Merry Christmas!
2007-12-20 14:10:00
I think I live in Grinchville. I break out my Santa hat every year after December 1. I never thought it was a big deal. I just like it. People everywhere wear them, but not here in Grinchville. It started about two weeks ago when a child in a restaurant started screetching because of the hat. His mom said that I was "Mrs. Claus." There was another similar incident with another child about a week later. Today a guy said to me, "That's the spirit! Merry
Christmas
!" like it was a novelty. What's the big deal. I don't get it.Where I came from, everybody wore Santa hats. When I drove a truck, I did my deliveries with my Santa hat on. Everybody wished everybody else "Merry Christmas
." Around here, I think everyone has another quote, "Every idiot that goes about with Merry Christmas on his lips should be boiled in his own pudding and buried with a stake of holly through his heart."--Scroogebah hum bug!
Why "Starving Artist"?
2007-12-16 18:24:00
I always wondered why there was this term, "starving artist." I mean I get the reality that art of all kinds is only a big money maker for a small number of people, but I think there is room for a good number of people to make a living wage.Anyway, I was having a conversation about it (actually two with two different people- funny how synchronicity works) and came to the conclusion that being 'comfortable" makes you lazy and uninspired. If you are "well enough", why rock the boat and get out of comfort zone to do something spectacular?I guess it takes poverty, desperation, heartache or some other catastrophe to inspire. Not a very brilliant discovery, I know, but one I just thought about.
Read more: Artist
, Starving
Ack! Do It Over
2007-12-11 19:50:00
I just spent the last 3 hours recording four rhythms! It took a while just to get to this point because I have all this new and improved equipment that is conflicting with each other. It doesn't work according to the plug and play instructions, so I have to do what I have to do to get it working at all. Then I am learning as I go, so I finish with it and then figure out it could be better if I just employed some other feature that I didn't know about fifteen minutes ago. (sigh) So, I start all over.It's not that I am a perfectionist. I am not, but I would like for it to be as good as I can make it. I do think that people should live up to their personal best, you know? So, I guess today was just a trial run for Friday when ditch everything I did today and start all over from scratch! ACK!
Simplifying My Llife
2007-12-11 11:33:00
My New Year's resolution is the same every year. Well, I can't say it's really a new year's resolution because it's my goal every day. It's to simplify my life. It's unbelievable how cluttered life can become. I have gotten a lot better at saying, "I will let someone else do that." Before I would just say, "Yeah, I can do that" and then take off with it.I took the rest of the year off to get my crap in order. The house is clean. The files are purged. My closets are thinned. I've taken a trip to the thrift store to drop stuff off. I am making my list of things to do and things to stop doing.Part of that is because I like to start the new year off clean and fresh. Part of it is so that I don't go long periods of time without doing things I mean to do, like seeing friends I haven't seen in a while. It also keeps me focused. It rejuvenates me and allows me to enjoy the holiday season without all the complications of shopping (my shopping was done in October), stress, and rushing
Gender Inequality
2007-12-24 11:36:00
Why is it that female dominated professions seem to have more promenent men at the top than women? Teachers, social workers, belly dancers, psychics are mainly women, but if there is a man in the bunch, you can almost bet that he has more visibility and makes more money than the woman. What's up with that? Is it the novelty issue? If there is a man teacher, he must be "special" or sensitive or some other quality that makes him more attractive than a female? Or does it have to do with the fact that men have no children, so they are more likely to be promoted? I don't begrudge men their success, but I don't get why they make up so little of a given population yet stand out as the leaders. If women dominate a profession in the lower ranks, I'd expect to see more of them at the top as well. I don't get it.
Read more: Inequality
Happy Festivus
2007-12-23 09:48:00
Getting ready for the hula hoop endurance contest and the airing of grievances. Hope everyone has a happy un-holiday!
Read more: Happy
The Intermediate Intensive is back!
2007-12-23 06:51:00
I am happy that I will be teaching again starting in January. No, not weekly classes, but workshops only. (I still don't have a schedule that will allow me to teach weekly classes). I had a good time teaching in Norfolk earlier this month and just realize how much I miss it. I also miss seeing students grow. It was so cool watching people improve just in the space of 4 hours. It is incredibly neat to see ideas "click" in someone's head and see them start to work with it, play with it, and develop it. I really like when that happens for me too, so that's why I am teaching the Intermediate
Intensive
. I figure if I am going to complain about there not being an instructional market for intermediate level dancers, then I should help to develop that, right?I am getting some interesting queries about it. I advertised it as being kind of like a contest except that you get one person's (me) feedback with instruction on how to work with that feedback. I thought that that would make this new
Who Are These Crazy People?
2008-03-10 20:18:00
In the space of a week, I have heard of two separate incidents where someone has been confronted by a dancer demanding to know why they thought they could conduct their business where they did. I can't believe that. Are we no longer in America, the land of the free? Since when is it someone else's right to tell you where you can do business? I can't even imagine that someone would have the nerve to say, "You can't do business here because blah, blah, blah."I get not going into a venue where someone else is working and plopping yourself down and saying, "Move over." I get not having your event on the same weekend as someone else. I think that's respectful, smart, and good business. But to say that someone can't do business in a spot because you don't think they belong there? Wow. I am amaz
Read more: Crazy
Teaching Technique
2008-03-08 06:52:00
I see class descriptions and people talking about classes as if all there is to learn is technique. Adding more and more technique isn't all that there is to belly dance. I am amazed at how belly dance hasn't caught up with the rest of the dance world in realizing that there is so much to learn! Yes, I know belly dance is folk dance and is at its essence simple, but you can still take a lifetime to master all its subtlety without ever moving beyond basic level technique. What I mean is, look at the college level classes for dance majors. You will see a whole semester spent on one thing, like "Elements of Choreography" for example. A whole semester!!! That's like what, 45 hours? Belly dancers want to have mastered that material in a 4 hour workshop!A casual observer of ballet might think
Belly Dance Burn Out
2008-03-05 07:51:00
I'm writing an article on belly dance burn out and am so overwhelmed because in belly dance, the issue isn't just the physical aspects of overtraining or being overworked. There are also environmental issues like cat fighting, jealousy, turf wars, people taking stuff personally that wasn't meant that way, psychic attack, "weird" students, and balancing the rest of your life. How does a dancer survive?I'm trying to get a handle on this whole burn out thing and write about it concisely. I know when I was burned out, I took time off. I didn't really consider quitting, but I knew that what I was doing wasn't working anymore. Time of helped me to focus on what I did want and think about how I wanted to get there. It results in feeling more rejuvenated, focused and accomplishing a lot more t
Read more: Dance
Not Teaching for Political Reasons?
2008-03-05 07:38:00
The latest rumor is that I am not teaching for political reasons. Hm, that's curious. I have never been one to be stopped by politics. I am not teaching weekly classes because I assessed the local dance scene, looked at what I wanted from my professional and personal life, and weighed the pros and cons of starting over in a rural area. I decided that what I really wanted to do is focus my belly dance attention on developing the Belly Dance Certification program, grow my other career, and balance my personal life. So, that's why I am not teaching weekly classes. It wouldn't further my bigger goal. Gotta have focus, ya know. I still like dance. I still teach workshops now and then, but I don't have the time really to do any more than I am doing without burning out. I've kinda been
Read more: Reasons
Oh My Aching Back
2008-03-05 07:35:00
There seem to be an abundance of promotional belly dance photos out there where the posture is just horrendous. You would think that with business booming, there would be less of this, not more of this. Don't people know better? Ouch! Whenever I see that arched back or duck butt pose, I just cringe. Doesn't that hurt? I guess it's modelesque or something, but it's not good dance posture. You won't be dancing long if you keep that up, so teachers please correct your students. Lovely pictures, but not nice backs.
"Amadeus"
2008-02-24 20:28:00
Just watched "Amadeus" again. There were two things that stood out this time... well, aside from the music of course. Mozart was an incredible genius. That goes without saying, right?The first thing was how envious and self-destructive Salieri was because he felt someone outshined him. Yeah, I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of that! And I just heard from a friend of mine who is getting that too. It's really crazy how destructive some people can be out of jealousy. Ultimately it destroys the envious person.The other thing that stood out to me was when Mozart was dictating music to Salieri who was recording it in written form. Mozart was spouting stuff off effortlessly and Salieri was having trouble keeping up. It was almost as if Mozart was talking a different language. I find
Dum ka Dum tek
2008-02-23 10:47:00
Well, I guess the BDT chapter 5 audio is effective. This morning I hear, "dum ka dum tek" from people who don't have the slightest idea of what that means! lol I guess the repetition works to isolate the sounds and establish the pattern of sound, which is what I wanted it to do. Cool positive reinforcement!
Arabic lesson- hafla/hafli
2008-02-18 10:27:00
People definitely use context to figure out what words mean, but in the case of "hafla/hafli", it's sometimes wrong and it confuses people who know the difference. So here is the correct meaning."Hafla" means party, not show. If I am invited to a hafla, I am expecting to come to a casual event with friends. We will eat, drink, hang out and go with the flow. This may include a performance or two, but it's definitely not a show. If you invite me to a show, I am expecting to sit and watch performances for an hour or two. If there is any socializing, it's between sets. See the difference?"Hafla" is standard Arabic
. Standard Arabic is the Arabic of the Quran. If you speak in standard Arabic, everyone will understand you. "Hafli" is colloquial. It's how people in the Levant say "hafla." If you s
Read more: lesson
Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
2008-02-16 07:04:00
I believe in the saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Usually I don't mind if I am copied. I hope that I am. I think my ideas are good. I teach mostly conceptually which isn't copyrightable anyway. Most people give proper credit, so imitate away!!! It's information that should be shared and makes dancers and teachers stronger.However, it's come to my attention that a dancer has published a book that appears to be a direct rip off of my Belly Dance Certification Program. The contents cover the exact same areas that I have published in the first three chapters of the BDT (which are all that is currently available to the public.) Coincidence? I think not.I have had many things in the belly dance world that I could have sued about. I have been slandered, contracts have been
Read more: Imitation
, Flattery
Oh, Mercury is in Retrograde Again
2008-02-13 20:50:00
Ever have one of those days when you just seem to be in the Twilight Zone all day? Yeah, that was today for me. My computer wasn't working right. It just kept acting like it wasn't even on. It just sat there, not moving. Then I had a couple of conversations that were just like, "What?" I consulted with this woman last week about a project. We both agreed on what to do. Then today she was talking to me like that never happened. Then there was this three way email thing that started last week. I cc'ed everybody every time, but again, it was like I was the only one who had every piece of the puzzle. Don't you guys read email? Don't you talk to each other? You got my emails and they had the entire conversations threaded on the bottom, so you had to see it at some point. I was never a party to
Read more: Mercury
, Retrograde
, Again
Keep It SImple
2008-02-13 07:14:00
I'm really wary of people who say that they are the master of this or that and try to make you think that you have to be really talented, spend a lifetime of study, or be really pure to be any good at something. I think that all the things that matter in life are accessible to everyone. I think we create our own happiness or misery, relationship or separateness from god, health or illness, and success or misfortune. Following that same logic, I think that we can use that same energy to manifest anything in our lives and do not need any third party to help us create our own miracles. I think third parties are useful in guiding us to it if we need direction however. Still, the manifestation of healing, achievement, happiness or whatever it is comes through us. It is not given to us by someon
Synergy
2008-02-04 06:16:00
You know, it's so cool when you get together with a group of people who support and love what you are all doing. Everyone can have different goals, but still work together to give energy and encouragement to each other. That wonderful synergy can push you into achieving great things. It's way more sustaining than trying to do what you do by yourself in a vaccuum.That's why I am so discouraged when I get emails from people in isolated areas (as I am now) who are just starting out or trying to forge their way in an area with no community. Or when I hear from people who are in places where the energy is destructive. So much can be created when there is a positive force behind you.Just wish it was for sale on a supermarket shelf! It's magic when that happens, but so hard to find.
Read more: Synergy
No Permission No Video
2008-02-01 06:05:00
I have sponsored a lot of events. I stopped counting at 30 and that was several years ago. If any of my events included a show, performers have always had the power to say whether or not they wanted to be included on a video. This wasn't just a friendly "Oh yeah, put me on the video" in passing, but a written statement saying either yes or no. I think it's the only respectful thing to do.Now, I've had lots of people say they didn't want to be included. Some were big names, some were students. Some just had no confidence. Some felt it wasn't their best performance. Some felt that it would dilute sales of their own products. Some were teaching the material they were performing and didn't want it out in the public arena while it was being taught. Some didn't give a reason at all. That's fine.
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Why So Much Techno?
2008-01-29 18:05:00
I love techno. I really do. I spent hours upon hours dancing to techno, but I really don't want to dance to techno when I am belly dancing. I don't understand why all the music seems to be techo-y these days. I used to have so much new music. Now I can't find anything because it's all techno. Well, that and that the producers just take songs off other CDs and put it on a new CD so you end up with 3 or 4 copies of the same song and only 1 or 2 new songs per CD.(sigh) I wish I had some new music...
Read more: Techno
What's With the CD Cover?
2008-01-28 18:42:00
Seen any porn lately? Was it in the form of a belly dance CD cover? Yikes!!!I was just shopping for music and was amazed at what is out there. Famous dancers on covers- yes! Close ups of bellies- yes! Sexy women in belly dance costumes- yes! But bare nekkid flesh? Provocative poses covered only by thin strips of cloth? Dominatrix fantasy pics? Pasties? Burlesque/stripper pics?Yes, yes, I know that there are some famous album covers from back in the day with some pretty risque stuff on them, but the Belly Dance Superstars have been around the globe how many times now? There are belly dance classes in every rec center across the country. It's the internet age- the day of youtube. We KNOW what REAL belly dancers look like these days. They are not naked hookers.But, then I only have to listen
Read more: Cover
Leave Heath Alone!
2008-01-24 05:45:00
I am not a Heath
Ledger fan. I've seen and enjoyed some of his movies, but I wasn't following his career, don't have pictures of him on my desktop, and haven't seen his films hundreds of times. Still, I have to say that some of what is coming out in the press about him after his death is in such poor taste. He's dead. Leave
him some dignity.This is not a man who was on the cover of tabloids on a weekly basis. He was not in the gossip columns. Apparently he was troubled, but who in life isn't at some point? I think it's a shame that there are people saying inappropriate things and trying to make him look bad, disturbed, or just make money spreading bad news.I've never been a substance abuser. I don't drink, smoke, nor have I ever done drugs. I don't know what that's like except vicariously.
Why is There a Need to Be "The Best"?
2008-01-19 15:17:00
I don't understand why some people seem to feel this need to be "the best." Now, I think we should all strive to be the best that we can be. Why not put our best foot forward? But I am not talking about that. It's almost like it's a shame if you aren't the best dancer, the best teacher, the best choreographer with the best costume. How did the standards get that high? Isn't it just enough to love what you do, share what you have, and be thankful that other people are interested in seeing that?I mean, there is no way that you can compete with all people on all levels. Can you master anatomy, cross training activities, staging, theatrics, sewing, costume design, music theory, Arabic language, etc? Can you possibly answer every question that anyone could ever ask and be right on point on eve
Intermediate Intensive is Cancelled
2008-01-17 15:55:00
The Jan 20 Intermediate
Intensive
is cancelled. I actually cancelled it on Monday. There was not enough pre-registration to justify holding the class. Now, I have done workshops in the past where there was NO advanced pre-registration, but today is a new day. There are events every weekend practically from big names to no names and all within driving distance. That's fantastic if you are a student, but not so fantastic if you are a sponsor or a teacher.When I was a brand new dancer, I always registered for everything way in advance. I wanted to make sure I got in (despite many of them being advertised as "space is limited", I have never been turned away) and I wanted to get the pre-registration discount. As time passed, my schedule got more hectic, so I'd always wait until the last minute
Read more: Cancelled
OMG! Stop Clenching Your ABS!!!
2008-01-15 06:25:00
I am so tired of hearing people talk about clenching the abs when belly dancing. I was especially appalled just now when I heard someone say that she keeps them clenched ALL THE TIME! Oh, my god! Will ya stop with the ab clenching already?Pilates is fantastic, but I think it got people going in the wrong direction with the whole "core" thing.1) You can't breathe fully if you have your abs tightened.2) If your abs are tight, you block the flow of chi and this of course leads to disease and discomfort.3) If you are not clenching correctly, this makes you MORE unstable, not less.4) If you are not clenching and RELEASING, you will never build any strength. You cannot strengthen a tight muscle.5) If your abs are rock hard, you probably dont' have much flexibility (take that from me, the former
Gotta Be More Positive
2008-01-10 20:07:00
I heard today that some researched did a study and found that 17 out of 20 human interactions are negative. That's a whopping 85%. Wow. Now, I consider myself a pretty positive person, but if my own interactions are 10 out of 20, that's still half. So, today I vow to be more consciously positive.I am pretty good about not saying anything if I have nothing good to say. I am also good about giving compliments when giving constructive feedback. I am not TOTALLY negative even when I am negative, but this statistic is so startling that there has got to be a lot of room for improvement for everyone. Including me. So starting right now, my stats will be better.
Read more: Gotta
, Positive
10" inches!!!
2008-01-09 20:00:00
Okay, I am ready to cut my hair because I am sitting on it. It's getting in the way too often and it's getting on my nerves. So, I thought I would donate it to one of those organizations that makes wigs for kids with cancer. Do you know how much hair you have to have to make a donation? 10 inches
!!! For some places, they request a minimum of 12 inches! No wonder they don't get many donations. Who has hair that long? If I gave them 10 inches, I would be walking around looking like Sinead O'Conner or Annie Lennox. Both lovely women, mind you, but it's not a good look for me.If I were going to cut that much off, it would definitely be for a good cause, but I don't think I can do that. Ten inches would just leave me too short.I gotta tell ya though, I admire the people who donate that much hai
Trying to Work Where Someone Else is Working
2008-01-04 01:51:00
I'm all about community and working together, but I think that you have to be ASKED to work with or alongside someone in order for it to be considered networking or community building. If you just try to move into a place where someone else is without considering them or the established business, that is going to be perceived as competition. That is going to be perceived as unfriendly.I realize that there are new people who don't understand that belly dance business doesn't operate like the rest of the world. I made mistakes too when I was new. I hope that people who try to horn in on someone else's established business are doing so because they are new and full of enthusiams and not because they are trying to undermine someone else.
So Much to Do!
2008-01-02 07:25:00
Okay, so I've been chilling for the last two weeks or so, making merry, visiting friends, cooking, hosting, being hosted. Now it's time to get my butt in gear and accomplish something. I am excited and looking forward to the new year (although my astrology says it's time for me to chill some more!). Got a lot of stuff I want to teach and a lot of people I want to learn from. Fortunately opportunity abounds.
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