Bottom line , work on your recovery and new normal and stop worrying about impressing people or worrying about people remembering and comparing your performance to previous performances . If you are focused “ at the moment and savor every movement ,” you will find you will enjoy receiving compliments about your new dance image , rather than taking comments as a negative commentary of your dancing if your dance styling , energy , and capability has changed .
Mantras can help the healing .
Make up your own mantra to say when you start to feel your fears returning . Silly as it may seem : my mantra was , “ I can ’ t die or stop performing – I still have costumes I haven ’ t worn .” Or , “ I can ’ t believe that I have to give up my passion and what makes me happy . I won ’ t , and I ’ ll push through this difficulty . I ’ ll come out the other side of this traumatic situation and will dance again .” With this mantra , I was able to take pride and joy in the process of healing and recovery .
Researching and documenting every aspect of my healing journey gave me personal power . Reading and reviewing how I felt just days or weeks before and comparing notes empowered me by the vast difference in my mental and physical state . Whatever I could manage became a good sign of my recovery and my new normal .
Resilience : What we survive makes us stronger .
The old adage is indeed true : “ What doesn ’ t kill us makes us stronger .” Or , “ What we survive makes us stronger .” Fortunately , I find myself often congratulating and complimenting a dancer who dances with a zest for life . Then as we share life stories and compare notes , we find we have a common bond and share the sisterhood of survivorship .
My survivorship allows me to support dancers dealing with recovery and healing from trauma as a teacher and coach . Having “ been there and done that ,” – I can offer some guidance and coaching support from personal experience that lets dancers know – all is OK , and there will be more dancing in your future as you heal . You will again enjoy life with satisfying dancing enjoyment in your life .
I hope to instill in everyone who reads this article that an attitude and sense of resilience can be fostered . I define the elements of resilience include : understanding barriers to overcome , physical and psychological triggers and defense mechanisms , being aware of and managing types of pain , and a focus on hope and creating your new normal . You know you are resilient when you regain personal control of mental and physical aspects , are in a positive state of mind and hope , and experience joy and happiness again when you dance .
MA * SHUQA MIRA MURJAN & CARL SERMON
Ma * Shuqa Mira Murjan has been performing , teaching , and coaching for over 48 years . Her Ma * Shuqa Method gives dancers a structure for developing improvised choreography while performing with individualized styling . She has authored many articles on aspects of professionalism and performance in Middle Eastern dance . Find her personal Cancer Discovery and Recovery story at
www . MaShuqa . com . Ma * Shuqa offers dancers extended study opportunities through her Diva Dancer Professional Development Workshops , which provide dancers topics on cultural aspects of music , rhythm , and dance theory to enhance their weekly studies and performances . As a dance photographer – what she sees through the camera lens reflects a dancer ’ s professionalism . Her husband , Carl Sermon , is well-known for his festival and performance photography of Oriental dancers . Ma * Shuqa and Carl provide artistic direction and performance photography for photo sessions with Oriental dancers . See their work in The Belly Dance Chronicles magazine , The GildedSerpent . com E-zine , and www . CarlSermonPhotography . Zenfolio . com .
May 2022 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 17