why confusing perfectionism with high standards holds you back in your dance If I hear one more person brag “I’m such a perfectionist”, I’m going to scream. Because I am a perfectionist. And it’s not an accomplishment – it’s an affliction. We use “perfectionism” to mean “high standards”, but they are two very different things. And confusing the two can seriously hold back your dancing. How are perfectionism and high standards different? High...
read moreOpen Thread: What Do You Need Help With?
I just switched to part-time at my day job. I think this calls for a happy dance! (Yes, that is me.) And I’m going to spend that time making stuff for you I’m devoting the freed-up time to creating new products and programs. I have plenty of ideas on my list, but I want to know what YOU want. So tell me what you need help with What topics or skills do you need help with? What’s your most pressing dance problem right now? If I were making something just for you, what would it be? Share your...
read moreGeek Out with Rhea
The early belly dance scene in San Francisco Episode 20 of the Belly Dance Geek Clubhouse: My guest, Rhea of Greece will talk about the early dance scene in San Francisco. You’ll love her stories! Rhea will tell us about her time in Jamila Salimpour’s troupe Bal Anat, the hippie movement, her decades-long international dance journey, and much more. We’ll also have some discussion time, so you can participate too. About Rhea Rhea of Greece has captivated students and audiences worldwide with...
read moreHow to Create a Looping Music Track
Does rewinding your music interrupt your practice? Learn how to create your own looping track.
read moreAuthenticity: Are We Missing the Point?
Have you ever had cow’s udder ravioli? That’s what the original Genoese ravioli was stuffed with. (As well as spinal marrow, veal brains, and all kinds of other things.) And yet nobody – not even current residents of Genoa – would call that “authentic” ravioli today. We all want our dance to be authentic. (With the exception of fusion, of course.) We want to be good, we want to be respectful, we want to be right. But we only focus on one facet of authenticity: authenticity of...
read moreTask-Juggling for Busy Dancers
I don’t usually blog about non-dance things, but I mentioned this in passing on Facebook, and a lot of people asked me for more details. So here goes. When your hobby becomes your business, things get weird. On the one hand, you’re living the dream. On the other hand, something that used to be all “want-tos” suddenly has a lot of “musts” and “shoulds”. And there are a lot more tasks to juggle. Running a business includes a lot more than dancing. All those extra...
read moreComing Soon: Be Amazing in the Moment
Start thinking about your priorities… The next offering of Be Amazing in the Moment will start in the second half of May. BAM is my one-on-one improvisation coaching intensive, designed to turn up your improvisation meter from “terrified!” to “can’t wait!” This is an intense, results-driven program for advanced students or professionals who want to stop relying on choreography once and for all. I can take two clients, and one spot is already taken I’ll be taking applications for...
read moreVideo Grandbaby Give-away
Win a free copy of Treasure’s Skirtwork for Belly Dance Fusion Enter by noon on May 2nd It’s give-away time! Treasure Marshall is giving away a copy of her new DVD, Treasure’s Skirtwork for Belly Dance Fusion* to one lucky belly dance geek. I’m excited to be hosting this give-away, because this DVD is my newest video grandbaby! Treasure made it as a client in my video production course, Make Your First Belly Dance Video. I saw many excerpts during the course, and I kept thinking “ooooh,...
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