| Volume 2, Issue 1, February '08 |
First Steps
On Becoming Overwhelmed
Hello, again, friends- and this time I have a topic for you that we can all understand. Who
hasn't had that I-can't-handle-it feeling, the one that makes you want to just give up, throw it
in, find your blankie, and try your hand at something a little less challenging...? It happens in
just about any part of our lives. Rearing children and family life in general can do it to you,
especially at the holidays. Jobs can get you in over your head before you've even noticed it
happening. Some of us are overwhelmed by keeping up our websites! Some of us are slammed by
trying to take our dance learning or performance up to the next level.
I'd like to encourage you, this month, to take it easy on yourself, and to have faith in your own
abilities. My students have often heard me tell them "You're better than you think!" This is not
something I say just to be encouraging; it's true! We frequently overthink dance and performance
issues, forgetting that some of what makes a performance work- arguably the most important part-
is confidence, mental game, call it what you will. It's a form of keeping faith with yourself, as
opposed to becoming overwhelmed and stopped in your tracks.
Does this kind of thinking generalize to your whole life? Yes, it does! All that hokey
inspirational stuff about positive thinking just happens to work (or it wouldn't make its
promulgators rich!)- if you find a vein of it that speaks to you, mine it for all it's worth. It
can take many forms, from self-help books to regular prayer and meditation, to yoga or dance.
There is no right way to approach realigning yourself towards the positive that works for all
people. It's personal. The important thing is to find a way that works for you personally, even
if you go through a few false starts to get there.
Remember that that overwhelmed feeling is only temporary, and that it gets better with patience,
time, and faith. Be kind to yourself!
If you check the archives of this newsletter, you will find links to resources that are still
good, so don't rely on any one edition for what's worthwhile!
I have one word for excellence in tribal and other bellydance wear (ready to wear, not custom) in
this area: Magda. Do yourselves a favor and check out her website for all manner of gorgeous
imported textile to wear: http://www.gypsymagda.com/
Just for the record, I have to point out that Magda herself is a terrific person and a fabulous
dancer, one of Chicago's best.
Say, are you considering getting a tattoo? The usual precautions apply, of course, but here's
where I go: Tomato Tattoo, 1855 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago. All my work has been done by Nuco-
he's good. Some of his work: click here.
More tattoo news: I highly recommend Rebecca Huston's work! As of December, I am wearing a nice
big example of it: Hanan's new tattoo
Hello, again, friends- and this time I have a topic for you that we can all understand. Who
hasn't had that I-can't-handle-it feeling, the one that makes you want to just give up, throw it
in, find your blankie, and try your hand at something a little less challenging...? It happens in
just about any part of our lives. Rearing children and family life in general can do it to you,
especially at the holidays. Jobs can get you in over your head before you've even noticed it
happening. Some of us are overwhelmed by keeping up our websites! Some of us are slammed by
trying to take our dance learning or performance up to the next level.
I'd like to encourage you, this month, to take it easy on yourself, and to have faith in your own
abilities. My students have often heard me tell them "You're better than you think!" This is not
something I say just to be encouraging; it's true! We frequently overthink dance and performance
issues, forgetting that some of what makes a performance work- arguably the most important part-
is confidence, mental game, call it what you will. It's a form of keeping faith with yourself, as
opposed to becoming overwhelmed and stopped in your tracks.
Does this kind of thinking generalize to your whole life? Yes, it does! All that hokey
inspirational stuff about positive thinking just happens to work (or it wouldn't make its
promulgators rich!)- if you find a vein of it that speaks to you, mine it for all it's worth. It
can take many forms, from self-help books to regular prayer and meditation, to yoga or dance.
There is no right way to approach realigning yourself towards the positive that works for all
people. It's personal. The important thing is to find a way that works for you personally, even
if you go through a few false starts to get there.
Remember that that overwhelmed feeling is only temporary, and that it gets better with patience,
time, and faith. Be kind to yourself!
If you check the archives of this newsletter, you will find links to resources that are still
good, so don't rely on any one edition for what's worthwhile!
I have one word for excellence in tribal and other bellydance wear (ready to wear, not custom) in
this area: Magda. Do yourselves a favor and check out her website for all manner of gorgeous
imported textile to wear: http://www.gypsymagda.com/
Just for the record, I have to point out that Magda herself is a terrific person and a fabulous
dancer, one of Chicago's best.
Say, are you considering getting a tattoo? The usual precautions apply, of course, but here's
where I go: Tomato Tattoo, 1855 W. Chicago Avenue, Chicago. All my work has been done by Nuco-
he's good. Some of his work: click here.
More tattoo news: I highly recommend Rebecca Huston's work! As of December, I am wearing a nice
big example of it: Hanan's new tattoo
Resources- the good stuff
Checking in
The People Are Us
Greetings to all my friends in the dance! Happy 2008 to you, and may this year bring you many
blessings and fellowship in the joy of the dance.
Bellydance is dance, all right, but it's different dance; it's a women's dance that was, we
think, originally done by women for women (I would never disparage the many talented male
dancers out there, but their numbers are small relative to the whole scene. The issue I want to
address concerns women, so for now I will leave those fascinating guys out of it- sorry,
fellas!).
Ladies, do you love your bodies? Are you grateful for your strength and flexibility? Your
ability to heal? Your beauty? Yes, I mean all of you, because you are beautiful!
We live in a body-hating culture, one that encourages us to embrace a notion of our bodies and
minds as being somehow divorced from one another, and barely speaking. The mind is held to be
worthy of development and respect, while the body is stuck in a permanent second-banana role.
Nobody tries to dress up her mind to be sexier, puts her mind on a diet, or hates her lobes for
their self-perceived pudginess. We do all these things to our long-suffering bodies and more,
and then act as if it were perfectly right and normal to do so. This needs re-thinking!
I cannot convey to you how painful it is form me to hear my students and friends disparage their
bodies, as though they could never hope to be appreciated should they ever be actually seen, let
alone seen dancing. I do understand how this attitude comes to be; I too grew up in this
culture. I, too, never thought I would be comfortable showing my body's strength and beauty in
public. I felt what many of you feel: I'm too out of shape, my kids have ruined my figure, I'm
too old, I'm _________(you name it, we will call ourselves that and worse). My friends, it's all
hogwash!
As many of you know, I did not take up any form of dance until I was already over forty.
Bellydance was my first dance, and it's a deep passion for me, partly because it has acquainted
me with the happiness to be found in living not only in my head, but also in my whole self. I am
my body, and I love my body. I am strong, healthy and beautiful, especially in motion. And... so
are you. Bellydance is not ballet. We don't have to be sixteen, willowy, fine-boned and long of
neck. We have to be women (sorry, fellas!), women who have some life under their tassel belts,
something to dance about. This dance sometimes has aspirations to high art, but its origins are
in the street and at family gatherings. It's a dance about the joy and heartbreak of life, an
understanding that we ripen into as we gather years. In the places where it began, bellydance is
done by very little girls and very old ladies. It's not about sex! It's about being a woman...
if that is sexy, and sometimes it is, then so be it. If it is aggressive, sad, angry, fiery,
funny, tender, or reflective of pure happiness, then so be it.
To be fully in the dance and speak the music through your physical self, you must accept
yourself fully. Right now, just the way you are, accept yourself. If you cannot take the whole
package all at once, then begin small: find something about yourself that you think is really
very good, and think about that when you dance. It might be your strong, pretty feet, it might
be your beautiful hair, it might be your big expressive eyes. Look for the feature you like best
when you see photos of yourself dancing, and notice how lovely it is. Here's the thing: it's not
just a feature of you, it's you that you are appreciating. I am not my neck, I am me; the whole
of me in motion, letting you in on how wonderful the music is to me in its full expression
through me.
There is no right size, shape, color or 'look' for bellydance, despite what you see when the
Bellydance Superstars are in town. Don't take the showgirl model as your own guideline, and
don't beat yourself up for being who you are. If you are strong and healthy and willing to work
for the proper conformation of the dance steps and movements, bellydance can be yours. It's not
an unachievable goal, not at all. It's a people's dance, and the people are... us.
Greetings to all my friends in the dance! Happy 2008 to you, and may this year bring you many
blessings and fellowship in the joy of the dance.
Bellydance is dance, all right, but it's different dance; it's a women's dance that was, we
think, originally done by women for women (I would never disparage the many talented male
dancers out there, but their numbers are small relative to the whole scene. The issue I want to
address concerns women, so for now I will leave those fascinating guys out of it- sorry,
fellas!).
Ladies, do you love your bodies? Are you grateful for your strength and flexibility? Your
ability to heal? Your beauty? Yes, I mean all of you, because you are beautiful!
We live in a body-hating culture, one that encourages us to embrace a notion of our bodies and
minds as being somehow divorced from one another, and barely speaking. The mind is held to be
worthy of development and respect, while the body is stuck in a permanent second-banana role.
Nobody tries to dress up her mind to be sexier, puts her mind on a diet, or hates her lobes for
their self-perceived pudginess. We do all these things to our long-suffering bodies and more,
and then act as if it were perfectly right and normal to do so. This needs re-thinking!
I cannot convey to you how painful it is form me to hear my students and friends disparage their
bodies, as though they could never hope to be appreciated should they ever be actually seen, let
alone seen dancing. I do understand how this attitude comes to be; I too grew up in this
culture. I, too, never thought I would be comfortable showing my body's strength and beauty in
public. I felt what many of you feel: I'm too out of shape, my kids have ruined my figure, I'm
too old, I'm _________(you name it, we will call ourselves that and worse). My friends, it's all
hogwash!
As many of you know, I did not take up any form of dance until I was already over forty.
Bellydance was my first dance, and it's a deep passion for me, partly because it has acquainted
me with the happiness to be found in living not only in my head, but also in my whole self. I am
my body, and I love my body. I am strong, healthy and beautiful, especially in motion. And... so
are you. Bellydance is not ballet. We don't have to be sixteen, willowy, fine-boned and long of
neck. We have to be women (sorry, fellas!), women who have some life under their tassel belts,
something to dance about. This dance sometimes has aspirations to high art, but its origins are
in the street and at family gatherings. It's a dance about the joy and heartbreak of life, an
understanding that we ripen into as we gather years. In the places where it began, bellydance is
done by very little girls and very old ladies. It's not about sex! It's about being a woman...
if that is sexy, and sometimes it is, then so be it. If it is aggressive, sad, angry, fiery,
funny, tender, or reflective of pure happiness, then so be it.
To be fully in the dance and speak the music through your physical self, you must accept
yourself fully. Right now, just the way you are, accept yourself. If you cannot take the whole
package all at once, then begin small: find something about yourself that you think is really
very good, and think about that when you dance. It might be your strong, pretty feet, it might
be your beautiful hair, it might be your big expressive eyes. Look for the feature you like best
when you see photos of yourself dancing, and notice how lovely it is. Here's the thing: it's not
just a feature of you, it's you that you are appreciating. I am not my neck, I am me; the whole
of me in motion, letting you in on how wonderful the music is to me in its full expression
through me.
There is no right size, shape, color or 'look' for bellydance, despite what you see when the
Bellydance Superstars are in town. Don't take the showgirl model as your own guideline, and
don't beat yourself up for being who you are. If you are strong and healthy and willing to work
for the proper conformation of the dance steps and movements, bellydance can be yours. It's not
an unachievable goal, not at all. It's a people's dance, and the people are... us.
Upcoming
February 23, 24: on the 23rd, Smoke dances Hafla in the Square...
Sunday the 24th: From 1-5 pm, Stellaria Natural Health in Chicago is hosting four workshops on
taking your dance to the next level. Hanan is teaching one, on a fully-realized top-to-bottom
look; see the homepage for a link to information.
February 29: Smoke is performing at Tribal Pura in Bloomington Indiana, at the Gala Show. This
show opens a whole weekend of ATS workshops with Carolena, Megha and Fat Chance.
March 7 & 8: Two nights, two sets each, seven and eight pm, at the Buzz Café in Oak Park.
March 16: Kimahri's Student Showcase, the Anderson Theater.
March 30: Greening Hafla, Intuit Dance. See the Meetup site for more information.
April 5: Gulbahar, Hanan's student troupe from Triton College, will debut at the Sphinx Cafe in
Niles.
Details change, so check back often!
Sunday the 24th: From 1-5 pm, Stellaria Natural Health in Chicago is hosting four workshops on
taking your dance to the next level. Hanan is teaching one, on a fully-realized top-to-bottom
look; see the homepage for a link to information.
February 29: Smoke is performing at Tribal Pura in Bloomington Indiana, at the Gala Show. This
show opens a whole weekend of ATS workshops with Carolena, Megha and Fat Chance.
March 7 & 8: Two nights, two sets each, seven and eight pm, at the Buzz Café in Oak Park.
March 16: Kimahri's Student Showcase, the Anderson Theater.
March 30: Greening Hafla, Intuit Dance. See the Meetup site for more information.
April 5: Gulbahar, Hanan's student troupe from Triton College, will debut at the Sphinx Cafe in
Niles.
Details change, so check back often!
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