Yallah Raqs

Alia Thabit is such an emotive and expressive dancer, I can't get enough of her. She reaches into you and really brings the soul back to the dance.⁠ ⁠ Today we talk about one of the cornerstones of middle-eastern music, the Taqsim. She shares how dancing to a taqsim takes us beyond the technique and the remembered steps and the percussive beat and puts us in tune with the music in a way that's so...

If you've done some study of the Golden Era then you're familiar with some of the stars from the era. Soheir Zaki and Taheyya Karioka to name a few! But did you ever study Nabaweya Mustafa? Today Shining joins us to talk about Nabaweya and why Shining was drawn to create a course that broke down the unique style she brought to the golden era of Egyptian cinema. We also get into some really great t...

In our new world, with people apart, but dancing together how do we recapture some of that community feeling that is so intrinsic to why so many of us dance? Aziza shares how she does this within her community with us today! In addition, we dive deep on how Aziza sets up her own practice tracking in a way that we can use as a base to start our own experimentation! Show notes: www. TheBellydanceBun...

As dancers we need to make sure we're taking care of our bodies so they can show up for us when we need them. And we ask a lot of them! Today I'm joined by Siobhan Camille, an exercise scientist and conditioning coach turned bellydancer to talk about her research on bellydance injuries and what we can do to strengthen our bodies!

The pandemic has really thrown the bellydance world for a loop. It's upended the way we did things and has forced all of us to accept the internet and online teaching at a rate that would have been unprecedented before. As part of the Bundle this year Sara Shrapnell from The Bellydance Business Academy will be giving a talk on how you can prep yourself to head back to the studio so today we talk a...

Rosa has been well known for her work on pausing, waiting, savouring, while she dances, and with her contribution to this year's bundle she's taken it to a whole new level. Join us as we discuss Delicious Pauses Drum Solo & how you can being to slow down in your own dance.

We're back for 2020!! Ever find yourself distracted during practice or being critical of your dance or practice? Let's work on changing these patterns so we can come back to our dance with joy and happiness that we deserve!

I want you to keep practicing this dance, at home, on your own time, because I feel that that is where the magic happens. But to do so, you need to find the tools that are going to support you in that practice. Today I talk about what a tool actually is in your bellydance practice, and how you can find the ones that are going to work for you going forward. Then we'll combine the lessons from all o...

Today I asked if you ever felt like an impostor. So, by that I mean. You wonder who on earth you are to be dancing on this stage, in this restaurant, at this hafla, even in the class that’s a level up from your normal one. Feelings of doubt and shame around your dance, like you don’t know enough, aren’t good enough, or hell aren’t the right size/shape/color/age for this. Well, you don't have to fe...

So before we jump in. Disclaimer. I hate the word motivation. I straight up think it’s garbage. And that may not be a popular opinion, but it’s one I have none the less. I can’t think of a single thing that I’m motivated to do every single day. Except maybe reading. But even after a couple of days of my favorite novels, I need a bit of a break. If you are waiting for motivation to get you out on t...

Experimenting is key to figuring out how you can get yourself onto the dance floor in a consistent manner. Knowing yourself and what makes you tick makes it SO MUCH EASIER to make your practice stick, but you've got to figure out what that is first. So today, I come to you to talk about where to get started when you're trying to experiment on yourself and with your practice. How do you know when t...

You’ve learned a couple of different ways to set Goals, you’ve heard how the dance has changed as our contributors have entered it ad different times, you’ve learned about the history of zills, musicality, style, authenticity, music, I mean what HAVEN’T we covered? A lot. Here’s the thing, there is SO much to know in this dance, and most of it isn’t cut and dried. There are nuances, variations, mu...

Today, we’re talking a LOT about goals. One of the hardest things to define in our dance, since our dance is so hard to measure progress in. But don’t worry, because Sadie has got you covered. We’ll talk about what it takes to have your dance show up for you, why improv is a necessary part of your dance, why using video to practice is KEY, and of course, how to set goals and measure your progress....

Do you think that stage presence requires an actual stage? What about a performance space at all? I have a feeling that today is going to open your eyes. Today’s guest Ranya is contributing a live talk on Stage Presence to this year’s bundle, so today we’re doing a deep dive in a couple of aspects of stage presence. What it is, how often you REALLY use it, and a couple of exercisese to help you pr...

Do you ever find yourself on a negative hamster wheel of self-talk? Why aren’t I better at this? Is my dancing good enough? I’m so lazy, I must not care enough? Sound familiar? We ALL go through this, and we all have to find our own way to deal with it. Self-doubt is a killer of dreams, and well, we’re not standing for it anymore. Terri is here with me today to talk about Self-Doubt, and Self-conf...

Musicality and style are two of the biggest things in our dance. You hear about them ALL. THE. TIME The context varies, but the terms stay the same. Perhaps you’re learning more about musicality and expressing it through improv, or you’ve heard mention of style, but have no idea what your style even is. Neither is an easy thing to master, but they can be so much fun. And today Amanda Rose joins us...

If you’ve been listening to our episodes, you’ve heard mention a couple of times of a “routine” as some of our contributors talk about their origin stories in bellydance. Now, you may or may not be familiar with that phrase as this isn’t something that’s done nearly as often anymore. Our guest Heather Wayman from The Bellydance Geek joins us today to de-mystefy the routine and You’ll learn the rou...

Today’s guest Myra will be joining in the bundle as a contributor, but she was actually involved last year too, as our donation partner! We’re going for round two this year and donating at least 8 dollars from every sale of the bundle to SEEDS, a wonderful program that Myra’s going to tell you more about that supports young women through dance. In addition to our talks on SEEDS we also do a little...

If you’re a teacher, then you’re familiar with lesson plans, in theory, if not in practice. And as a student of bellydance? You may not have ever given it a second thought. But there’s a lot of value to be gained from planning out your practice. Namely, you know what you’re doing when you get to the dance floor. Combine that with a goal and you have all the makings of success. Sara Shrapnell joins...

I learned SO much about improv from this interview, and I can’t wait for you to dive in. It’s given me a whole new view of not only improv’s place in this dance, but also HOW MANY things in our lives are improvised. Sometimes you just have to put things in that context to make something way less scary. Today's guest Alia has spent her whole career in this dance improvising, and she has so much kno...

Do you ever feel like you have to run your personal practice like a dance class? I’ve had people express this concern to me in the past, but in different ways. Mostly focused in the areas of the amount of time that you practice, and the content of their personal practice. Today, I ask my guest Aziza how she structures her practice time, and some tips and tricks to make your practice your own and b...

Sahra Kent is the powerhouse behind Journey Through Egypt and today she joins us to get nerdy about the Sa’id. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a region of Egypt, and where the dance you’ve heard of, Sa’idi, hails from. Sa’idi means of the Sa’id. Don’t worry though, by the end of this podcast, you’ll know a lot more about this region! We talk about the dances of the Sa'id, not only how they'r...

Are you in love with the Golden Age of Egyptian Cinema? I think that most dancers are at some point in their journeys. Seeing these videos can inform a lot about our dance history, and provide a really interesting look into the time period that they were made. Adriane has taken the time to break down some of these videos to bring to you the technique and the styles shown by the famous dancers of t...

Morocco joins us today to explain the differences in Raqs Sharqi and Raqs Shaabi, she shares with us how she learned this dance in the age before the internet, and of course, a way that you can emulate that experience to get to the core of this dance.

As bellydancers we have a LOT in common, and one of those things? A love for the costumes. Whether those be the sparkly kind, the fluffy kind, the elaborate kind, fake flowers, or rhinestones, we all fall in love with the costuming of our styles and of this dance. Today’s guest Mao Murakami of TheSparklyBelly.com, has taken that love a bit further and has established an entire site that’s dedicate...