Belly Dance classes, workshops, events and news. Videos, lessons,trips, health and ideas.

Call-out for participants for Nic Green's Trilogy

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 09 May 2010 18:22:00 +0000

Women of all ages, backgrounds, shapes, sizes, levels of fitness and ability are sought to perform naked in an ensemble dance celebrating the female form, as part of Nic Green’s extraordinary, multi award winning show Trilogy as part of this year's Mayfest programme!

Trilogy, one of the most talked about shows at Edinburgh Festival 2009, is a celebratory venture into modern-day feminism and examines and interrogates the joys and complexities of being a woman today whilst driving steadfast into the future with commitment and hope.

The first part ends with a high energy naked dance performed by the volunteers. It is a powerful and emotive moment, presenting the female form in an alternative, empowered way, and celebrating the difference and diversity of women. The performers will have taken part in workshop sessions beforehand, beginning monday!

To sign up, please contact Dion on assistant@mayfestbristol.co.uk

For more details, go to www.nicgreen.org.uk or http://www.mayfestbristol.co.uk/

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New belly dance shop available on Worldbellydance.com

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 16:23:00 +0000

As a belly dance enthusiast, I am always in search of new belly dance items to buy, such as books, DVDs, CDs and clothing and accessories. I have found that Amazon.com is a rich source of belly dance material to buy (it is also a reliable seller and easy to return items if there are any problems). I usually buy DVDs from them as they have more belly dance DVDs for sale then on Amazon.co.uk where the choice is still at the moment more limited.

Following this interest, I have decided to create on Worldbellydance.com a section where I have selected and added the best belly dance items available for sale on Amazon.com. Browsing Amazon.com I have added to this section my favourite DVDs and books, as well as Cds, MP3 downloads, clothes and accessories and also belly dance costume patterns for those who want and are able to sew their own costumes.

From this section it is possible to browse all these items, add them directly to a shopping basket and buy them from Amazon.com. In this section you will find only belly dance products for the enthusiast belly dancer to shop. Go on the Amazon shop section on Amazon shop section on Worldbellydance.com if you would like to take a look.

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Baladi workshop with Serena and Hossam Ramzy

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:11:00 +0000

Yesterday I attended a workshop on Egyptian baladi with Hossam and Serena Ramzy. The workshop was very interesting as it was not so much about the movements, although Serena explained some shimming technique, but mainly about the culture that generated the Egyptian baladi style.

What was interesting was especially the fact that Hossam Ramzy broke down for us the structure of a baladi piece. He explained how it starts slowly with a taqsim, to then develop towards a question and answer part between the drummer and the other musicians, thus alternating melody and rhythm. The rhythm then goes faster and faster, until the fallahy is played and then after the music slows down again.

Understanding this structure is very useful for improvising to baladi, because the dancer will know what to expect. Hossam and Serena also gave us some tips on drum solo improvisations and rules that drummers and dancers adhere to when improvising a drum solo, in order to communicate effectively with each other. Overall the workshop was interesting and I gathered some useful information, that have changed the way I will be listening to baladi pieces from now on.

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How belly dance can help beat the ‘winter blues’

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:27:00 +0000

With Christmas and New Year festivities already behind us, and spring still a way ahead, February may seem a grey month for those of us living in the Northern hemisphere. I hate winter, but I find that hobbies, such as belly dancing, help me keep busy and in a good mood during the coldest month.

My regular belly dance practice and teaching oriental dance every week are things that help me stay active and positive. It is sometimes hard to motivate myself, especially on the coldest days, but it is always worth the effort. Belly dancing is known to provide several health benefits, for the body as well as for the mind. Just like every other form of physical exercise, practising belly dance causes the release of endorphins. In addition to this, the social aspect of dance helps improve people’s mood. This is also the subject of a relatively new discipline, called Dance Therapy, which I find fascinating.

Do you also find that belly dancing improves your mood and joy of living? Please feel free to send comments with your experiences.

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A belly dancer’s New Year resolutions – January 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:34:00 +0000

Welcome to my first belly dance blog for 2010. As a belly dancing enthusiast, my plan for the New Year includes some resolutions to do with my favourite dance form.

My first resolution to do with belly dance is of course to practise more and if possible attend private lessons with some famous belly dancers. Also, I would like to go to Egypt at some point if finances and time allow.
I also would like to try and perform more often and also try and listen to more Arabic music to see if I can discover new tracks I like. I would like to attend more events and workshops and, finally, I would like to really learn how to play sagat properly. This is not easy as it requires a lot of practice and I do not want to upset my neighbours with the noise…however, the sound of zils can be muffled somehow. It would be great to play finger cymbals freely, but playing them muzzled is better then nothing. If I ever move to a detached house, then, who knows, I may be able to let myself go!

I wonder what other belly dancers’ resolutions for 2010 are. Please feel free to send me your comments!

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Workshop with Sadie, American bellydancer, in September 2009.

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:06:00 +0000

During the International Belly dance Congress in Frimley, UK, in September 2009, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop with Sadie. Sadie is a well known American bellydancer, who is famous for her impeccable technique and perfect isolations.

I attended one of Sadie’s workshops on isolation technique and drills and I have to say that hers was one of the toughest belly dance workshops I have ever attended. Sadie made us focus on upper body and lower body drills, combined with footwork at the same time. Some drills were easier than others, but after repeating drills for about three hours, we could really feel that our muscles had worked! The fact that some drills were carried out in addition to travelling steps around the room (i.e. chest lifts while doing Arabic walk), it meant that Sadie’s workshop was challenging for the mind as well as for the body.

During the International Belly dance Congress Sadie performed on one of the evenings. Sadie’s performance was great, technically perfect and you can tell she is a very skilled dancer who has worked and still works hard to achieve that level of fitness. Sadie has made some instructional DVDs, which I am thinking of buying in the future.

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Christmas presents for belly dancers.

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:36:00 +0000

We are just over two weeks away from Christmas and, if you have not yet bought a present for your belly dancing friend, partner, wife, mother, relative and you need some ideas, here is a brief list of items they will like.

· Belly dancing items of clothing, such as costumes, hip scarves, belly dance tops and skirts.
· Accessories and props, i.e. swords, zils, veils, canes or jewellery such as anklets.
· Belly dance resources, such as DVDs, Arabic music CDs or books on bellydance.
· You could even pay for them to attend a workshop or you could pay for tickets and go with them to a show or an hafla. They will appreciate it.

As you can see there are a lot of presents you could get for a belly dancer, in addition to the greatest present of all, which is your support and appreciation for their art!

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Khaled Mahmoud - Male Belly Dancers

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:48:00 +0000

Khaled Mahmoud is arguably one of the top male belly dancers in the world and based in London, he holds a number of workshops each year. His classes tend to be excellent and I highly recommend signing up for one of his events if you can.

He normally teaches Egyptian folk style as well as raqs sharqi. You can find his latest workshops on World Belly Dance Events.

Below - an introduction to Khaled Mahmoud:

New belly dance events on worldbellydance.com

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:23:00 +0000

This is just a short post to highlight some new events that have been added to the events page on worldbellydance.com. On the events page you will be able to find belly dance related events, such as haflas, workshop, festivals, shows and more taking place all over the world.

For November 2009 there are events such as the Flying Carpet Party in London (UK); the Pyramid Awards in Edinburgh; Ahmet Ogren Turkish Dance Workshop in the Netherlands and more. If you like to plan much earlier in advance, there are already events advertised for 2010, such as Incanto D’Oriente (Italy), Majma (UK) and Tribal Massive (USA) in March, or the 8th Annual Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive and Festival (USA) in September 2010.

New events will be added shortly and more are being added all the time; also, you can add your own belly dance event, show or workshop for free by filling the form on worldbellydance.com. All you need to provide is original text (not copied from an existing website) with about 150 words, including the event’s location, time and various details. So, if you are interested in attending belly dance events click here, or here to add your own event.

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2009 International Belly Dance Congress in Frimley, UK

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:02:00 +0000

Last weekend, I attended the second International Belly Dance Congress in Frimley, UK, organised by Josephine Wise, Kay Taylor and Charlotte Desorgher. I attended several workshops, for a total of 8 hours dancing every day for 2 and half days, and at the end I was exhausted but happy!

This year’s teachers and performers included amazing dancers such as Randa Kamel and Khaled Mahmoud from Egypt, Sadie and Anasma from the US, Leyla Jouvana and her husband Roland from Germany, Nawarra who performed traditional Moroccan dances and many more great belly dancers from the UK and abroad. On top of this great line up, Kay Taylor managed to persuade the legendary Fifi Abdo to come to the Congress (this was Fifi’s first time performing and teaching in Europe).

Two years ago the International Belly Dance Congress
was held in Butlins, but many people did not like the venue, so this year it was held in the Lakeside Complex. Personally, I preferred the rooms where the workshops took place this year, but in Butlins I liked the fact that accommodation was cheaper and included breakfast and a buffet dinner. Overall, I liked the food in Butlins and the range of choice (it was good value for money). The Lakeside resort instead, food wise was not great and the service was very slow. What is your opinion? Please feel free to comment, as I would like to hear other belly dancers’ points of view.

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Belly dancing in Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:52:00 +0000

Having lived in Barcelona, Spain, for one year, I was able to experience how popular belly dance is in that city. In Barcelona there are belly dance classes available in every gym and cultural centre all over the city. I do not know how many years ago belly dancing started being so popular in Barcelona, but the fact is that it is extremely popular.

When I lived in Barcelona I attended two different courses, around the Sagrada Familia area, which is where I used to live. I studied with Aida, who has her own studio, and with Cecile in the cultural centre ‘Fem Cultura’. According to my experience, belly dance teachers and students take this discipline very seriously and courses are well structured. For example, most courses cover all the basics , plus how to use all the main belly dance props . Also, at the end of every course, most belly dance teachers in Barcelona organise performances with their students, held in proper theatres.

In addition to cabaret belly dance being so popular in Barcelona, a fusion style between belly dance and flamenco has developed. This is called zambra mora and it is now taught by various teachers worldwide.
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Forum on Worldbellydance.com

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:22:00 +0000

Recently, a Forum has been added to Worldbellydance.com for belly dancers to chat and exchange pieces of advice. I find that a forum is particularly useful when you are going to a belly dance event and would like to share transportation or accommodation, as it is not always easy to find people attending the same event amongst the ones you know.

Similarly, sometimes it is nice to ask for other belly dancers’ opinions when it comes for example to tips, opinions on past workshops or haflas.
This new belly dance forum includes many sections, such as learning and teaching, share transportation to workshops/events, belly dance costumes and make up, styles of belly dance and more. Take a look at the worldbellydance forum

Sky1 new dance competition – Just Dance

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:10:00 +0000

Through my website worldbellydance.com, I have just been contacted by Sky1, to make me aware of a new programme they are launching. So, I have decided to make every belly dancer who may be interested aware of it.

Sky1 are about to launch a new programme, called Just dance, where dancers of every type and style of dance will compete for a final prize. Sky1 are interested in every type of dance from, for example, flamenco, to ballet, tap, tango, salsa and of course belly dance.

Auditions will take place from September 2009 in all major cities in Ireland and the UK. Dancers can audition regardless of their level and the programme is open to soloists as well as couples and groups. If you are interested you can apply on Sky1 website

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Workshop with Morocco (Auntie Rocky) on Moroccan Shikhat

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 18:15:00 +0000

At Majma, in June 2009, another workshop I attended was with Morocco on a type of Moroccan dance, called shikhat. Shikhat also refers to the women who perform this type of dance in Morocco. They are usually hired for parties, including wedding parties, and they are women with a good amount of life experience. Moroccan shikhat is a very energetic dance, with a lot of movements of the hips and torso, highly suggestive.

Apparently this type of dance is performed for the bride to be, as a sort of education about what will happen on the first night of marriage. Hence, the movements in Moroccan shikhat are much more overtly sensual than, for example, in Egyptian style Raqs Sharqi.
Shikhat is indeed a very energetic dance and at the end of the two hour workshop with Morocco we were all exhausted!

In December I am going to Morocco to visit some friends and they have already promised me that they will hire some shikhat to dance. I am really looking forward to seeing this dance in its original context. I will keep you posted after my trip to Morocco.

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Belly dance workshop with Isidora Bushkovski

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:40:00 +0000

In March 2009, during Majma (a belly dance weekend organised every year in Glastonbury, UK), I had the opportunity to attend some workshops with Isidora Bushkovski. She is a belly dancer from Colorado, USA, who is famous for her neat and strong movements and technique. I also saw Isidora perform and she was absolutely fantastic.

One of the workshops I attended was about Isidora’s belly dance bootcamp, a series of drills which aim at strengthening the muscle groups involved in belly dance movements and at rebalancing the body. Isidora developed these drills after a serious car accident she had, following which she was told she would have not been able to dance again. By practising these drills, however, Isidora managed to condition her muscles to the point that she was able to start dancing again.

There are different levels of difficulty for the belly dance bootcamp drills, of which I had a taster during Isidora’s workshop at Majma. These drills require a lot of stamina and I can understand why they are called belly dance bootcamp!

Isidora is a lovely teacher and full of energy. I was amazed by how lively and energetic she was even in spite of the jet lag, having just arrived to the UK from America! She has filmed her belly dance boot camp drills in three different DVDs, which will come out soon and I am looking forward to buying them.

Studying Arabic - how important is it for a belly dancer?

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 16:49:00 +0000

I have decided that in September 2009 I want to start studying basic Arabic, in the Cardiff University Centre for Lifelong Learning. I am going to enrol to weekly evening classes for beginners.
I am aware that Arabic is a very difficult language and I do not expect to become fluent. However, I would love to be able to say and understand at least basic sentences. Learning some Arabic can be very useful for a belly dancer for various reasons:
Learning Arabic can help non Arabic dancers to understand more about the cultures that the different types of belly dance, raqs sharqi, Oriental dance (or whatever you want to call this art form) originate from.
It could be interesting to understand a little bit more of the Arabic songs lyrics, which could help interpret better a song when you dance to it. At the moment, the only Arabic word I know is ‘habibi’ (my darling, my love) because it appears in almost every Arabic song that belly dancers listen to.
As it is most belly dancers’ dream to travel to Arabic speaking countries, such as Egypt, it is very useful to be able to speak a bit of the language if you have the opportunity to travel to one of these countries.
I am looking forward to the beginning of Arabic classes in September, and I will keep you posted on my impressions after I start.

List your belly dance class for free

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:25:00 +0000

If you are a belly dance teacher and would like to advertise your classes for free, you can do so on worldbellydance.com
Just fill in the online form and we will add your class.
The ad is completely free. The only requirement is that you write a detailed and original description to help advertise your class. The reason for this is that we create a page for each class and pages will look nicer with a little bit of information on.
Ideally the ad would be about 200 words including contact details, name, time and place of classes, additional info and interesting information.

Classes are divided by country and you can submit classes that are run in any country in the world.
Also, if you would like to exchange links with worldbellydance, we can add a link to your website in your ad. If you are interested in a link exchange, just add a link to our classes page on your site and let us know that you would like us to reciprocate by linking to your site.

Brazilian belly dancer Carlla Sillveira

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:10:00 +0000

The other day, as I was browsing Youtube in search of sword bellydance performances, I came across a lovely sword belly dance routine by Carlla Sillveira.
I immediately loved Carlla’s performance. I found it not only technically perfect, but also very creative and inspirational. Sword belly dance performances can sometimes be too static and end up being just a balancing act with a few tricks. These are very impressive and require a lot of practice and training for sure, but the dynamic and dancing element is missing.

Carlla Sillveira’s performance includes a lot of interesting moves and travelling steps, as well as parts where she balances the sword, whilst the most dramatic moves come up only about half way through the routine. This makes her performance very interesting to watch. Also, I found Carlla’s style very powerful but graceful at the same time.
I then searched for other videos by Carlla Sillveira and her other performances are all amazing, with great technique, powerful shimmies and also very good stage presence.

I had never heard of Carlla Sillveira before, but I am now very impressed. I really hope that one day she runs a workshop in the UK, because I would definitely be extremely happy to have the opportunity to learn form her.
See here Carlla Sillveira’s sword performance

Dancing with Stage Fright - Tips and Advice

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:24:00 +0000

Just a quick to let you know that there is a new page all about Tips on managing stage fright whilst dancing.

Stage fright affects us all very differently, but does affect most of us in some form. Many physchologist in fact say that some stage fright is actually natural and good. Too much though is not good. Read Valeria's tips on the link below:

Tips on managing stage fright whilst dancing.

Fifi Abdou to teach at the 2009 International Belly Dance Congress in Frimley, Surrey, UK

noreply@blogger.com (Valeria) — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:12:00 +0000

This year I will be attending the 2nd edition of the International Bellydance Congress, which will take place at the end of September 2009 in Frimley, Surrey, UK.
Since the moment I bought my pass, 2 months ago, I started looking forward to this great event. Now, though, I am even more excited about the idea of going to the International Bellydance Congress as another belly dance legend has been added to the list of teachers.

The legendary Fifi Abdou from Egypt will be teaching this year and I am really looking forward to attending one of her classes. Fifi is one of the great Egyptian belly dancers, who has been in the scene for a long time and, during the congress, will be teaching in Europe for the first time. Fifi has starred in various movies and shows and is famous for her great stage presence and ability to entertain.
If you would like to find out more about Fifi Abdou and the other great teachers at the International Belly Dance Congress, check their site on http://www.bellydancecongress.com/teachers.html

Interview with Valeria of worldbellydance.com

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:11:00 +0000

Below a brief interview with Valeria of worldbellydance.com

An interview with Valeria Lo Iacono of world belly dance - http://www.worldbellydance.com/

New Top 10 page: 10 items of clothing for belly dance

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 18:08:00 +0000

Hi everyone. Just a quick blog to let you know that I have added another new page to the 'Top 10's'. The latest addition to WorldBellyDance is: 10 items of clothing for belly dance
"10 items of clothing for belly dance".

Aleady live also are:

- 10 countries to visit to learn about belly dancing (Part 1)

- 10 countries to visit to learn about belly dancing (Part 2)

Feel free to send your ideas for Belly Dance Top 10 lists that you want to see on worldbellydance.com

Majma 2009 – belly dance festival and workshops

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

On the first weekend of March 2009 (from Friday 6th to Sunday 8th) I went to a belly dance event that takes place every year in Glastonbury (Somerset, UK), called Majma.Majma is a belly dance event that has been taking place in Glastonbury for a few years now, but this was the first time I went.

All in all the event was well organised and also good value for money, as all the belly dance workshops you could do, two evening meals and the shows (one on Friday and one on Saturday night) were included in the price for the weekend. Majma started on Friday with a bellydance show and lasted until Sunday afternoon, when participants were given a chance to perform on stage.

During the weekend participants could attend a variety of different workshops, which had to be booked in advance, run by some of the most famous dancers from Egypt, USA and Europe, such as Morocco, Carolena Nericcio, Nawarra, Isidora Bushkovski, Raphaelle Masson, Maria D’Silva and Kahled Mahmoud.Altogether there were 33 oriental dance workshops to chose from, ranging from a variety of styles: Moroccan, Egyptian, American Tribal and Khaleegi. There were also drumming and stage make up workshops if you felt like resting your body after so much dancing.

I attended workshops with Morocco, Isidora Bushkovski and Raphaelle Masson and really enjoyed the weekend. Also, the belly dance performances in the evenings were very good and I also enjoyed dancing after the show to live oriental music. If time and money allow next year, I will definitely go to Majma again. For more information see majmadance.co.uk

Husbands of belly dancers

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Guest Post by Paul (husband of a belly dancer)

Are there any other husbands or partners who get dragged along to belly dance events all over the UK? I have been to a few and I have seen a few other guys there. I have thus started a Topic on the world belly dance forum for Husbands of Belly Dancers.

If there are a few of us at events such as the world belly dance congress 2009 event then it might be worth organising a small satellite event i.e. beers in the bar for husbands (and partners) of belly dancers.

Learning to belly dance – tips and ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Paul) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 01:05:00 +0000

If you are new to belly dance and would like to try for the first time, you may be wondering where you should start from.

My advice is to start always learning belly dance from a teacher because, although there are many good instructional DVDs around and books about belly dancing, it is always better to get direct feedback from a teacher to make sure that the movements you are doing are correct. You can easily look online to find a belly dance class close to you. Also, belly dance classes can be advertised on local press or through leaflets in the local area.

In order to start belly dancing, you do not need much: just comfortable clothes, such as a long and wide skirt or stretch jazz pants; a short top with good support and a scarf to tie around your hips. There are a lot of belly dance hip scarves with coins or beads around for sale, but if you are just starting any light scarf tied around your hips will do. Also, belly dancing is done barefooted, so you will not need to buy and type of dance shoes. If your feet are cold, you can always use soft ballet shoes or non slippery socks.

Some types of exercise that you can integrate with belly dance are Pilates, as it helps to strengthen the core muscles and it helps with body isolations, or yoga for strength and balance.
So, why not try now this entertaining and beautiful art form. Belly dance is good for fitness, it improves self confidence and most important of all is fun!