Belly Dance Podcast A Little Lighter

Johanna of Hip Expressions helps us stop and take a breath, tells us her secrets to building great dance music playlists, and she shares some very fun and surprising danceable songs that you will love. Alicia Free: I am so honored to share the wisdom of this goddess of a teacher and performer with you all today. The multi-talented Johanna Zenobia dedicates her life towards the evolution of belly d...

These loved Turkish, Rom and Arabic songs are a must-know for belly dancers, especially if you want to be ready to dance to a live band!  Learn about the maqamat, rhythms, translations and ways to dance to Katibim, Al Ain Molayaitin, and Rompi Rompi.   We have talked about so many fantastic danceable songs in the first 24 episodes of A Little Lighter, but I haven’t played the 1 entire song fo...

Why is it so hard to say “dancers” instead of “ladies”? Male dancers have to train even harder not to be a spectacle, and lady dancers can help too. Listen to Hakan tell us how.   I am delighted to share this interview with our first featured male belly dancer, Hakan. Hakan is part of the dance community in Pittsburgh, which is the closest city to this two-week medieva...

In this second show in this 3 part series on the History of Belly Dance, we’ll dance through night clubs, theater stages and movie screens around the world from the 1900s up through the 1960s, when the Women’s Rights Movement welcomed belly dance classes into the dance studios of the US.   But first, a Danceable Ritual that helps us enjoy whatever time period we are dancing in.   DANCEAB...

Folkloric Fusion Belly Dancer Maria Hamer of the Hamer Sisters talks about collaborating with Tribal Fusion stars Jill Parker , Zoe Jakes , and Mardi Love as well as how she spins and incorporates silk into her belly dance costumes. Alicia Free: We are here at Pennsic Medieval Festival , and you can hear a tent stake being hammered in the background…because we are camping! I’m here with Mari...

Improvising to live drums around a fire at a festival like Pennsic can turn a studio-trained belly dancer into a belly dancer who knows what’s up.   The second part of the belly dance history series is coming soon. But August is Pennsic time in the Northeast, and it’s time to dance around fire. Belly dancing with fire will be a whole different show. DANCEABLE RITUAL Even in our modern lives,...

As a drummer in some of the best belly dance bands in New York, Casey teaches us about the soul of belly dance rhythms in the belly dance classic song Laylet Hob, what drummers like to see in dancers, and how to fully enjoy dancing and life. Some great quotes from Casey from this interview: “A live drum solo with a dancer is a conversation in the moment. It’s the not knowing that makes...

Travel back in time to belly dance like Ghawazee and Awalim dancers from Egypt, Ouled Nail dancers from Algeria, and Rom dancers who developed the art of belly dance centuries before us. A glimpse of what a pre-1900s Ghawazi performance might have looked something like… While teaching some saidi stick dance feeling and moves the other day, one of my students expressed that she would like to...

Discover Dalia’s secrets on doing belly dance fusion well, find out why she dances Flamenco Arabe on beautiful angles, and know what to do next time your inner voice says, “I’m not sexy enough”. DaliaCarella.com Alicia: I have the immense pleasure of having Dalia Carella on the show today. I’ve met her at Super Fun Dance Camp. We’re actually recording in a cabin...

Learn how to do an earth shaking shimmy to the powerful 2-headed bass drum the davul (aka tabl beledi), improv with your belly dance friends like a Turk in a circle dance, and get a super dance bra strap tip from Farha. https://youtu.be/-lEUfgtMfWw?t=84 Parade season has begun in New York. Let’s celebrate a loved heartbeat of parades and street processions –  the big bassy two-headed drum kn...

Find out why chatting in the dressing room is a good habit to quit, get yourself a gold or silver bra and belt, and discover what’s so confusing about Foq Elna Khel. Check out this VIDEO of Mahin doing the Damn Sexy Dance Move for this show! The Clock Maya… In show #15 we featured a Damn Sexy Dance Move and Costume tip from fabulous dancer Elisheva. This show #16 is taking it up a notch, wit...

Free your hair with featured dancer Elisheva, add a fun new drum solo to your repertoire, and get 11 easy belly dance hairdo ideas you can try.   This show #15 is a milestone for A Little Lighter! Hopefully you have been enjoying the Make-You-Shine Costume Tips and Damn Sexy Dance Moves in all the shows, and you are going to enjoy those 2 elements of this show even more. Why? Because they are...

Find out why Arabic speakers call their lover “my eye”, fend off the evil eye, get the low-down on the classic belly dance song Habibi ya Einy, and get tips on how to wear false eyelashes. DANCEABLE RITUAL Every day, you look right into your own eyes in a mirror. And your eyes tell your mind a story. Maybe you are tired or noticing something you don’t like about yourself. Maybe you feel inspired a...

Dancers have been conditioning and coloring their hair and skin with henna for thousands of years beginning in Egypt and landing in India centuries later. Similar to the possible mirror image of the path of belly dance as we know it. In this show we will dive into the myth, mystery and history of henna.   Henna, found in the hair and nails of mummies entombed in ancient Egypt, cooling the hea...

Show highlights: Learn how to make a dance video and get tips on editing and sharing your dance video. Warm up to Deya Dova’s “Myth of the Cave”, try the damn sexy dance move “Shoulder Peek Mayas”, take a selfie when you nail your costume and/or makeup, use a phone selfie ring light and full length mirror when you shoot, and try dancing next time you are on the phone. Top off all this self-relianc...

Belly dance to rocking music from the Balkans, try the Čoček Hip Tip, and dance while you hold hands with people you love.    DANCEABLE RITUAL   Seeing people hold hands has often made me smile. Children holding hands, a parent and their adult child, seniors, friends, people who are obviously in love in less-conservative contexts like much of France and the US.   And seeing stranger...

Dance Kalbelia with gypsies in Rajasthan, get your travel dance costume together, and dance in a beautiful place at sunrise.  It’s the very first Travel-themed show of A Little Lighter! And we’re going to focus on the horrific and magical miracle that is India. And of course talk about how to go dancing with gypsies in Rajasthan. Yay! DANCEABLE RITUAL Unpacking your bag with gratitude.   Even...

Meet the ancient grandmother of the tambourine, really get the meaning of the gorgeous old song Lamma Bada, and think twice before wearing that coin belt. DANCEABLE RITUAL The riq, along with other frame drums, is an ancient Arabic grandmother of the modern tambourine. It is also one of the main instruments I play in my band Taksim. And you are going to LOVE what you learn about the riq in this sh...

Know what to say when a fellow belly dancer is killin’ it on stage, do the money shower clap to the famous song Caje Sukarije, and rock a belly chain like Jill Parker.     DANCEABLE RITUAL   Celebrating is an art. It is invigorating, it inspires us to keep achieving, and strengthens our habit of defaulting to gratitude.   I celebrate a lot lately. Being parents has brought more...

Find out which belly dance skirt to wear and which one to skip, incorporate skirt moves into your floor work, and learn this secret of storing your big 10 and 25 yard skirts. Try counting a 9/8 rhythm 4 different ways and enjoy 3 different versions of the Turkish song Rampi Rampi. DANCEABLE RITUAL: Washing our skirts We all have favorite skirts. Maybe you wear yours so much that it’s in your laund...

Do the Greek belly dance move “Boubouka’s Backside” from an old movie to the classic Greek belly dance song “Scandalous Tsiftetelli”. Drizzle on some tahini, strike a postcard pose and open to the muse.   RITUAL   Opening to the muse. There is energy in the air all around us at all times. Electricity, light, wind, friction, other living things. Even more things that aren’t alive have ene...

Welcome to the hair episode! Learn how to move your hair when you belly dance to a trance-inducing beat, try the “Khaliji Sideways Hair Sway”, and turn your next shower into a stress-relieving ritual. DANCEABLE RITUAL: Cleansing Your Hair and Mind   Washing our hair is a chance to cleanse our minds and enjoy massaging and detangling our thoughts, even if it’s just a quick shower.   A par...

Find out why dubstep songs like “Crave You” are great to dance to. Get tips on how to mix metals in your dance costumes. Try the belly dance move “Dripping in Gold”, and discover  delicious (golden) white miso sauce by dripping it on your dinner tonight. It’s the gold episode! DANCEABLE RITUAL: The Golden Touch Think of dance move that makes you feel really good. It might even make you giggle. You...

Visualize yourself dancing in the streets to an oriental brass band influenced by Ottoman history and the Roma, and practice a beautiful pose when you pause. Danceable Ritual: The beautiful pause.   There are so many moments in life where we pause. In line at the store, at the red light, waiting for our computer to start, or waiting for the bath water to get hot. Sometimes we pause on purpose...

Learn the story behind the classic debke Ya Ayn Mawlayiten, get ready to dance in the rain, and discover this simple trick for losing unwanted weight. The theme of this show is water. The water in our veins, the water we seek, the water we drink while dancing around fire, the water that falls on us from above… Danceable ritual: Sipping water https://youtu.be/H_nUidYuttw What is your go-to drink ri...