Category: teaching

A question came through this morning on a list for bellydance teachers & troupe directors that I belong to. The question was  “how long is your warm-up?” I love questions like this because they give me the opportunity to share some of the teaching technique & philosophy that I have learned over the years. It is… Continue reading Warming up for dance class

Last night was hafla. I host a hafla to celebrate the end of each dance semester and to thank my students. It’s part of creating a bellydance community…so that students feel they are a part of something. I always enjoy hafla, and even though it’s a lot of work the students always pitch in and help out. And… Continue reading 10 years of hafla

How long does it take to learn bellydance? That’s probably the first question every potential student asks me. It takes a year or a lifetime…the answer depends entirely on what you want to do with it.  I have been dancing for over half my life and studying Egyptian bellydance intensively for years. I dance professionally but… Continue reading how long does it take to learn to bellydance?

A year or so ago I received a phone call and email from a woman who wanted me to teach her bollywood dance. She wanted to show me some of her favourite bollywood movies and asked if I could then teach her the moves she wanted to learn.  It was an interesting question, and I… Continue reading Bellywood

As a student dancer, I learned to dance (like the majority of students do) through the vehicle of choreography. Later, as a “mature” dancer, I had to struggle hard to become comfortable with improvisation. Now, when I perform, I am probably 75% choreographed and 25% improvised within any given piece. I almost always do have… Continue reading teaching thoughts: improvisation