Thank You
By Tess Haranda
To my mentors and instructors who perform - thank you.
My church has had an amazing musician who helped
coordinate the Praise Band and accompanied everything
for our choir. Her abilities on the piano blow me away, and
I was pretty good back in the day. She also teaches piano
lessons and held recitals at our church.
She was practicing and talking with me one day, and she
said she was working on some pieces that she would play at
the end of her student recitals. I was very impressed. I had
some of the finest piano teachers while I was growing up,
but not one of them ever performed. None.
I took a moment to think on this, relating it to dance.
Every bellydance instructor that I’ve ever studied under
continues to perform.
Every.
Single.
One.
Some dance solos; some dance within troupes; some do
both. All of their students wait with this crazy fangirl and
fanboy moment to see their teacher step on stage. We love
it. We crave it.
As students of any endeavor, we still want to see what our
instructors can pull out of the hat to inspire us. We started
our journeys because we’d seen these amazing people on
stage. But not only do they have brilliant creativity, blazing
skills, and personality to capture an audience, they have put
their trust in us when they are in a vulnerable moment.
Think about this - performing is an act of trust where
performers show an inner part of their soul. It’s not just
that the audience responds with wild cheers, but with
respect for that risk and vulnerability. Performing requires
new ideas and pushing yourself and expanding the
boundaries of your artistry. Instructors who don’t continue
to perform… well, do they really continue to grow? If they
perform in other areas, just not for their own students,
what message does that give? Is the give and take of trust
flowing back and forth?
Thank you, Heather (New Song Piano Studios, Texas),
for performing on piano for your students. I enjoy the magic
you create.
To all of my instructors, especially my first belly dance
instructor Isis (Isis and the Star Dancers, Texas), thank you
for continuing to give us a little part of you and trusting us
as you take the stage.
TESS HARANDA
Tess Haranda is a life coach, mom,
writer, and teacher. Learn more at
www.successwithtess.com.
Isis performs at a studio hafla, January 2015 Photo by William Hohmann
28
The Belly Dance Chronicles
October 2015
Photo by Kaitlyn Haranda