To Dancers and Artists: Advice About Creativity

Your creativity is a gift to be accepted with open arms, whenever she is kind enough to present herself to you.

Don't just accept her when the time is convenient for you, if it happens to fit in with whatever you're doing at the moment, if it's a reasonable hour of the day... no matter what, welcome her right away!

Why would creativity keep knocking on your door, if every time she knocks, you never answer?

Sure, she might be a little clueless about human etiquette, but that's easy to overlook when you recognize that she's here to give you something amazing that will bring you joy, energy, and power!

She's here to help you develop, to help you create!

She's here to solve your problems or just give you a little hint to point you in the right direction... she is one of your most powerful allies!

She has the power to turn your whole life around, if that's what you task her with. She has helped people solve world problems, cure major illnesses, invent tools and solutions that defined history!

What makes you think she can't solve your problems?

Read this mantra if you want to develop love and admiration for your own body

This is my body
There are many kinda like it
(and none just quite like it)
But this one is mine
 
My body is my temple
My body is my home
This body, the only one I can call my own
 
My body gives me life!
I must master it as I must master my mind
If I am to master my art
As well as my life
 
Without me, my body is useless
Without my body, I am useless
 
I must use my body true
I must work on it each day
Love it, respect and cherish it
In every possible way
And use it to overcome life’s challenges
Dancing through difficulty
Turning life into play
 
Through depression, stress or anxiety
I will dance
If I feel anger, sadness, or pain
I will dance
When I am tired, bored, uninspired
I will dance
Through rejection, disappointment or betrayal
I will dance
In sickness and in health
I will always dance
 
I will learn my body’s weaknesses, its strengths, its parts
Its flaws, its quirks and everything that it loves and hates
 
And I will nourish and maintain my body
For utmost health and function
As long as I live
 
I am one with my body
 
Before the Universe I swear this creed
My body and I are the vessels for our art
We are more than survivors of life
We are the masters of our life
We are the saviors of our life
So be it, until the day we die

(This Creed is an adaptation of the USMC's "Rifleman's Creed") 

Has the idea of joining a belly dance class been nagging you for some time, but every time you get the chance, you back out at the last minute because you are afraid of the unknown?

If so, it sounds like you are suffering from a case of "cold belly!" Like cold feet, cold belly is a doubt strong enough to prevent you from doing something you were planning on doing, in this case, going to that belly dance class you've been wanting to try! And believe it or not, this "cold belly" phenomenon is is more common than you think! 

Maybe you're afraid of having to bare your belly, or you think the class will be packed with young, mean women who will make you feel bad about yourself. Or maybe you're insecure about your lack of dance experience and you picture a class full of experienced dancers, making you think you won't be able to keep up with everyone else. Maybe you think you're not fit enough to try out this dance, or maybe you just don't feel like getting up and going out after you've already settled in at home for the night...

Regardless of the reasons behind your apprehension and inaction, the fact of the matter is that you are not alone in feeling this way! In fact, the majority of women who show interest in belly dance classes never actually end up showing up for one!

But isn't that a shame? Because the reality of most belly dance classes in the US (and certainly the reality for our belly dance classes at SharqiDance in New Jersey) is that they are a gentle, friendly and fun environment for women (and sometimes men and non-gender binary folks) of all ages, levels, shapes, and sizes to learn how to move their bodies in incredible ways and how to express themselves artistically through dance all while falling in love with Middle Eastern music and culture!

Most people start belly dancing because they think it will be a fun way to exercise. But most people stick with belly dancing because of the amazing connections they make with the incredible people they meet in class and in their local community, all while challenging themselves--inside a supportive environment--to keep getting better and better at this rich and evolving art form! 

There is nothing to fear. You don't even need to show your belly to belly dance! In fact, most people in class actually don't.

You also don't need prior dance experience to start belly dancing, and there is no age too young or too old to start. And guess what, you can become quite good even if you start late in life without any prior dance experience, because belly dance is low-impact and easy on your body!

This also means you do not need to be fit to start belly dance, and you might be glad to learn that the belly dance community embraces a much wider range of looks, body types and sizes than society at large!

That doesn't mean the dance is easy, it just means that with guidance from a good teacher and practice, consistency, and time, it can be done well no matter who you are or what you look like!

Does that sound like something you should be scared of? We think not!

It's time to stop letting the weeks, months and years go by, and just give belly dance a shot already! Just imagine where you could be in one, five, or ten years if you just take that chance and get started today! You might discover a fun new thing to do every week, or you might uncover a lifelong passion. Or maybe you'll find that belly dance is not for you, but you won't know until you've tried!

So, are you ready to try out a class? 

​If you are drawn to belly dance for its flowing, poetic elegance more than for its rhythmic shaking of the hips, you will absolutely love muwashah dance!  
 
Muwashahat (also spelled muwashshahat) is the plural of muwashah (also spelled muwashshah), which is a genre of Arabic poetry in musical form that dates back to 10th century Moorish Spain (Al-Andalus)! Today, these traditions are still popular in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Syria and Lebanon. 
 
There is no reference for how people danced to this type of music back then, but in the 1970's the famous Egyptian choreographer Mahmoud Reda presented the muwashah as a dance spectacle on a stage for the first time in modern history. He invented this new genre of dance by imagining how the rhythmic patterns and lyrics in this type of music should be expressed, while adhering to Middle Eastern aesthetics and cultural norms. 

Watch this video of one of Reda's famous muwashah choreographies (performed by Nesma Al-Andalus Company in 2011) to get a sense for what this type of music and dance sounds and looks like:
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If you want to get better at shimmying, you gotta practice them! This simple-looking, natural-seeming move can actually be surprisingly technical and difficult to learn, which is why many belly dance teachers recommend that students make their shimmy practice into an almost daily routine!

If you're finding yourself meeting this suggestion with the common "But I don't have time!" response, get ready to have your excuse declared completely null and void! You don't need to set aside hours for your shimmy practice. All you need are a couple of minutes shimmying every day or every few days to see your shimmy power, muscle control, speed and coordination reach new heights!

And if you really, truly are not able to dedicate those 3-5 minutes regularly, I guarantee that you can still fit that shimmy practice in if you learn the art of shimmy multi-tasking, or shimmy-tasking!

Shimmy-tasking is the act of layering your shimmies with mindless daily activities you already have to do anyway, to guarantee the shimmying will get done no matter what.

This not only helps you achieve better and more controlled shimmies, but is also bound to make your necessary chores much more fun and exciting!

So are you ready to dish the excuses? Let's go!


1. Shimmy While Doing Dishes

Got no dishwasher and a big ol' pile of dishes waiting in the sink? Turn on some music and shimmy while you wash them! You will feel that time suddenly fly by and won't even think about how much you just wish you had a dishwasher!

If you do have a dishwasher, you can skip this one, or if you are more advanced, use it as a challenge to practice your shimmy level changes when you load and unload the machine... just don't be dropping and breaking any of your china! 


2. Shimmy While Brushing Your Teeth

No one can hide from this one! You gotta brush your teeth every day, so here is your perfect opportunity to get your shimmy on, multiple times on the same day. You don't even need to put on music, just shimmy to the rhythm of the bristles scrubbing them fangs!


3. Shimmy in the Shower

Just make sure your shower floor is not too slippery, and you're good to go! We wouldn't want you falling over and hurting yourself so keep your shimmies soft on this one. 


4. Shimmy While Folding the Laundry

Is there a more boring chore than folding clothes? Now you have a reason to look forward to it. Get that music going and shimmy away! It might take you a bit longer to finish, but it will feel like time well spent. 


5. Shimmy When You Wait for the Bus/Train/Anything

This act of public shimmying should be reserved for the cold days when you are wearing a long jacket and can shimmy inconspicuously underneath it without anyone noticing. Bonus: it will help keep you warm! 

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6. Shimmy While Grocery Shopping

I have heard many a belly dancer say the grocery store aisles are their favorite place to get some extra shimmy practice in. This is a great opportunity to practice walking and other traveling shimmies, but as another act of public shimmying, reserve it for those days when you are wearing a long jacket so as not to attract unwanted attention from onlookers. 


7. Shimmy While Cooking

If you've got that recipe down on autopilot, add music and shimmies to your food prep or cooking process!  But don't do it while you're chopping or peeling or handling something dangerous, because that would just be a recipe for disaster!


8. Shimmy While You Scroll

How many hours a day do you spend scrolling through social media? You might as well put some of that time to good use by getting up from your chair or couch and shimmying while you get caught up on all your friends' updates and stories!


9. Shimmy on That Boring Call

Got a friend, family member or colleague who just won't stop yappin' on the phone? Next time they start going on and on about nothing without giving you a chance to speak, mute yourself and get a shimmy going. If you're really pro at it and able to shimmy while maintaining your normal voice and breathing pattern, you can even do it while you have that conversation!


10. Shimmy When You Lay in Bed

Notice how your technique morphs completely when you no longer have that connection, exchange and feedback between your feet and the floor, and when your body is in a horizontal position instead of vertical. Which totally different muscles are you now having to rely on? Do this right before you sleep or right after you wake up to make your shimmy practice the first and/or last thing you do in your day! 

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We could keep this list going forever and ever ("Shimmy While Filing Your Nails!" "Shimmy While You Watch TV!") but I think you get the point! Add a shimmy to anything you do often and on autopilot, and watch your technique, control and comfort with this move completely skyrocket! If you have a favorite shimmy-tasking activity that wasn't listed here, share it in the comments! 

So, what are you waiting for? Get up and start shimmy-tasking!

We all have different backgrounds. Most of us came to belly dance at different stages of our lives, for different reasons and with different goals, and we all started with differing amounts of natural skill. We also have different learning styles and prioritize the dance differently in our lives. 

Belly dance can mean different things to different people. Some do it for fun and socialization, or as way to get to know more about a foreign culture and its enchanting music and dances. Others do it as an outlet for artistic expression, or as a form of exercise to get in touch with their bodies at a deeper level. Some just belly dance to feel more sexy and beautiful, while others want to reach the highest levels, dancing at professional venues or competitive stages. 

No matter your reasons for being drawn to belly dance, always remember that your journey through this dance is unique to you, and honor that unique journey by looking within yourself for the reasons why you do this dance, so that every time you do it, you can seek to get out of it the feelings, experiences, and results that you need. 

There is no reason to look at other dancers with judgment if you think they are worse than you and therefore not "worthy." There is also no reason to look at other dancers with envy if you think they are "better" than you or that they have some unfair advantage. Those dancers are walking their own paths that are different from yours, for their own reasons that are different from yours, encountering their own roadblocks that are different from yours, towards destinations that are also different from yours.

If you spend time comparing yourself to others, you lose sight of your own journey and give up control of your destiny! You miss out on lessons you can learn from your individual struggles and on the unique insights you can offer, because no one else has walked the same path as you. You miss the opportunity to learn more about yourself and carve a path that truly fits your own needs, hopes and dreams!

Respect your unique journey through belly dance, honor and own all the reasons why you dance, and don't worry about what others are doing. This way you will feel happier throughout your journey, and it will take you to the most incredible destinations! 

This month I am challenging my belly dance students to shimmy for 5+ minutes at a time, 5+ days a week for 5+ weeks, and I'd like to invite belly dancers everywhere to join us! 

A shimmy is simply the fast shaking of one's hips. However, there is more to this move than it appears! It must be controlled and sustained enough for other moves to be layered on top of it, and there are many different techniques that achieve different visual results. It really is so much more than just aimless shaking, and the best way to learn proper belly dance shimmy techniques is to take a local belly dance class or a remote online class if you can't find any classes near you! 

If you are having trouble with shimmies, don't worry... you are not alone! The shimmy is one of those moves that can take months or even years for beginner belly dancers to grow completely comfortable into, and for most people there is no way to perfect it unless it is practiced frequently and for extended amounts of time. Even intermediate and advanced dancers can have trouble with this move, if it isn't practiced enough. And since it is one of the most prevalent and important moves in most styles of belly dance, there is just no way of getting around it... 

We all lead busy lives and it can be difficult to find the time to practice, but anyone can spare 5 minutes a day 5 times a week for something they want to get better at! Thus, the 5/5/5 shimmy challenge was born ;)

You can be as laid-back or as serious as you'd like with this challenge. You can set aside the time and dedicate it fully to practicing your shimmy techniques in front of the mirror, or you can do it as part of your warm-up before you train on another physical activity, or if you're really short on free time you can just shimmy for 5 minutes while you shower, do the dishes, or cook.

You might end up doing it every day of the week, or you might only get around to it once or twice a week, but the point is to get that practice in as opposed to doing absolutely nothing :)

Feel free to share your practice/progress by tagging us on Facebook or hashtagging Instagram (#SharqiDance #shimmychallenge), or just let us know how you're doing in the comments section below! 

So, will you join our Shimmy Challenge? 

While belly dance in its most basic forms may have existed for centuries, or possibly millennia, it was only over the last 100 years or so that it really began to take the shape we have come to recognize and refer to as "raqs sharqi"--or belly dance--today, thanks in large part to these incredible women who made history as belly dance stars in Egypt.

In this timeline of famous Egyptian belly dancers, you will learn a little bit about each woman and their influence on the dance as well as see them in action, thereby getting a glimpse into how this dance has changed and evolved over the years. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Eventually dubbed the "Marilyn Monroe of the Arab World," Tahiya Carioca began her belly dance career at Badia Masabni's Casino Opera where she rose to become one of its biggest stars. 

She was given the surname "Carioca" due to her fascination with Brazilian rhythms and dance, which she incorporated into her performances.

She began appearing in films in 1935, going on to become an important part of Egyptian movie history. The height of her fame occurred during the "Golden Age" of Egyptian cinema in the 1940's and 50's, and she continued to dance until 1963.

Naima Akef began her performing career as a child at her family's circus, where she performed as an acrobat.

After the circus disbanded, she eventually found work as a singer and belly dancer in Cairo's famous nightclubs, and in the 1940's she began singing, dancing and acting in movies as well.  

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She was lost to cancer at the young age of 37, but not before having become a Golden Age star in her own right, forever making her mark in this dance form with her fast and energetic spins, dramatic arm and leg movements, and impressive displays of acrobatics. 

As a child, Fifi Abdo would watch the films of the likes of Tahiya Carioca, Naima Akef, etc, and copy their moves. She started performing belly dance at age 13 and thanks to her hard work, talent, and toughness, she rose to become a top belly dancer and actress in Egypt in the 1980's and 90's, and today she is one of the wealthiest women in the country!

​In her films, she usually portrays empowered female archetypes, and her work is often provocative and controversial for its boldness. 

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​While Fifi is an amazing all-around belly dancer, she is best known for being the embodiment of baladi: the simple, earthy, grounded, country style of dance from which raqs sharqi originated. 

Mona Said began her belly dance career at age 13 after being encouraged to become a dancer by a nightclub owner and a big-name singer who had spotted her dancing at a disco.

She left Egypt in 1970 to perform in Lebanon for a few years, fleeing her father who was disapproving of her career choice. In Lebanon she found fame before returning to Cairo in 1975. She then went on to perform between Cairo and London for the next 5 years, and became one of the top belly dancers in Egypt through the 80's and 90's. 
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Mona was nicknamed "The Princess of Raqs Sharqi" by Tahiya Carioca herself, and "The Bronze of the Nile" by Egypt's media.

Mona is best known for her feeling and emotion when dancing. She does not believe in counting music, but instead in focusing on the feeling and allowing it to take over in the moment. 

She is a perfect example of the "less is more" philosophy applied in belly dance, milking every beat and every note in the music, giving it no more and no less than what is called for, building up energy only when the music builds, all while expressing a variety of different emotions and personalities.

Dina began her dancing career in the 1970's training with Mahmoud Reda, co-founder of Reda Troupe, a group of Egyptian folkloric dancers that toured nationally and internationally.

​She began her solo career in the 80's, quickly rising to the top of the belly dance scene in Cairo and remaining there up to this date, in a difficult and evolving social and political landscape. 


​​Times have changed in Egypt, and the pendulum has been swinging further and further towards religious conservatism over the past few decades. ​In a 2008 article, Newsweek called Dina "The Last Egyptian Dancer," in reference to the growing conservatism in the country which is causing fewer and fewer native-born women to become professional dancers. This, coupled with Dina's provocative costumes and movements, have made her into a very controversial figure in her country and abroad.

But whether you love her or hate her, her influence in modern Egyptian style is undeniable. Dina herself is the clear dividing line between the vintage and classic styles that came before her and the modern styles that exist today. 

Her Reda-influenced steps marked the beginnings of new trends in belly dance which favor more complex footwork and weight shifts. Her exaggerated and dramatic facial expressions and gestures,  sharper hip and pelvic accents and slower and more provocative hip circles have been copied all over Egypt and the world. Her daring bras showcasing ample cleavage became the new normal in belly dance costume design (the "Dina bra"), and her occasional choice of a mini-skirt over traditional full-length skirts created new trends that are still being followed and developed upon all over the world today.

Newsweek may have dubbed Dina "The Last Egyptian Dancer,"  but she is far from it. We are certainly no longer in the heyday of belly dance in Egypt, but many new dancers have popped up since Dina, and they continue to set their own trends today. They won't be covered in this blog post, but may be covered in future posts so please stay tuned! 

I encourage you to keep reading and watching belly dance videos to find out more about this dance, its influential figures, its history around the world, and the myriad of different styles that fall under the belly dance umbrella!

This Valentine's Day has me thinking about some of the notions people have about belly dance. 

To the general public in the Western world, the words "belly dance" tend to conjure up thoughts of harems where half-naked concubines dance to seduce the sultan...

But did you know that's actually an incorrect stereotype? 

Belly dance originated from folkloric dances of the Middle East... dances that are regularly done informally at family and social gatherings, by children and adults alike, both female and male.

It is a dance of joy and celebration, with a rich history and culture behind it that is now studied and performed all around the world.

Reducing it to nothing but a "dance of seduction" is really a wild inaccuracy! 

Then again, it is also easy to see how this dance--which can indeed be very sensual--could actually be used for this purpose. After all, who can possibly think that a slinky undulation or precise controlled hip shimmy isn't attractive? Even if it's an inaccurate stereotype, there is still truth to the fact that belly dance can be a sensual and mesmerizing art form. 

Yet there are ways to use this quality without reducing the dance to something that is done solely for the pleasure of leering men. Because if there is one person you should definitely try to use belly dance to seduce... that person is you!

You can use it to see beauty in the diverse people who perform it, and in turn to see beauty in yourself.

You can use it to teach your body how to do new and amazing things that you will feel beautiful doing.

You can use it to express the music you love and the deepest feelings inside your soul. 

This Valentine's Day, do a little belly dancing, and fall in love with yourself!