When I was a new student, I was absolutely rabid for any new information on bellydance. I was always digging around for new details about the styles I was studying, the classes I was taking, and the teachers I was studying with (or hoped to one day study with). I know a lot of you reading this blog are the same way--you just love reading about the dance, and learning all you can in your time both in and outside of class!

It was in this spirit that I started my FAQ section on my website. I knew other dancers are just like me, and are eager to read up on various topics having to do with the dance. There is a lot to cover, but I tried to focus my questions and answers on the same topics I wondered about when I was first learning. It makes for a long FAQ, though, and it can be hard to find time to dig through it all. So I am going to occasionally post a blog entry featuring one of the FAQ topics I think you may enjoy reading. I welcome any thoughts or feedback on these topics--I am still that same eager student who loves to study and discuss all the angles of this incredible dance form!

When do I get to perform?

Performing is an exciting way to bring the joy you feel in dancing to an audience--I have been a performer all my life and can definitely vouch for what a rewarding experience it can be to take to the stage. However, it is by no means a requirement, nor is it even a "natural progression" that every dancer should one day perform. Many students are quite happy to confine their dancing to class and/or their living room, and never perform for the public, and that is absolutely fine.


Patience, Persistence and Practice!
For those who do want to perform, it is important to know that the skills one must develop to become a strong performer is a process that takes years. No matter how eager or well-intentioned, one cannot simply "take a few classes" and be adequately prepared to present this art form to an audience. Would you take a few ballet classes and do Swan Lake? Would you take a few painting classes and have a gallery opening? Would you take a few months of piano lessons and put on a concert? No, it takes years of thoughtful study and dedication to reach that point. Any art deserves time and guided development before it is ready to be presented to the public. And you deserve the time to enjoy being a pure student, enjoying the exploration of movement and community, free from the responsibilities that performing demands. Students should consider carefully before accepting an opportunity to perform without the guidance of a trusted mentor/instructor. It's a responsibility that deserves preparation and respect. Please feel free to talk to me if you have any thoughts or questions about performance ethics and preparation.

Student level performances, under the guidance of your teacher, are a good way to see if performing is for you, and to learn some basic and vital performance skills. For a student performance, careful choice of the appropriate venue, music, and costuming is something your instructor can guide you in, and are details that should not be taken lightly. A trusted mentor or teacher can help you sidestep common pitfalls, and make sure that you represent yourself beautifully and confidently on stage. Remember, when you perform, you represent not only yourself, but your fellow dancers, your teacher, and the art form in general. Don't you think it's important that you put your best foot forward by being adequately prepared and guided by someone who is experienced in performance of this art? Check out the next section about our student troupe, Nomaditude, to see if it's something you'd like to try!

Bottom line, concentrating on your personal development, dedicating your energies to improving your dance skills and expanding your knowledge of tribal bellydance, may guide you down the road to performing one day. Don't rush the process. Enjoy the work of being a student, and make regular study/classes your highest priority in pursuing a future in performance. Trust me--your dedication and commitment will be well worth it, wherever it leads you.



Note:  This FAQ definitely reflects my philosophy on performing. Different teachers may guide you differently. Some encourage students to perform right away, after only a few weeks. Some will never provide performance opportunities for their students.  I like to think that I encourage my students to perform at a time when they are best mentally and physically prepared (in the style we learn together in class), and I try to create various opportunities which introduce different level dancers at venues which showcase their talents, so no one ever goes out on stage without the basic tools needed to be a success. For many, that takes more time than they may realize, but I promise to always try and do my best to be an honest and thoughtful teacher in this regard.

I encourage every student to find a teacher and a style which resonate with you, whom you trust to help you be your best, and be guided by their advice.

Here follows some rambling about making this year a better year, this decade a better decade, through new habits...

Okay confession time: I have never been a very disciplined person. To be honest, and this is maybe gonna sound haughty, but as I was growing up, most things I was presented with came pretty naturally to me. Whatever I put my mind to, mentally or physically, I managed to do at least passably well. I had really fabulous parents who were always encouraging me and making new opportunities available to me, and in return I tended to deliver on those opportunities with awards, certificates, and good grades. But frankly, so long as I was delivering on the expectations put before me, nobody took a look at how it was that I was achieving what I was achieving. Nobody was looking at the habits I was forming. Namely: almost none. I didn't have to study much to get A's and B's. I didn't practice as much as I could for my choir performances, my clarinet solos, or roles in plays, but managed to know my lines and put on a decent show. So who was going to raise a fuss?

While I was above average, I wasn't really pushing myself to the upper limits I was capable of. It was easier to occupy a space below or outside of my greatest potential, rather than do the extra work to really achieve all I was capable of. This acceptable mediocrity was the timbre of my life's pursuits, and it bled into my habits in my everyday life as I grew to adulthood. The house is "clean enough"; it's not like anyone is coming over today. My organization of my files is fine; I can find everything if I dig for a little while. Sure I have some free time right now, but I have enough clean clothes to get me through the week, so that pile of laundry can wait. And the list goes on. But frankly, those little things start to pile up and weigh on you over time. I can attest, it is a demoralizing feeling to look around and realize that for the longest time you haven't cared enough to do a few little things that would have made such a difference in your attitude and your daily experiences.

So today when I look around at my life, I want more for myself! I want to be more proactive. I want to take those little extra steps daily that build into long-term gains. I have the potential to achieve more than I currently have, in my domestic life, my business, and my creative outlets. So why is it so hard to motivate myself to make change, even tiny little ones? Because I haven't established habits which support the basic structure I imagine for my ideal life. I am out of practice with regard to how to set up a system of support for MYSELF. How did I get to 35 and not have these skills? I look back and see that I was always doing just enough, but never all that I was capable of. 2010 is a year to jump on the motivation train and finally step up and defend myself against myself. It's time to make some new habits. It's time to be more disciplined.

Discipline is such a funny word, really. It has two faces. For many, it implies punishment. When you do something wrong in school or work, you are "disciplined". The image of an overly strict teacher seems to hold "discipline" over your head like some menacing sword of Damocles. It's a heavy word, right? Yet it is a word that is also used with reverence. I admire people who are disciplined in their practices or pursuits - runners who get up every morning to get some hoofin' in before work, yoga practitioners who do it every day without fail, people who make time to meditate daily no matter where they are, even on business trips and vacations, friends who stick to their nutrition regimen even when tempted by wine and cheese at parties. The trick is that they have figured out they aren't so much denying themselves something as they are giving a gift to themselves of greater strength, peace, and health. For me, above all, I marvel at their self-love -- that it is strong enough to get them up an hour earlier, carve out a quiet moment in their hectic day, or make kinder choices about what they put in their bodies for long term health benefits. Where did they get that? How did they find that resolve? How do they maintain their discipline?

Habit.

We're not all born with the instincts to care for ourselves as we should. We aren't born knowing how to brush our teeth or wash our faces. These were learned behaviors. Nesting may be a animalian instinct, but I assure you that doing dishes and vacuuming is not encoded in our DNA. As dancers, we may love putting on our costumes and getting on stage, but the weekly and daily honing of our technical skills in class or at home alone isn't quite as innately rewarding as the roar of an appreciative crowd. Each of these acts of self-care and preparation for success does not necessarily carry with it an immediate reward, but instead are a means to an end. I don't like hauling out the vacuum, but I sure love the pet-hair free carpets and clean-smelling home. It may sometimes feel a drudgery to perform repeated plies or crunches, but it empowers me to execute movement I want to use to express myself in my dance and protect my body from injury as I do.

The people who I admire most in my life are people who formed habits which empowered them to take their skills, their work, their daily life, to the next level. Not satisfied to occupy the space outside their potential, they are taking steps every day toward their ideal life. Nobody is "there". Are we ever? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, yes? I think "pursuit" is the key word here. We must always be moving toward happiness, grabbing snatches of it as we go forward. We never arrive, grab a deck chair and a Mai Tai, and say "I'm good now, thanks. Happiness achieved!" Happiness itself is a habit, isn't it? It is building a structure of our lives which supports happiness, and maintaining that structure through discipline.

So that is what I am doing. 2010 is about getting my shit in order. It's about clearing away clutter--the weeds that choke the soil--and making way for the really good stuff to take root. And I am doing this by forming some new habits. I am making little steps every day that are adding up to bigger rewards. And it feels really good. And I am not alone! Seems there is a vibrating energy singing in the air around us this year, and all my friends seem to be tapped into it as well. We're getting organized! We're getting motivated! We're getting disciplined, dammit!

What about you? What is your history of habit-forming? Where do you stand on the concept of discipline in your pursuits today? What are you doing to make 2010 the best year--the best decade--yet?!

I have students who drive quite a distance to study with me--a fact I find speaks more to their dedication to the dance than any special skill I have in my teaching bag of tricks. A handful drive as much as an hour and a half to come to class every week, and I just want to squeeze the bejeezus out of them for their commitment and enthusiasm! Kat is one such student, and is even more remarkable than most. Not only does she drive so far (often alone now that some of her friends she used to commute with have conflicts and can't come to class each week any longer); but she has overcome some incredible struggles with her health as well, culminating in a kidney transplant about a year ago, from which she is recovering beautifully and is healthier and stronger than ever, I am pleased to report! Combined with many dance and life commitments in her own town, I don't get to see her as often as I used to, which is our loss. Kat has an incredible energy that everyone in the room can feel--to meet Kat is to love her, truly--always with a smile, a positive word, a hug, a laugh.

This fall she has been making an effort to come to class again with more regularity, which continues to be a struggle, and which is completely understandable. This last week she came after a few weeks away, and a couple days later I received this message from her. I was moved to tears by her words, which is the kind of epiphany all we teachers wish our students could arrive at. I thought some fellow dancers and teachers might appreciate the astute observations Kat made about her class experience this past week, about the importance of intention and being fully present in your practice. I asked her permission to share this with you, and she enthusiastically agreed. So here is the letter that completely made my day...really made my teaching year! I would enjoy hearing your thoughts on this as well, so please feel free to write or comment.

Your class this Monday was meditation to me. I left there with a whole new appreciation and perspective about classes. I realize how precious it is to be there. I saw more than ever all that I lose when I can't make it...

It's more than just being there, it's what comes with me when I leave. I've always known that class was important, I just didn't realize till now HOW. Moves I've known like the Circle Step (that I've done more times than I can count) took on a whole new life to me. You broke it down and made it rich. It wasn't just a move, it demanded thought. My mind and my body fused~and I realized that every time I've done a move/combo without my brain involved, the movement lost it's purpose. Dance is a language and if the movement has no intention, no purpose, then it's like saying stuff without saying anything at all.

I spent all day yesterday going through all the moves/combos I know and did them one by one with awareness~and I saw that with each move I did, I didn't have as good of a relationship with them as I thought. My body is sore from it, and my mind is much more excited and awake.

You teach much more than just moves~ you're teaching energy, awareness, and connection. Thank you for peeling my eyelids up so I can really look at myself...I needed & wanted to see this truth about myself and my dance.

Love,
~kat