Sa’diyya at 8 months pregnant - Photo by Miracle Bennett An example of stage make-up by Sa’diyya - Photo by Dan Parr
body. And for me personally, my sweet baby girl is the best
source of creative inspiration. upon. I’m sensitive yet direct when I need to give critiques
and I try to make sure that every student, regardless of skill
level, comes away from my classes with something valuable.
Not only do I share interesting and fun choreographies
and challenging technique drills, I also teach unique topics
such as how to breakdown and listen to music and identify
rhythms, abstract concepts like improvisational dancing
and my signature “The Move Before The Move” class about
transitions, showmanship and entertainment skills, how to
choreograph solos and exciting troupe choreographies. I also
offer competition preparation workshops, how to go “pro,”
and specialty workshops on stage makeup and hairstyles for
dance. I also teach informational workshops on Arabic words
every dancer should know, song meanings and gestures. I
feel like these topics are important for dancers, but are rarely
seen on the seminar circuit.
What do you have to offer that is unique from the sea of other
really great dancers out there? How do you envision your
future within the ever growing world of belly dance?
Trying to stand out from the crowd really is the challenge in
this business. Belly dancing is more popular than ever and
trying to make a name for yourself is harder than ever. This
means spending time outside of the studio trying to figure
out what makes oneself unique beyond dance steps.
One of a few things that sets me apart from the sea of dancers
out there is my ability to teach and break movements down;
I pay extreme attention to details and seem to be able to see
hard-to-notice abstract qualities that need to be improved
October 2017
The Belly Dance Chronicles
27