Yallah Raqs

Sabia from the Asmara Initiative joins me to talk about the amazing work they're doing there as well as their upcoming event this weekend. In addition, we dive into how Sabia brings back workshops to her dance practice and how people at different levels can use different techniques to process the information they're learning. We have a challenge to go along with today's podcast which you can check...

Lisa joins me today to talk about how you can keep the momentum from the #21daysofbellydance going. Or how you can even just get started in your practice. It is so important for us, as dancers, to practice. And yet we find ourselves resisting it or getting stuck and not being able to fully dive in. Then the guilt spiral starts. Let's break the cycle and look at this from a scientific perspective....

Today I have with me Nefertiti who, along with Soumaya,  Amar Garcia,  Tammy Jonson,   Khuzama,  Cynthia , Hanane El , have agreed to put the Bellydancer’s Call to Action into this year’s bundle. This event was organized in the summer of 2020 and is a must listen for all dancers who are working to unpack their privilege. It was a chance for Black and Brown dancers to share their lived experiences...

Katie joins me today to talk about something that we all interact with every day. Social Media. Love it or hate it, it's something that you can use to propel your business forward, and that as a student, you can utilize to push your practice and learn more from dancers all over the world. But only if you can use it effectively. Today Katie and I chat about marketing yourself and your business and...

Today Sadie joins us to talk about quite a few important topics in our dance practice. Flipping our Negativity bias, and mentors being just two of them. We dive into how she decides what to teach, and how we can use something being difficult as a light and not as fuel for self-hate. You can do so much with this mindset shift! Shownotes: https://thebellydancebundle.com/57

Today we have with us Sahra Kent, also known as Sahra Saeeda. She's the brilliant mind behind Journey Through Egypt and I am so excited to bring her on to talk about research. Whether you know it or not, you are doing research ALL THE TIME. Any time you learn something, seek out a new teacher, go down a Youtube rabbit hole, or read a book or article? All research. And sometimes that research can b...

Do you know that Tarab has multiple meanings? There can be a LOT of confusion around this term, and we're here to clear it up a bit. Shahrzad joins me today to talk about Tarab. What it means, and what difficulties dancers face when trying to dance to this particular style of movement. And, of course, some things that you can work on in your home practice! Show Notes: www. TheBellydanceBundle.com/...

On this episode, we’ll be diving into ARMS with Katayoun. And no matter where you are In your dance journey. I know your arms are giving you grief. As a beginner's arms feel so awkward, and by the time you get to working on them it's a whole other skill you have to learn, which can be frustrating. Today we talk about why students have a hard time with arms, how Katayoun practices her arms every da...

Today Mahin joins us to talk about how shimmies should be just as unique as your fingerprint. We each have our best, most comfortable shimmy that is absolutely unique to us. The trouble sometimes is in finding it! Mahin brings such a great anatomical light to her classes. Anatomy, technique, and style mixed together is my absolute favorite. So join us as we chat shimmies and go into some pretty am...

Melissa Gamal joins me today to talk personal stylings and The Golden Era. We chat about not only Golden Era dancers, but on the importance of looking at a dance within the context of the time, the culture, and what was going on at the time. Then we get into the personal stylings and how personality comes through in your dance. It's so important to be authentic, but authenticity can be hard to fin...

Today I'm joined by Ebony Qualls as we chat about her style of fusion and how she integrates fitness into her classes. We also dive into topics around giving yourself more grace, the eternal student, and making the most of your time when you're looking to get a lot of things done in limited time frames. But it's not all about getting things done, mindfulness jumps into the conversation as well. So...

April joins me today as we dive into practice. And we dive deep into a couple of amazing areas here. April shares her story about a hard-won mindset shift that has made all the difference to her relationship to dance, along with some ideas around goal setting and scheduling that will get those of you who like to plan things very excited. If you struggle with fitting in your practice or ever feel l...

Today I'm joined by Aaliyah Jenny and we're talking about what you can do to make watching your videos suck less. AJ is doing a whole talk on being your best coach and getting over the "I can't watch myself on video" syndrome and this talk just scratches the surface. We talk about how perfectionism is a lie and how we can emulate some famous cartoon characters to change our mindset as we dive into...

Chudney joins us today to speak to the value of bringing it back to the basics and how she loves to break it down for dancers. Utilizing the basics in new and interesting ways can revolutionize your dance, and as you'll hear, sometimes it only takes one comment from a teacher to set you down a path. Chudney is an amazing dancer, and one that I've admired for quite some time so I'm so excited to ha...

If you had to describe your style in two words? What would they be? Two of the ones that Florance focuses on are Grace & Beauty, and once you hear her explain them you can SEE it in her dancing. It's amazing. Today Florance joins me to chat about grace and beauty, yes. But we also get into some seriously excellent discussion about finding your style and how to use video to grow your dance. My mind...

Beverli joins us today to chat about her methodologies in dance and how she's used them over the years to rehab and strengthen her legs. Her newest class, Dancing on a Drum: Drills & Leg Rehab uses these ideas of building trust in your feet and lower body to bring awareness to your body and inner muscle work so that you can dance from a place of strength. Show notes: www. TheBellydanceBundle.com/4...

Today Ranya joins us to talk about something you do every day. 24 hours a day in fact. Breathing. Well, of COURSE I breathe when I dance, you might think but upon slightly stronger inspection I bet you can remember a time or a million where you stopped breathing while you were practicing, or concentrating, or watching a video of yourself perform. Breathing is such an intrensic part of life that we...

Oreet, the creator of SharQui joins me today as we chat about fitness classes, breaking down moves, and about her Yemeni roots and how she's begun to teach some of those dances after years of pushing away her heritage. She literally walks me through breaking a move down into pieces today. This skill is so crucial for teachers, but I honestly think that students, ESPECIALLY those of us studying onl...

Amanda joins me today to chat about Egyptian Shaabi, a popular social dance style that has become very popular in the Oriental dance community. She chats about what Shaabi is, touches on its origins, and how we can differentiate it from other styles within the bellydance world. We get into how FEELING a move in your body can teach you so much about the move itself and how it differs from other sty...

Sabriye is a world famous dancer who grew up surrounded by dance and has traveled all over the world to dance and teach. She’s one of the few authorized instructors of Suhaila Salimpours Format and has a dance school in Sweden. With Sabriye it’s always a mix of dance and knowledge, and that is my absolute favorite, because I truly feel that one without the other is missing a core component! Sabriy...

Today we chat with Victoria Teel, who is such a goldmine of information on practicing. She’s really taken the step back to consider not only what works for her, but how she can encourage others to find what works for them. Her addition to the bundle this year are two classes designed to make your practice simpler and easier to get into. Practice Makes Perfect & Bellydance Drills Workout Program We...

Practice doesn’t ALWAYS mean putting your butt on the dancefloor. Sometimes the thing that will help your dance the most. The thing that your practice time is best served with is study. And that’s part of what this year’s lecture bundle is about. All of these other elements that there are to this dance outside of the dance itself. Today’s guest, Dawn Devine, will be giving a lecture as part of the...

Today we have the host of the Advance Your Bellydance Podcast, Žana, here with us on Yallah Raqs! Today’s conversation is SO important, and has been mirroring what we’ve been talking about lately on Instagram. I don’t even want to ruin it for you, I want you to hear it as it comes up! We start of chatting about the details of our dance, and how we move in our everyday as these are so important and...

Sahira joins me today to talk about adding emotion to your dance. Any dance. Including Drum Solos! Just like her course in this year's bundle. Learning to add emotion to our dance can feel both entirely natural and entirely strange, all at the same time. Many of us aren't taught this skill till much later in our journies, which often makes it hard to go back and see how that emotion affects every....

Today Aubre Hill joins me to talk about performance in the new age. How do we utilize our video recordings to portray our dance art? Obviously, video performances are completely different, both in impact and energy from in-person performances. But how can we use those differences to expand our artform? Especially in this age of digital haflas and the pandemic, but even past that just into the real...