Category Archives: Najlas Blog

The past two weeks I have been scouring trying to come up with something brilliant with my blog and well I have not had much luck. Maybe it is writers block or sheer exhaustion or both! From the beginning. this dance form has taken hold of me and has not let go! I am a Belly Dancer it does not matter how you look at it the outcome is always the same. I feel you either love Belly Dance or hate it; there really is not an in-between with this art. My days begin with Belly Dance and they end with Belly Dance. Each and every hour of the day I am either thinking about the dance form, preparing or dancing and teaching and performing and writing about the dance and educating not only the community but my students as well. I spend hours and days coming up with class curriculum, creating choreographies, getting my website and blog updated, working on videos and editing for the website and continually working on myself as a dancer training and preparing to be the best I can. It in itself is a full time job and there are many days when I think if I could just have one more hour….so why do I do it? I could be considered insane to some. But it is because i truly love what I do and I am a Belly Dancer. I found this quote a few days ago:

It takes ten years, usually, to make a dancer. It takes ten years of handling the instrument, handling the material with which you are dealing, for you to know it completely. *Martha
Graham*

According to this quote I am not there yet since I have only been dancing for about 8-9 years nothing comes easy and without alot of hard work and dedication. Your body is your instrument and we have to remember this. So remember this quote when you become discouraged or think why can’t I get this!

Copy Right June, 2011

Allies Blog, Beginner Classes

Facial Expressions

May 14, 2011 najla 2 Comments

This past week one of my students asked a very important question when it comes to facial expressions. Facial expressions helps bring the emotion that you are trying to conceive with the movements more alive and it is the finishing touch to your dancing. When performing or even practicing you should always be aware of the expressions you are making with your face. What is most important is to try and relax and realize it is not necessary to always smile. When dancing and performing it must be full bodied;meaning emotion comes from every aspect and adding emotion with the face is the key to communicating to the audience the story that you are telling because when we dance we are telling a story.

“Face expression draws attention to the dancer
One of the best tools of the trade is learning to facially adapt to the dance. Audience eyes are drawn to those dance performers who learn how to master the emotion and expression within the set choreography. The mood of the dance is what audiences interact with through interpretation, reciprocal emotion and psychological illusion. It is the actual connecting factor between the dancer and the audience, and one of most importance. ” from Dancehelp.com; article, “Just Face it”.
Tips on Facial Expressions:

Always be aware of the expression on your face when practicing
keep relaxed and really letting yourself go (this takes time)
let the music guide you
always keep your head and chin up
try not to have the deer in the headlight look ( yes, I have had this happen to me)
practice in the mirror

With all this in mind, I am working on hopefully some very cool exercises that we can have some fun with during class on expression of the face! Just remember with all of this it takes time, patience and alot of practice!

The picture above I think really represents the emotion that a dancer portray’s when dancing. This picture was taken by WG Images. Copy Right June, 2011

Allies Blog

Belly Dance Village Interview With Leyla Najma

May 2, 2011 najla Leave a comment

A couple of weeks back Leyla Najma and I got the chance to talk. I was thrilled to be given this opportunity with her! In the interview we talk not only about my experiences as a dancer and how I got started, but we really dived deep down into how the dance has changed not only myself in regards to self-image, but also what I am trying to do with my students, in regards to self-image and society.

The interview is about 67 minutes long. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation and please feel free to ask any questions or comments that you may have! Please just click on the link below!

Allies Blog

Self-Image

April 24, 2011 najla Leave a comment

This past week I had a wonderful opportunity to talk with Leyla Najma on my thoughts and experiences as a dancer and teacher and what
belly dance has done for me as well as my thoughts on image of not only me but women in general. So, this past week has been a reflection on the interview and I just wanted to share with you some of my thoughts.

I first want to talk about self-image of women and society. Why do we get so caught up in someone else’s view on what we as women should or should not look like? We are surrounded by it; it is in magazines,movies, newspapers, TVs, in our schools and even in our workplace. So how do we cope with it and how do we realize that what we are seeing is not real. Just this past week, I had a customer who I was working with on skin care and make-up application she looked at the huge picture of a model that had perfect skin, perfect make-up and said; “I want to look like her”! We both laughed, realizing that each of us knew that underneath all that make-up and the touch ups of camera’s and other
effects the model was not perfect and when it is all said and done the models are just like you and I.

It should not matter what someone else thinks about you, but about how you feel about yourself, that is what is the most important. What matters is what is on the inside and not on the outside; because when you feel good on the inside it shines through on the outside. We need to grasp ahold of our uniqueness and realize that nothing or no one else matters but how we feel and how we think. Forget about what
society says and follow your own path and your own beat. You are beautiful and there is no one else out there like you

Since I started belly dance it has changed my perspective on my own self-image and women in general. This dance has given me confidence, strength, and self-acceptance of my image and grabbing hold of the beauty that has been hiding deep down inside
me. When I look at my students and other women I see each one of them as hidden gems each one of you are unique and
beautiful! We are strong and we need to stand together and forget what society says what we should be or not be. Let yourself sparkle and shine, be yourself, enjoy each and every moment! Dance inthe wind!

Visit: bellydancevillage.com and listen to the interview I had with Leyla Najma. “Egyptian Cabaret comes to Chillicothe”

Allies Blog

It is in The Eyes

April 10, 2011 najla 3 Comments

In finding my quest earlier last month, on how truly to create the Egyptian eye look I came across some very important and fascinating stuff! When we think of the Egyptians the one thing we all think of first is their eye makeup. Both male and females wore eye makeup and they did this in order to protect their eye. If the eye was left unprotected then it was subject to being in harms way of the evil eye. They not only wore makeup for protection but also for medicinal purposes but spiritual and magical purposes. The shape of the eye was done in either a cat eye shape or almond shape.

There where two main colors that where used when it came to applying makeup to the eye. These colors that where used where either green or black. I think we are all familar with the black that was used by kohl which was made up by sulfide;galena. But how did they get the color green? This color came from malachite which is an oxide that is obtained from copper. It was believed that when the eyes of female’s adorned their eyes with green that it worked like an anti-depressant and was able to release postive energy in the body such as love and happiness. Color had a meaning behind it and green meant new life or re-birth. It is known that when the Egyptian’s lined their eyes with kohl this was done mostly to protect their eyes from the harsh elements of the sun and to shield them from ailments of the eye.

Have you heard the way to someone’s soul is through their eyes? There is evidence of this and that our eyes really do tell alot about us. For instance, we know just by looking at someone’s eyes if they are being truthful and sincere or if they are lying; the eyes say it all!

The information gathered were from:

makeup success.com & egyptianmyths.net