A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a local business wanting to know if I could do an Introduction Belly Dance Class for their employee’s and the end result on what they wanted was to say the least shocking and did not turn out as I would have hoped. The end result was that this business asked me to hold a 1 hour class for at least 18 or so women for free!! Yes, I said that word, FREE!! Let me ask all of you one question, who out there would work for free at your job at this day and age? Anyone?

Being in the entertaining business, we sometimes come across those who do not understand that this is our profession and that we are professionals. It is obvious that neither people who want something for free, first do not care nor are they educated about what we do and how much time, money and effort we put into our business. Yes, my belly dancing is my business, I wear several hats that of a dancer and a business women and to be able to make a profit, just like any other business. I have heard from not only many other dancers, but singers and musicians who are asked the same thing; will you perform for free? I have found also that in the past when someone asks me to do something for free, there is no benefit that I get out of it and it does not pay. You might say it is free advertising, but in reality it isn’t due to the fact that when someone wants something for free they are not supportive of you or your worth and they will not help you spread the word because it is too much work and takes time and someone who is not willing to pay for your expertise is not going to value what you do and spread the word to others, unfortunately this is how it is.

What is our worth? When we are hired out to perform whether it is for a birthday, wedding or organization it is important to know that you are paying for the preparation that goes into that performance or class and the time that is spent in that 20 minute performance and or hour class. Before any performance or class there is preparation that needs to be done in order to give my clients and students the best for their money. We spend many hours preparing the music, choreography’s, curriculum, costuming and last but not least traveling and gas to the event and preparation leading up to the event takes a lot of time and money. The list though does not stop here and any dancer will tell you that you get what you pay for and when someone hires me they will get the best out of the best in quality and professionalism. This is my business and I take it very seriously. Being an artist it takes a lot of not only my time and money and I spend money on rent, dance training, music, props, makeup, advertising, computers, software, website expenses, business cards, supplies for classes such as folders, music cd’s, dvd’s, ink, printers and so much more. Then there are the many hours that I spend on training and studying, editing music, adjusting and fixing costumes, engaging with clients and lastly working and performing.

Lastly, asking anyone to do something for free in today’s world is inappropriate and that my time in preparation and dancing is very much well worth the price those we dancers do charge. In fact, It think we sometimes do not charge enough and we have to be careful when it comes to how much to charge. My dancing is not a hobby anymore, even though, yes, I do enjoy it. It is my profession and my job and I treat it as such.

As Leyla Najma put it in her blog on Shades of Grey; Leyla Najma’s Hip Phylosphy; I need to ask this, “Do you work for free at your office? Would you like it if your boss said, I want you to travel and do this work for me but I can’t pay you so you’ll have to pay for all your expenses out of your own pocket?” What would be her response…?

You can read Leylas blog at: http://leyla-najma.net/3086/shades-grey/

Belly Dancing is not just about dancing and learning movements and refining the technique.  Belly Dancing is also a way to connect with yourself and to find out who you really are and how you feel about the dance.  When keeping a journal, you will find what you like about the dance, what you do not like etc….it will help you grow as a dancer and take you to the next step.  Journaling helps us to get our ideas out of our head and onto paper so that we can see what we are thinking and what is on our mind.  When we write it down it becomes clearer and will serve as a training tool.

Journaling may seem difficult at first so try not to look at it as a task something you must do, but something you want to do.  To get your started on the first page just write your name date and title it “My Belly Dance Diary “ or “ My Belly Dance Journal”.  The next step to take would be just taking a few moments and right down all the movements that come to the top of your head, without thinking.  If you find yourself thinking too hard and you stop writing; stop, even if you only have a few written down. The reason for this is a want it to be a free and natural process and these will be the movements that you are most comfortable with anyways and your core movements.  Keep the journal with you at all times so when an idea comes to mind or a movement, combination or anything else comes to mind you can write it down right away so you do not have to worry about trying to remember it.

Have a section in your journal were you write about you dance experience.  Things you can write about would be:  how you felt about class, choreography or even a performance.  These are very simple things to get you started.  It may seem difficult at first, but after a few times, you will not have a lot of difficulty and will look forward into writing in it rather than being a chore.  This will help connect with you and is a good tool in learning and expanding your belly dance dreams!

2011 is now coming to a close and this is my last blog for the year, so I wanted to share not only my experiances along with my thoughts with each one of you.  This past year has been filled with alot of exciting things that happened.  First and foremost, my website and getting to share my thoughts and experiances with my weekly blogs and monthly newsletters.  I cannot tell you how grateful I am for not only being able to have this website, but for Dan Lamtrimurti who knew exactly what I wanted and put alot of hard work and dedication to not only my website and believing  and helping me in succeeding.  Secondly,  I have had the opportunity to meet some fantastic women in this dance field, that share my same desires and dreams!  Leyla Najma, who has been my mentor has really been there for me this past year, in not only my dancing, but other aspects of my life and I am so grateful for her.  I love her honesty and she is not afraid to say what is on her mind and I have learned so much from her.  Tania Breytenbach, another dancer from South Africa, who even though I have not met in person, but I got to know through Leyla,  there is a definite connection between the two of us and I know that someday soon we will be able to meet and dance together, along with Leyla. Thank you to the three of you for being a friend and making such a big difference in my life!

I have also realized that belly dancing is not just about learning on how to dance, but how to connect to yourself and others.  Belly dancing has become a part of my life and it is intertwined with my daily living, where at one point and time for a short while they were separate.  I have come into my own person and I could not imagine being any other way, then who I am now.  The thing is I am not just a dancer, but so much more, because to really know this dance you have to really dig down deep and see what it has to offer.

For those of you who I have signed up for my classes and those who have signed up for my newsletter, I want to thank you for being interested and allowing me to share with you.  It has really been a wonderful and tremendous experiance all around!  I am so glad that each one of you are a part of our community and it is one that is growing! Speaking of growing, it is important that we grow in this dance and try to learn something new each time.  I want to say that I am proud of all of you!  I have seen some pretty awesome changes and as your teacher that is what really excites me and keeps my own flame going. Thank you to all my students!  I love you guys!

Journaling has been another new avenue for me this year, it is important, because it not only captures my feelings, but my progress as well.  For those of you who have not done this yet, I suggest that you do this for the coming year.  It is really a great learning experiance and you will learn about not only yourself, but others, the important thing is to just start writing.  Since, we are talking about writing, I have had the opportuntity to write two articles and at least one, if not both will be published in 2012!  I have always dreamed of being a writer since high school and that dream is also coming true!

Lastly, this year has had great opportunity’s and challenges on a personal level, not just with my dancing but my personal life.  If I have learned one thing this year, it is this, Never take anything for granted!  You never know if you will get another chance or opportunity!  Do not hesitate, say how you feel and react quickly.  Live every day like it is your last and dance like there is no tommorrow!  ( I am sure someone has quoted this)  Share with others and put your dreams in reality because you never know what can happen if you do not take the chance!  Goodbye to 2011 and hello 2012!  I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday!

Hugs & Love,

Najla

I want to take a moment to apologize for not posting in my blog for awhile.  This last month  I have been hit hard with circumstances out of my control, which brings me to this point; Belly Dancing and Healing really do go hand in hand.  It started with sleepless nights taking care of my husband who became ill and eventually was admitted into the hospital.  He is now out and doing well.  At the same time my kids dad passed away very unexpectedly and here I was having to hold them together and helping in making the arrangements.  While all this was going on I was also preparing to perform up in Columbus, Ohio:  Shimmy on the Black Market.  Trying to finish my choreography and getting some dance time and practice in seemed so far down the path and unrealistic, at this point.   I even toyed with the idea of calling and canceling my spot to perform, but I tend to be stubborn and thought, no I have to do this for myself.

During this time I had a phone conversation with my dear friend and mentor Leyla Najma, she told me that we tend to be healers and after our conversation I thought about this very long and hard and came to the conclusion she is so right on!   I tend to be driven toward those who need me the most and Belly Dancing has really helped me in order to help others.  When we dance something spiritual happens inside of us and it opens up new doors that before may have seemed impossible to open.  It helps us deal with emotion and fear or whatever turmoil is going on inside or around us.

The night my husband was admitted into the hospital was the same night I talked to Leyla who helped in healing me, just talking to her is what started the process of healing. After our phone conversation, I was planning on calling it a night, but instead I turned on some music and slowly started dancing.  At first, I felt numb and raw, but this only lasted a few moments.  I felt as if I was in a cocoon, but soon I was opening up and coming completely alive! I could feel the energy going through my body and for the first time in weeks I felt at peace and very intune with the movement and the music.  The drum solo for my performance in which I was having difficulty finishing I completed and felt very good about it.  That night I just danced for almost 2 hours with not a care in the world!

The night of my performance I had alot of mixed emotions and what had happend in the past previous weeks was still with me.  But, being part of something wonderful and being able to share experiances with the other dancers and watching their performances helped in so many ways.  We are all part of a wonderful community and when it is all said and done, we are there for each other in healing and support and that is the one reason why I love this dance so much!!  Bless each and everyone one of you!!

Najla

Just How Long Does it Take…..

Often, I get students who ask, “So, how long does it take to learn?”  This is not a short answer; I could say years, but that does not really mean anything to the student or does it really answer the question.  We must remember that belly dancing is an art form and it takes constant practice not only with moves and technique, but along with that comes the history, musical interpretation, and understanding  and knowing the different beats, understanding and knowing your own body, being able to choreograph both in the box and out of the box and so much more.

So why is it when we take the art form of Belly Dance and try to speed the learning process up, or expect to go from a beginner student
one day to the professional level the next?  We do not do this with any other art form particularly in the dance
arena.  We know, in order to reach the professional level in Ballet, for instance, we must work very hard and for many
years to only maybe achieving it.  It could be the fact, that Belly Dance is more main-stream, we see it in videos on YouTube and even in aerobic classes, where it is called Belly Dance even though it is not. Is it, due to the fact that we are so used to getting everything right
then and now because of our fast paced life style, we do not want to wait?  We see Shakira Belly Dancing in her videos,but what most do not know is that she spent many years on training in the dance form.  Does it come from teachers, who teach the students, promising them and giving them false hope?  There are a lot of great teachers out there, but, students need to be careful, think about it this way; if it sounds too good to be true; then it probably is. Belly Dancing in a box can create all kinds of havoc for not just all
the other students out there, but to the teachers as well, who are working hard on creating the best curriculum for their students.

Believe it or not, there are teachers out there who promise students that they can become a professional belly dancer in 30 days or
less.  I cannot even grasp this concept,coming from the perspective of not only a student, but a teacher as well…even
if the program has 3 hours of instruction, 7 days a week for 4 weeks that is only 84 hours of dance instruction! Adding to that hours in teaching history, music theory and so forth 7 hours a day, 7 days a week for 4 weeks, comes to 196 hours, both totaling 280
hours.

On an average most dancers become professional after 10 years of experience.  So let’s say you have a dancer who practices two hours a day at 6 days a week equals to 12 hours a week.  There are 52 weeks in a year, which comes out to 624 x 10= 6240 hours of just practice alone.  A dancer will spend on an average about 8 hours a week on music theory, history and so forth which equals to about 416 x 10 = 4160 hours.  The two together equals out to 8320 hours.  A dancer will also spend time on choreography and preparing for performance and shows which is above and beyond the two hours of practice, 6 days a week. Let’s say a dancer spends 5 hours a week on choreography and performance.  This equals out to 260 x 10= 2600 hours.  This brings the total up to 10920 hours at the minimum or on average.
That is a difference of 10640 hours! Plus, the experience the dancer has gained and what they have learned going through the process.

I remember as a beginner student, I was so anxious to learn so much and I wanted to know and learn it all quickly, but I realized very
early in the stage, that it was impossible to do and for me, it was going to be through a lot of hard work, time and dedication to reach the point I am at today.  Just remember, to always stay true to yourself and stay focused on the end result and enjoy your journey!