out different pathways from the norm . For example , in 2007 , I found an unlikely venue , Jebon Sushi restaurant , to hold weekly Middle Eastern live music and dance performances for close to 10 years . Each show was unique , lasting 2 hours long , and featured 2-5 musicians and 8-14 dancers .
Through the Djam NYC event , I was able to connect different circles of our genre such as traditional , fusion , young and old generations , amateur and professional levels and give myself as well as many dancers the valuable opportunity to perform to incredible bands playing Turkish , Arabic , Balkan , and world-fusion music .
I ’ m also interested in casting the net wider and sharing our beautiful dance genre with communities that would otherwise not be exposed to it . Finally , I like the challenge of applying our movement vocabulary of circles , figure 8s , undulations , shimmies , and isolations to express ideas and stories about more profound aspects of the human experience .
Over the past two months , I danced in two Global Peace Tribe “ Saturday Night Alive ” virtual shows focused on the topics of “ The Great Awakening - Balancing Personal
Freedom with Collective Vision ” and “ Embracing Death with Compassion .” Through dance , I made statements about shedding the masks we wear in society to be accepted and paid tribute to loved ones who have transitioned . Most of the audience tuning into these shows are attracted to spirituality and personal transformation .
I ’ d like to be remembered for my ability to innovate and share engaging stories that remind us of our universal humanity and our interconnectedness with nature .
Advice you would give your younger self - based on your personal experiences and history . My younger self ’ s advice is to prioritize learning Compassionate Communication , also known as NVC ( Non-Violent Communication ). I recently completed a yearlong course where I met several times a week with fellow students to practice NVC principles . NVC taught me how to enter into a dialog with tools to better express my feelings . It has helped me shift away from seeing the world through the lens of right and wrong and should and should not . It has completely transformed how I listen and has been super beneficial with navigating
Kaeshi , Ocean Stories , 2018 - photo by Greg Finlayson Canada
10 The Belly Dance Chronicles � September 2021