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LetsBellyDance

Counting my (Belly Dance) Blessings

12/28/2016
At this time of year I take a short break from belly dance.  Its been two weeks since my last class, three since I performed, and I'm starting to miss my true dance love.  I have been belly dancing for 25 years, full time for the last 17.  I write about belly dance every day.  I teach three times a week, and practice each week day.  Most weekends I attend or perform at events.  If you are reading this, you are probably the same.  Belly dance is addictive and it attracts the most wonderful, caring, loving and interesting people to its world.
You may have noticed a little wave of negativity washing through these last few weeks. You can blame the stars, or the internet, Gen X or boredom, but its not how I see belly dance.  Belly dance has been a huge blessing in my life and I would like to take a moment to count them.  Feel free to join me, either in the comments below, or in your own blog or posting.  Lets make the last few days of 2016 a wonderful moment of giving thanks to the dance that brought us together.  In no particular order....
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1, - Friends.  I have thousands of "Friends" on FB, and many of them have turned into real friends.  Every time I attend an event, I look out for people I know through FB and connect with them, so I can meet them in person.  I never walk into a workshop without a familiar face, even if its on the other side of the world.  I can have coffee, or a meal, with fascinating people, no matter where I am in the world.  We always have something to talk about.  Belly dance has also introduced me to people that I consider family.  Half of my Christmas cards were sent, with love, to families that I would never have met if not for belly dance.  As someone who lost her mother way too young, I am lucky to have a place to spend time with older ladies.  I love to chat and spend time with ladies of my Mum's generation.  Without belly dance I wouldn't have so many wise women in my life.  Finally, having a wide range of friends has made me open to new ides and taught me about the world.  Belly dancers cover the whole range of political views, the gender spectrum, all ages, classes, ethnicity and religions.  I have belly dance friends who can share incites into their lives, and others who are simply happy to dance by my side.  thank you belly dance friends, you are a blessing.

2, - Exercise.  Belly dance has kept me fit for the last 25 years.  It might not be the hardest workout, but it raises my heart rate, produces a "glow" and keeps me moving every day.  Because I can dance for 5 minutes of 55 minutes, its easy to fit into the busiest routine.  Touch wood, I have never had a serious injury through dance, but I have danced through injury.  When I hurt my ankle, I was still "chair dancing" every day.  At 47, I am at that age where my non belly dance friends are starting to drop out of sports and exercise due to injuries.  Yet, we regularly see belly dancers in their 70's, 80's and 90's still taking to the stage.  Thank you belly dance for being the perfect form of exercise.
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Sweeping up before class - the "teacher warm up"!
3, - Income.  It might be taboo, but I am hugely grateful that belly dance has been my main form of income for 17 years.  At first I taught multiple classes, and more recently, I make a living through selling my belly dance books.  I feel hugely blessed that so many people value my time, energy and thoughts enough to spend their hard earned cash.  Perhaps their class time is the best hour of their week, or snuggling up with one of my books is the highlight of their day.  People also pay me for the on line lessons, workshops and mentoring.  If you ever paid me for anything, I am truely thankful, and I hope you felt it was worth every penny!
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4, - Family.  Not many people know, but my Mum used to belly dance.  Unfortunately she was very ill for a long time, but it gave us a common topic to discuss.  When she could no longer dance she acted at MC at my events.  My daughter is also a professional belly dance performer.  When my children were younger, they attended lots of events, helped out with loading and unloading the venue, lighting, sound and hosting.  I think it has influenced them all in different ways.  Now they are older they help with tech support and marketing advice.  I am very thankful that my job is a family business and that they can all get involved.

5, - Performances.  I am not one of those people who only goes to shows if I have a performance slot.  I love to see belly dance performances of all levels at any venue.  If I have an evening at home you may well find me surfing YouTube to feed my addiction.  I dont care what your style is, I just want to see good dancing, a pretty costume, some stage craft and an interpretation of the music.  I flip between the golden age classics to art that scares or upsets me, I enjoy the folk dances, Tribal Fusion, and glamorous theater productions.  I am lucky enough to live in the SF bay area, which means I can see a show (or five) every Saturday night.  I am lucky that I get to pick and choose, dress up, meet friends, and see wonderful performances whenever I want.
6, - Music.  Just as I love every kind of belly dance, so I love all the music that comes with it.  I enjoy a great live band, or a single drummer.  I am lucky enough that my music collection is now so big that I can play anything, anytime, to suit my mood, my dancing or my surounding.  I would like to take a moment to thank those of you who have taken the time to record music for belly dancers, or to play at an event, or to teach a workshop about the depths and meanings of the classic tunes.  Belly dance has given me the soundtrack to my life.
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7, Confidence.  For me, this goes beyond the confidence to walk onto a stage and present a dance that I have spent 10 months working on.  There is a confidence that comes from being surounded by brave, bold, beautiful, strong and intelligent people.  When you take part in a show and see others project the pain and upset of a recent break up into a performance, or see the lady who just lost her job suck it up and spread joy to the very back row, it emboldens you to put your shoulders back and believe that anything is possible.  Knowing that others may like your work, also gives you the confidence to truely assess the critisims that always come with presenting art.  When I see one of my books in the hands of a new reader, I still hope that they like it - we all want to be liked.  But belly dance gave me the confidence to write those books, because I love it so much that I have studied it in depth, talked to experts and drawn my own conclusions.  I am an expert.  How is that for confidence !!

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8, - Beauty.  Without belly dance I would never had said that I was beautiful. That is really sad.  I still have days when I dont like parts of my body, but they are very few and far between.  When did it become acceptable for woman to be modest about their beauty?  Belly dance has given me a body with lots of curves.  It can shimmy and strut, slide and glide and sometimes it can even do some really complex foot patterns !  I have also learnt what colors suit me, how to wear my hair, I have some pro make up technique and, just in the last few years, I have learnt how to pose for the camera.  I can turn heads just from excellent posture.  Surrounding yourself with beautiful people, not only gives you the tools, it also helps you to see your inner beauty.  The belly dance world is full of people who give unconditionally, love and share without expectation.  Every week we set up in the changing room and see a dozen "normal" people blossom into stunningly beautiful creatures.  Knowing you are beautiful is a powerful thing.  

9, - Knowledge.  I am lucky that I have had the time, energy and money to travel in order to take workshops from some of the greatest minds in belly dance.  I am also very privileged to have met many wonderful belly dancers who have taken the time to talk to me, share their ideas, send me books, write me essays or simply ask me questions.  I am not the scholarly type.  I struggle to take notes and to find my references.  Dance is a physical medium, we share our history, stories, hopes and desires through movement.  I have collected that knowledge too.
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10, - Students.  I have been abundantly blessed with students.  Back when I lived in the UK, I had a different class on every day of the week, and each of them had a totally different vibe.  They were all filled with wonderful people, who chose to spend their precious spare time with me.  Even when I had to move away, many of them chose to keep in touch, and they still share their videos, photos and dance journey with me.  Now I live in the US, I have less classes, but more time to spend in preparing each of them. My US students have taught me all about America, and never laugh at my funny accent.  I have been blessed with a troupe of ridiculously talented dancers, who let me challenge them with choreography that is way beyond my ability.  They are committed, engaged and ambitious - which means they drive me to be the same.  

When we love something as much as we all love belly dance, its easy to get passionate.  Passion can build bridges, or it can tear them down.  The world of belly dance is very small.  We are not a rich, sucessful and popular industry.  I think we are in a growing stage, and most of us would agree that we have to build our student bases, or audiences and our standards in order to make belly dance accessable to more people and keep dancers and teachers employed.  We do that best by being welcoming, sharing knowledge, sharing students, sharing performance opportunties and praising the skills we see in others.  I contributed to our last book "Becoming a Belly Dancer" for a very selfish reason - I want to see great belly dance in my retirement!
If you would like to add to my list of belly dance blessings, please feel free to add to the comments below, post on FB or write a blog of your own.  - Sara x

Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer.

She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US.  She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide.  Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context.    Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching.


Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” was published in 2014.  Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is a stagecraft handbook for belly dancers of all styles and levels.  Both are available on Amazon.
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Sara's books on Amazon
 If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:

Teacher Knows Best
Dealing with Difficult Students
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you)
Why Belly Dancers need to Walk the Line
Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections
Being Part of the Solution

Or check out my Hub Blogs including:

"Your First Belly Dance Workshop"
The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance"
"Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher"
0 Comments

Holiday music for class

12/11/2016
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AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, we all want to do something to celebrate the holiday season.  One of the easiest things you can do to get your class into the festive spirit is to mix in some festive music to your lesson plan.  I've saved you from hours of surfing, by finding my top danceable, festive tunes.  Enjoy !


1, Rocking around the Christmas tree.  Perfect for a warm up and to get your class off to a festive start.  Give me some "step tap" with lots of layers!
2, Let it snow.  Who can resist the voice of Dean Martin?  Perfect for some non traditional snake arms or figure 8s!  or how about a short repeating combo ?
3, Last Christmas.  If anything says December in the UK in 1980 something its "Last Christmas".  Did you love George or the other one? (Andrew - don't say you'd forgotten!)  This tune has everything, a nice beat for hip drops, an emotional melody for showing off your acting skills.  Who could want anything more ?  And it has to be Wham - dont fall for Taylor Swifts charms...
4, Merry Christmas Baby.  If you want something a bit more Ooooey, Goooey for you class, I suggest this Otis Redding classic.  You still have a regular beat, and those sleigh bells, so its also perfect for layering and interpretation, but let your liquid moves shine through.
5, Walking in a Winter Wonderland.  Its time for something a little more "rockin".  While rockin might not be your first thought when you think of Walking in a Winter Wonderland, I would like you to consider dancing to Selena Gomez's version.  I can see some great fusion happening - even if it kind of sounds like she hired a group of 14 year olds to play for her...
6, Santa Baby.  If there is one number that is just crying out to be performed by your belly dance class, it has to be this classic by Eartha Kitt.  Not even Santa could resist !
7, Sleigh Ride.  If your students arn't the Santa Baby types, why not consider the Karmin version of Sleigh Ride?  It has a great slow beat that would be super easy to dance to, making it perfect for a beginners class, or a group who struggle to improvise.  I love that sax and sleigh bell mix !
8, Merry Christmas Everyone.  Get ready to shimmy.... Beloved in the UK, but not well known in the USA, this song is the ultimate feel good tune to shake your coin belt.  Just excuse the terribly awkward video...
​9, All I want for Christmas.  It wouldn't be a Christmas list without the ultimate sing along tune. This number is perfect for keeping a class full of belly dancers smiling during those boring footwork drills. I picked the Mariah Carey version over Fifth Harmony (hello 2104!), and the Love Actually videos.  No one can hit those notes like Mariah, but we can all dream !   Oh and who can see her costume turning into an amazing bedlah...
​10, Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  Personally I love the Bruce Springsteen version for my Christmas mix tape, but the Pentatonix version is much better for belly dance, with its unexpected layering to the well known tune.
11, Silent Night.  I have purposely lent towards silly pop songs so far, but you should also consider some of the wonderful covers done by Middle Eastern and fusion musicians.  I particularly like this version of Silent Night by Brothers of the Baladi.  It breaks my "non religious rule", so I personally would not use it in class, but you might feel that it would be well received by your students.
Brothers of the Baladi
12, Finally, consider searching for your favorite Christmas tune in Arabic.  There are plenty available, although most are just a simple translation and dont have any more belly dance soul than the original versions (zero!).  However, some of them, like this one, include the lyrics - which are great for those of us who are trying to improve our Arabic skills.
Thank you for reading this blog - wishing you and yours a very Happy Holidays !
Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer.

She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US.  She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide.  Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context.    Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching.


Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” was published in 2014.  Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is a stagecraft handbook for belly dancers of all styles and levels.  Both are available on Amazon.
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Sara's Books on Amazon
If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:

Teacher Knows Best
Dealing with Difficult Students
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you)
Why Belly Dancers need to Walk the Line
Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections
Being Part of the Solution

Or check out my Hub Blogs including:

"Your First Belly Dance Workshop"
The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance"
"Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher"


0 Comments

Belly Dance Shopping Mall !

11/26/2016

Updated and edited 10/25/18

This blog post started life as a Facebook post that got too big to handle !  I started listing my favorite small business' that serve the belly dance community and the list just grew and grew !  It feels like its time to set up a virtual shopping mall where we can find all our favorite stores in one place.  I have only included business' that I have used and products that I love.  My FB friends sent me lots of other recommendations, and once I have made a purchase with them, I will consider adding them here.

Check out Rebecca Wolf-Nail's murder, mystery belly dance novels.  She mixes humor with the drama of the belly dance world. 
Murder mystery books
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Saroyan Mastercrafts - home of the best finger cymbals.  From your first practice pair, to professional level zills, this web site has something for everyone.
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Saroyan

Dawn Devine has a huge range of wonderful books available on Amazon.  Check out the full range here:
Dawn Devine's books
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Princess Farhana has a wonderful range of books and DVD, all featuring her fantastic humor:  Her books are required reading for all belly dancers and her DVDs are well produced and full of tips, techniques and great practice ideas.
Princess Farhana's shop
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I love Paradise Vintage's cute little mini belly dancers.  I also have one of her sparklie Oum Kalthoum t-shirts!  For the holidays she has some really sweet elf/belly dancer tree orniments, that would make the perfect gift for your favorite belly dancer.

Paradise Vintage

I am honored to be one of the many amazing teachers who work with the Belly Dance Business Academy to provide on line lessons and workshops for those in the Belly Dance business.  Check out their full list of offerings.  I am planning to offer more courses in the new year, focusing on supporting belly dance teachers, but the organization covers all kinds of topics for belly dancers.  You can buy them one at a time or sign up to a monthly subscription.  Some of them are even free !
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Belly Dance Business Academy

There are three big on-line belly dance stores that I regularly shop,  Dahlal, Miss BellyDance and BellyDance.com.  Between them they cover almost all a belly dancer could desire !
Dahlal
Miss Belly Dance
Belly Dance .Com
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Bold Oracle do some really pretty costuming, but personally I am totally in love with all their hair flowers. Every one of them is a tiny peice of art !
Bold Oracle
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DVDs and videos ! - There are way too many to mention, but these are the ones that I have LOVED this year :
  • Full on with 3/4 shimmies by Mahin
  • Delicious Pauses by Rosa Noreen
  • Belly Dance Travel Steps by Autumn Ward
  • BellyDance Artistry by Tempest
Full on with 3/4 shimmies
Belly Dance Travel Steps
Delicious Pauses
Bellydance Artistry

For a stunningly beautiful gown with wonderful style, fit and elegance, look no further than Fearless Glamour !  Work with Saqra to pick out fabric, neckline, straps and skirt shape for your dream dress !
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Fearless Glamour

Finally ! - I would like to offer you a flick through my latest book "Becoming A Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage" written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya.  Simply use the arrow to flick through a few of the 400 plus pages.  Becoming a Belly Dancer is the stagecraft handbook for belly dancers and  is available now on Amazon.  Check out the reviews - it makes the perfect gift for the belly dancers of all styles !

Sara's Books

Want more shopping ideas ?  Check out these blog posts on other pages:
Poppy Maya's Gift Guide for Belly Dancers
Belly Dance at Any Size 2016 Shopping Guide
If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:

Teacher Knows Best
Dealing with Difficult Students
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you)


The History of Belly Dance - Where to Start
Why Belly Dancers need to Walk the Line
Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections
Being Part of the Solution
0 Comments

Belly Dance Discount Season

5/27/2016
This weekend, many of the big belly dance stores have a sale on.  Here is my round up of what is available, the discount codes and some of their best buys. I have only included companies that I have used and would use again.  These are my personal opinions, and discounts were available as of the time that this blog was posted. We all shop on an understanding of "buyer beware'.  If you know of another sale happening, then please feel free to share in the comments below:

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ISIS EXCHANGE - Isis is a costume company from Florida.  They cover the full range of costuming from $10 coin belts to custom sets of bra, belt, skirt and veil.  I particularly like their entry level bras, which are around $50, come in a range of sizes and suit both Tribal and Glam dancers.  They are one of the best places to get the lacy look that is so hot just now.  Of course I am in love with the bright pink lace, but they have something for everything.  In addition to their 20% off deal for this weekend they have free shipping to the US and Canada on orders over $99.  Check out their web site here:

Isis Exchange

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DAHLAL INTERNATIONALE - Dahlal is one of my personal favorite places to shop.  We found our last troupe costume through Dahlal and get so many compliments!  They specialize in the very top end designer costumes like Eman Zaki, but also stock the full range of separated, sets and belts.  Their look is Glam, but there is something for everyone.  I am a huge fan of their "Off The Nile" range, which covers top end class wear and comfortable performance pieces.  Its perfect for those of us who travel a lot to dance, because you can create a mix and match wardrobe that will take you from teaching a workshop to performing on the stage, with pieces that will pack into hand luggage.  They have a $5 off code (spend over $25) : MYWAY5 - and a $20 off code (spend over $100): MYWAY20

Dahlal Internationale

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MISS BELLY DANCE - Missbellydance.com is the top shopping stop for us "plus" belly dancers.  Their range of plus sized costumes is second to none and covers the range from classwear to troupe costumes.  I like to send my beginner dancers to Miss Belly Dance, as its the perfect place to create a belly dance wardrobe on a budget.  Check out their stunning 25 yard skirts in cool spring colors and a wide range of patterns.  Our troupe invested in one of their fabulous trouser suits a couple of years ago.  Miss Belly Dance has a code for 12% when you spend $75 or more : memorial2016 

Miss Belly Dance

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TEACHING BELLY DANCE - Of course I should add my own products... If you go to the store page of this web site you will see my book "Teaching Belly Dance' for just $24.50.  That is a saving of over 15%!  Amazon sales fluctuate through the weekend but they currently have it for $26.74.  Check in over the weekend to see if they drop the price further.  If you already have my book, why not add a review or pass on the link to a teacher or talented dancer that may start teaching in the next few months.

Buy Teaching Belly Dance Direct
Buy through Amazon
If you like this blog, go back to the blog page, for others you might like including: 

Being Part of the Solution
Dealing with Difficult Students
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you)

Or check out these Hub Blogs including:

"Your First Belly Dance Workshop"
The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance"
"Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher"
​
​Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer.

She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US.  She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide and on-line via the Belly Dance Business Academy.  Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context.    Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching.


Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” is available on Amazon.  Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is available in 2016 .


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    Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer.

    She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US.  She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide.  Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context.    Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching.


    Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” was published in 2014.  Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is a stagecraft handbook.  Both are available on Amazon.

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