Yallah Raqs

Today’s episode is all about making your traveling steps musical and our Guest Chudney is absolutely one of my personal favorites when it comes to musicality. Traveling on anything but the beat can be really tricky, but being able to interpret different parts of the music through our movements around our dance space is an amazing layer that we can add that really takes our musicality to the next l...

Getting feedback is mostly terrifying for dancers.   I get it, I’ve been there, and so has today’s guest Adrianne.   We start off talking about the creative process and then dive deep into the feedback and critique part that comes with any kind of creation.   Drawing on her background in art school Adrianne shares some tips and tricks for asking for, giving, and receiving feedback on your piece.  ...

Ever decide to start a drum solo choreography, hit the dance floor, start the music, then freeze on where to start? With the music happening all over the place where do you even begin?   And how do you slow down when it feels like the music is pushing you to go fast?   Victoria Teel is joining us in the 2021 Bellydance Bundle to teach us a Drumsolo choreography so we’ve invited her to the show to...

Today we’re here to talk about something foundational that is layered into everything that you do. Shapes! Mahin joins us to talk about her thoughts around creative shapes, from the foundations of the shapes themselves in the dance to how we can layer them together with different parts of our bodies and on different planes to create new and unique expressions of the music. There are infinite ways...

Ever find yourself saying bad things about your dancing when you watch a video from your practice? Or find yourself extremely nervous before an event?   Today we have Eshe on the Podcast to share some of her stories around changing her mindset when it came not only to dance performances, but practices and being in the business of dance as well! So much of what we do as dancers relies on technique...

Do you love learning choreographies? How do you translate them back into your personal dance? This year we’ve talked quite a bit about how we can see improvements in our dance and that a LOT of us rely on choreographies to see progress in the short term. And while that’s awesome it’s often harder to see those skills translate into other dances and become part of our general repertoire. So today we...

Did you start playing zills when you were a baby bellydancer? Or did you start later in your dance journey? Or maybe you haven’t picked them up yet! Join Sahira and myself today as we chat all things Zills. Sahira has had a passion for these beautiful little instruments since the beginning and is determined to get everyone else as in love with them as she is. A worthy goal, to make everyone as muc...

So, I don’t know about you, but there was QUITE a while where I struggled to come up with combos. How to attach moves together, putting them to music, ugh, it felt like some magical skill that other people seemed to have in droves, but that I was holding the book upside down and backwards on.   Ebony is one of those amazing people. With her Urban Fusion Technique & Choreography class, which you’ll...

Innovation is rooted in tradition. Today’s podcast Guest Diana holds that idea to heart as she talks to us about Sa’idi dance, particularly using an assaya. From the common struggles she sees when it comes to dancing with assaya or canes to how we can work through those moments to create something amazing, Diana walks us through her stylings of Sa’idi dance in today’s episode. When it comes to pro...

Have you ever been dancing at a restaurant or just noodling about in your dance space and been surprised how after just a short period of time you’re exhausted?   That’s what we’re here to talk about today.   Endurance.   Today we’re talking to Oreet from Sharqi about adding this element to our practices. What’s going on, the different types of endurance and what we can work on to increase the amo...

Improvisation is tricky. And oftentimes scary. It’s a skill in and of itself that we grow as dancers.  But it’s one that as we start often fills us with a bit of dread.   Heather Henna Louise joins me today to talk about Improvisation and turning it into PLAY. We talk mindset, and how the story we tell ourselves? It matters!    We answer questions like: Where do we start with improv? What do we do...

Let’s take it back today to define some terms. What is a mejance? What does one sound like? How can you tell if this piece in your music library is one?! Melissa Gamal joins us today to talk about Mejances, the subject of her course in the 2021 Bundle. And she’s not the only one. Mejances have been becoming more and more popular over the past couple of decades and this year we’ve got two in the Bu...

Sadie joins us today to talk about Stage Presence. Her workshop in the 2021 Bundle, Purpose, presence, and power centers around the concept of Stage Presence and HOW we show up. Not necessarily what we do when we get there. Dance relies  a lot on technique, and that part of your journey is always getting honed and focused on, but what about the other big thing that plays into your dance? From your...

How well do you know your music? Alia joins us today to talk about mapping our music. When it works, what it helps with, and how to use it to create art with our performances. From helping improv be a little bit less scary to telling entire stories with our dance, music mapping is a tool that you can use to help your dance become what you envision. Finding the confidence when you’re dancing can be...

Do you want to have a better understanding of how the body works so that you can reach a new level of dance?   With a classical background in ballet & a lifelong advocate for dance, Prue's mission is for the joy of dance to be accessible to everyone. Having had struggles with injury throughout her career, she is a firm believer that injury prevention is key to ensuring longevity in dance for profe...

If you want to step up your belly dance practice with some strengthening elements guarenteed to help technique? Then this episode with Soraya will be perfect for you.   With over 20 years in the fitness industry and a lifetime as a belly dance practitioner, both culturally and as an enthusiast, Soraya is also the creator of the patented RAQISA® Belly Dance Training Mat and Balance Plate and the Ra...

Today on the podcast we talk about dance & movement! Amanda Rose joins me as we chat a bit about her work in Dance Movement Therapy (where she has her masters) and the ways that she has brought some of this learning into the bellydance space with her Move, Connect, Express, and Grow classes.   While we're learning this dance we often focus on the technique and the movements and getting that all ju...

What does dancing Beledi remind you of?⁠ ⁠ Jesenia and I join forces to chat about this in today's episode of Yallah Raqs.⁠ ⁠ Does it remind you of a moment of connection? Of strength? Of dancing in your mother's kitchen?⁠ ⁠ Beledi can be so many things, but in this episode? We talk about the feelings. What does Beledi FEEL like? What does it remind you of when you're dancing and working in this s...

Ever feel like your head is a magnet for your veil? Join Aziza and myself as we chat veil today. Some best practices, picking the right veil, and of course ways that you can keep that veil from thinking your face is magnetic. From the elements that define Aziza's style to some tips to make sure your veil is working WITH you instead of against you, this episode of full of amazing tips to help you m...

It’s time to Shimmy with Siobhan Camille of Greenstone Bellydance! We are going to be talking about something that we all work on from the beginning of our journey into forever. Shimmies! There’s always something more to learn, layer, or experiment with when it comes to shimmies and today, Siobhan is going to be talking to us about the role that strength plays when it comes to shaking those hips!...

Turning is my nemisis. So I am SUPER excited to chat today with Rosa Noreen about her course for the 2021 Bundle, Turn from the Hip.   With Rosa's background in Ballet, she does something magical. She bridges the gap for a lot of us who didn't have classical training in the western styles of dance before coming to the Middle Eastern Dance Scene.   Turning can be super difficult, and Rosa breaks do...

There is so much to be learned from tracking your dance, and yet so many dancers don't engage in this method of measuring their progress. Drawing on the experience of dancers, and her own experience cross training in weight lifting, Tiffany has created a new freebie - Track Your Dance, See Your Progress that is designed to help dancers work with tracking their dance so that they can measure the pr...

We're back for another season of Yallah Raqs! Get hyped for this year's #21daysofbellydance challenge and grab our new Dance Tracker - https://www.thebellydancebundle.com/tracker   You can check out who is teaching in this year's Bellydance Bundle on the site!  www.thebellydancebundle.com   I can't wait to get back to dancing and learning with you all!

Siobhan Camille joins us today to discuss the learning of Middle Eastern Rhythms. For those of us who are not from the culture of this dance, we weren't necessarily raised on this music, on these styles. And there are so many ways in which it differs from the popular musics of our own cultures.  It can be difficult to "train" your ear, as it were to listen to these new beat and sounds. To new inst...

Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? Like you’re not really supposed to be here? Like once someone notices you’ll get your dance card revoked? You totally do belong here You’re total enough And Three. Today’s guest has some advice about that! Sahira has been working over the past several months beta-testing and creating her new course, Designing Your Ideal Online Classroom. And now it’s finis...