Habiba
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Owner, Habiba Studio
www.habibastudio.com
The Habiba Studio has been in continual operation for thirty-eight years. In the past,
business has fluctuated along with the popularity of Belly Dance, but nothing like
COVID-19 has ever come along. No one knows if life will ever be the same. Because I
own the studio, I’m fortunate to have low overhead and, for now, can out-live a closedown,
but I miss deeply the energy and joy of the fascinating students that present themselves here. As far as the lectures, children’s
programs, museum demos and workshops I give, who knows if they will ever be possible again.
In order to keep my students dancing, I have put together a Dropbox file that contains videos of the choreographies we
were working on when we had to stop classes, some new combinations, and the music files we were using. It is available only
to current students (free of charge) who were registered at the time of the last class on March 18. I devised a simple method
for videoing myself and editing the segments. When we suspended classes, it was awkward because we were preparing for
a show on March 29, so people had already invested a lot of time and money. I sincerely believe that there will again be inperson
shows and classes, but, before that happens, we will be forced into a middle world that must include video instruction.
Many of my beginning students are already using my video Quick Start Belly Dance for at-home practice. For those that
buy it in its Vimeo version, they will get a rebate of its cost on the next series of live classes.
One bright spot is that the lockdown has given me time to revisit different ways of organizing the material that I teach.
I haven’t gotten very far but the research material I have collected is begging for me to put it in coherent order for those who
come after. I wouldn’t want anyone else to be faced with this job.
It’s too early to know what is next but I am going to be ready for it. I can’t imagine any other life for myself.
Karen Barbee Adkisson
San Antonio, Texas
Owner, Karavan Studio
www.karavansa.com
I had a revelation just a few days ago and I posted it on Facebook:
“I’ve decided that this COVID-19 crap is the Intermediate Accounting for my studio. Intermediate
Accounting was the class that started with 200 students and ended with 50. It was difficult, tedious, and the level of detail
often seemed irrelevant. It was the “how bad do you want to do this?” period for every Accounting major. No one blamed
you if you changed majors after that class.”
It was Socrates who said that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” My life is worth living. I turn 58 in a few days. Every
year for the last ten years, I have pondered retirement as I plan for my studio’s annual showcase “Give Belly Dance a Chance.”
Our 24 th showcase is to be held this year on July 31-August 3. I was prone to pondering – even without the pandemic.
So during this time – while cancelling almost NO group classes or private lessons since online has been with Karavan
Studio for years – I started a blog to reflect on and assimilate several events in my life and launched a new online module
entitled “Masterclass” to chronicle the lessons that are being learned by my brave Project Band participants in our live
music program.
For now, I think I’m past my annual ponder AND Intermediate Accounting. Thank you to COVID-19 crap to for the
depth, the difficulty, and the results of my life’s examination. Onward!
July 2020 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 29