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Ebony and Tiffany sit down with brilliant dancers Raqs Razi, Lara Adrienne, Donna Mejia, Lotus Niraja and Nefertiti for an inspiring conversation about, and celebration of, their opportunities, learnings and stories of travel as Black artists.   Enjoy musings on favorite travel destinations and some wild excursion tales. They discuss working in a country of origin of this dance, exotisism and so much more. We hope this discussion inspires you, as well.   Shownotes at: www.thebellydancebundle.com/92

Ebony and Tiffany get together with incredible dancers Sadira LadyLiquid, Chudney, Nefertiti and Omoladun for a chat about what’s different about being Black in the bellydance world.   They muse about Black hair, being one of the only Black dancers in classes and competitions and finally having the feeling of belonging. Listen in as they talk about unique costuming concerns and touch upon differences in body types. We hope our discussion inspires you, as well.   Shownotes at www.thebellydancebundle.com/91

Ebony and Tiffany sit down with brilliant dancers Danielle Hutton, Lara Adriene, Raqs Razi, Nefertiti and Iona for a lively conversation about, and CELEBRATION of, seeing ourselves, Black dancers, in the spotlight. Listen in as they relate about their first time seeing a pro Black bellydancer and what that meant for them. They discuss imposter syndrome, encouraging one another and so much more. We hope this discussion inspires you, as well. Get the shownotes at www.thebellydancebundle.com/90

Badriyah is well known for her work putting together the Golden Era Museum and I’m super excited to have her on today’s podcast speaking more about the Museum and her obsession with the Golden Era. From the first piece of her collection to the dance characteristics of the Golden Era itself we get into the Golden Era through the decades in today’s episode. Talking to someone who is clearly so passionate about what they do is a joy and an honor and I am so thankful the the work that Badriyah puts into curating the museum so that the rest of us can enjoy it! Check out this episode to learn more about the Golden Era and we’ll see you in Golden Era Evolution, Badriyah’s course in this year’s Bundle! Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/89

Part 2 of 2 How do you express the music? For Mercedes Nieto, expression and musicality are at the heart of her style, and she joins us today to give us a peak into her process and how she works with her students to grow their ability to express through their dance. What is the music telling you? How do you feel about it? And how can you build that into your dance? Mercedes dives into how you can take these questions and an understanding of how your body likes to move and combine them into your story of this song. Into your own expression. Everyone’s expression and style are different, and sometimes finding your own unique voice in the music can be difficult, but by relying on your feelings? You’ve got somewhere to start. Check out this episode for an amazing deep dive into musicality and expression, some talk around the idea of audience expectations, gratitude, and showing up for yourself, and your dance. Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/88

Part 1 of 2 How do you express the music? For Mercedes Nieto, expression and musicality are at the heart of her style, and she joins us today to give us a peak into her process and how she works with her students to grow their ability to express through their dance. What is the music telling you? How do you feel about it? And how can you build that into your dance? Mercedes dives into how you can take these questions and an understanding of how your body likes to move and combine them into your story of this song. Into your own expression. Everyone’s expression and style are different, and sometimes finding your own unique voice in the music can be difficult, but by relying on your feelings? You’ve got somewhere to start. Check out this episode for an amazing deep dive into musicality and expression, some talk around the idea of audience expectations, gratitude, and showing up for yourself, and your dance. Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/88

Finding our own unique voice within this dance form is something that a LOT of us struggle with, but it comes down to one thing. How we hear and interpret the music.   And to do that? It’s super helpful to have a basis of knowledge about the music to draw from!   Today Katayoun is hanging out with us to discuss the beauty and richness of Arabic music and gives us some tips that we can use to really start to internalize the music and let our bodies respond.   It’s a fascinating topic, and I can’t wait to jump in with you!   Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/87

Today we have a special treat! Nawarra of Morocco joins us to talk about the different dances of Morocco, specifically today the Shikkat and the Chaabi! Much like any country Morocco is a diverse nation with many many different styles of dance, and, hoping to learn more about the North African part of MENAHT, we’re super excited to bring you this resource for learning more specifically about these two dances of Morocco! Nawarra was born and raised in Casablanca, is a N/A dance Researcher, dancer and Performer and a freelance Lecturer on N/A Cultural Heritage at Various Universities and I’m so excited for her to be joining us here to share some of her knowledge! Shes also one of our teachers in this year’s Bundle where she’ll be diving deeper in to the two dances we talk about today! As we dance MENAHT dances it is so important to take the time to study and learn the original contexts of what we’re doing and representing and I’m super thankful for Nawarra joining us today to help us down the path of more understanding and hopefully providing us a springboard from which we can start to do more research and learn! Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/86

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 level.   Join Chudney and I as we talk a bit about how to work with traveling steps, even in small spaces, how traveling movements fit into the musicality of your piece, and how you can train your ear in your dance.   One of the beautiful things about this dance is that there are so many layers, so many different interpretations so come and get some new tools to take your own interpretations all around your dance space.   Shownotes at www.thebellydancebundle.com/85

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.   When it’s appropriate, what you can do with it when you get it, and how to distance yourself from it so that it doesn’t feel quite so personal.   Adrianne’s Creative Process Workbook walks you through the entire creative process from idea development to lessons learned after your performance. It's a road map for how to take an idea, develop, it seek feedback, make changes the make sense for you and polish up your piece to make sure it's the best it can be.   Check out this episode to learn more about Adrianne’s creative process & some amazing advice around feedback and critique!   Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/84

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 see what advice she has for those of us struggling with where to start and how to slow down when we approach our drum solos.   She has some amazing tips to help us plan out the pace and texture of our drum solos and ways that we can approach them just a bit differently to make them really shine.   And for those of you who love competitions? She’s got a bit of great advice for you in here as well.   There’s bound to be at least one lightbulb moment today, so jump on in!   Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/83

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 to approach any shape and any combinations of shapes, it’s what makes our dance so interesting and how we can continue to come back time and time again to something new and different each time. From improv to combo creation we dive into how we can utilize a simple concept like shape to get super complex and not only use it as a tool for creation, but also use them as a tool for gaining greater confidence in our improvisational sessions. Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/82

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 and putting in the hours to hone our craft. But what we don’t realize a lot of times is that it’s our MINDSETS about practice, and about our dancing that can also have a huge effect not only on our motivation and ability to show up, but on our actual dancing as well. Eshe and I are diving into some of the most common mindset shifts that we can make to take our dance and our practice to the next level. From feeling like we deserve success, to pre-show jitters, and having some self-compassion, we dive into some of the mindset shifts that can completely change the way you approach your dance. Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/81

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’ve invited Jillina onto the podcast to give us some insights on how we can take the choreographies we learn and use them to our learning advantage. Choreographies can be an amazing tool for growth, but you’ve got to get a bit creative with them. Check out today’s episode for some great tips on how to make a piece your own and make sure you’re taking the key parts back with you into your dance. Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/80

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 much of a zill nerd as her! Whether you’re comfortable with zills already or just starting your journey Sahira has some awesome tips, tricks, and insights here that can help take your playing to the next level. Sahira is SUPER generous with her knowledge, and if you’ve ever been curious about zills, definitely check out this episode to see what’s possible if you just get a little nerdy! Shownotes at www.thebellydancebundle.com/79

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 get to try in the 2021 Bundle, she is constantly coming up with new combos and dances to challenge both herself and her students, so I wanted to dig in today and see what tips and tricks we could get on how she creates her combos to see if it could work for some of us.   From how she creates combos to the differences in creating something for practice vs the stage, Ebony takes us through her process of creating combos and choreographies in today’s episode.   Check out her combo for today’s challenge as well as all her socials on the podcast page: thebellydancebundle.com/78

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 props you don’t want to hide behind them, you want to make them dance alongside you and we dive into just that. Because anyone can do tricks, but can you make the stick dance? Have a listen to get a great tip on a way to give a nod to tradition before jumping into innovation, it’s something that I’ll be applying to my choreographies from now on! Check out this episode and many more over on the site thebellydancebundle.com/77

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 amount of time we spend dancing!   Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/76

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 when we lock up in fear during a song? What do we do with the worries about the audience judging us?    All of that and more, in today’s episode….   Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/75

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 Bundle! Melissa share her knowledge around Mejances with us today including what they are, finding the song in your music library, and some general guidelines that dancers tend to follow when performing to one. We also get a bit into styling and that ever present moment where time slows to a crawl when you’re the one performing and how that can affect how we dance to our music. Come and learn with us!   Shownotes: www.thebellydancebundle.com/74