Belly Dance Geek Blog
Belly Dance Class on Dead Air Live
My on-air class on Dead Air Live is now available online, courtesy of the Somerville Producers Group. You’ll see a short interview, followed by a beginner-level class with a practice choreography to the song Zeina by Mohammed Abdul Wahab. Special thanks to my lovely students Michelle, Heather, Jasmine, Valerie, Marianne, and Ellen!
read moreNadira Teaching on Dead Air Live Tonight
For those of you who are local:Hi everybody,I’ll be teaching a class tonight on Dead Air Live, the longest-running livecable broadcast in the US. I’ll be joined by a few of my lovely students.If you have RCN cable in Somerville, check us out live on channel 3 (Somerville Community Access TV)at 8pm tonight (Tuesday, April 28th)!Dead Air Live is also re-broadcast on other channels:- Cambridge Community TV channel 10 (Comcast?): Wednesday afternoons at 4 PM andThursday nights at 9 PM- Boston Neighborhood Network channel 23 (Comcast):...
read moreHappy Half-Birthday to the Toolkit, Plus a Giveaway
The Improv Toolkit Volume 1 had its half-birthday last week, and what a half-year it has been! The only statistic I’ve found on belly dance videos says that an independent belly dance instructional with really good word-of-mouth can expect to sell 300 copies in its first year. As of its half birthday (the 26th), TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY NINE copies of Volume 1 have been sold. That must have been some pretty fantastic word-of-mouth!I owe a great big thank you to everyone for your support on this project: for your emails, your reviews,...
read moreOld Giveaway, New Winner
So, way back in October, I ran a DVD giveaway for a copy of The Improvisation Toolkit Vol. 1: Movement Recall. On the day the DVD was released, I picked a winner at random from the members of the Taktaba mailing list. However, I’ve tried to contact her several times over the last five months, and never got a response. The messages didn’t bounce; I just never got a reply.So today, I gave up waiting and drew a “runner up”.To make it fair, I did my best to reproduce the conditions of the original drawing. I used the same...
read moreWhoa!
Cough.I just discovered that Taktaba is currently featured not once but THREE TIMES in the iTunes Music Store:1- Taktaba In Low-Res (the new, smaller-resolution version of the podcast) is on the “New and Notable” list in it’s category, Performing Arts Video Podcasts.2- Taktaba (the full-res version) is currently on the featured podcasts list in its category.3- Taktaba (the regular version) is number 19 in its category: ahead of the Tony Awards and Jersey Boys!I don’t know how long these rankings will last, but, for as...
read moreDrumroll Please…
The 100th copy of The Improvisation Toolkit Volume 1 has sold!I wish I had my video camera with me, so I could show you the Happy Dance I did when I heard the news.I can’t think of a better way to end the year. Thank you all so much for your tremendous response to this project, and for your support and encouragement.I’d especially like to thank Julie Ann Eason of The Belly Dance Business Academy, my coach. She gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get started, and when I was asking myself “who am I to make a...
read moreUpdate: Early Bird Pricing Extended to Sunday
Hi everybody, (Apologies to anybody who already got this on my mailing list!) Just a quick note to let you know that I’m extending the deadline for the pre-order discount for Improvisation Toolkit Volume 1. My graphic designer is delayed with the cover art, so I can’t order my pre-order batch from the printer until Monday, instead of tomorrow as planned. Don’t worry – I’m going to get rush processing, so I will still get them in time to ship on the 24th as promised. However, since the volume discount that I get...
read moreWe Interrupt This Podcast: Pre-Order the Improvisation Toolkit DVD and Save
Volume 1 of my DVD series, The Improvisation Toolkit, is now available to pre-order. Special Early Bird Pricing for Pre-OrdersI’m offering a special early bird price of $19.95 for pre-orders. That’s $10 off the list price of $29.95. Add $2 for shipping to the US and Canada. (International shipping and PAL format available – contact us for details)IMPORTANT: to get the early bird price, you MUST order by Thursday, October 16th. This deadline is firm – I have to order all the pre-ordered DVDs in one big batch from the...
read moreImprovisation Toolkit DVD Sneak Preview + Giveaway
I finished shooting my upcoming improvisation skills video last week! Assuming all goes well with the fulfillment company, it should be available to order by mid-October.Here’s the trailer:This is the first volume in a three-part series called the Improvisation Toolkit. Many dancers are frustrated by improv, and for good reason; most instructors teach improvisation by telling their students to “just do it” in class.Throwing someone in the deep end of the pool may teach them to swim, but it will also teach them to hate...
read moreBoston-Area Classes in Karsilama and Beginner Technique
For those of you in the Boston area: The next 8-week session of my beginner class starts this Wednesday, August 6th, and runs from 6:30-7:30pm at Third Life Studio in Union Square, Somerville. This is an ongoing class, suitable for complete newbies through advanced beginners. I’m also offering an 8-week series on Karsilama, which will run from 7:30-8:30 (immediately after the technique class). Not familiar with karsilama? Check out this performance, which includes elements of American-style karsilama, a taste of the more folkloric...
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