A fabulous performance picture can do wonders for a belly dancer's career. Put it on a business card, or add it to your web site, to get more high quality bookings or new students. Add it to social media, and get invites to top class events. Even though its just a moment in time, it shows off your dancing, performing and entertainment abilities.... or does it? Just like every entertainer, we excel at the art of illusion. We ask the viewer to see what we want them to see....Only we know the diamonds are paste..... our shimmies are not an expression of our emotions, so much as a reflection of the hours we drilled them infront of the mirror... And our photo was not actually caught mid performance... For years I wanted an amazing on-stage, performance picture. Yet all I got was photos like the one above on the left. I look like a six eyed monster trying to lasso the audience. Then I found out the secret - those performance photos of the stars.... all is not what it seems. Because I am all about sharing the good news, here are four ways to get a fabulous performance photo ! (clue - they are all cheats!)
Tiny Tips:
My dear friends Dawn Devine and Alisha Westerfeld are starting to build a reputation for sneaking a selfie onto the stage. This performance was a comedy number at a light-hearted event. It was the perfect punchline for this occasion. Usually, selfies are not a suitable way to get get an on stage performance photo...... I hope you enjoyed a look behind the scenes of some of our performance photo shoots ! - feel free to add your own "Performance" photos to the comments and let us know how you got the shot !
If you like this blog, go back to the blog page, for others you might like including:
Holiday Music for Class Dealing with Difficult StudentsTeacher Knows Best Are you Ready Teach Belly Dance ? Or check out these Hub Blogs including: "Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher"
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Preparing a bio ahead of time!
3/23/2017
You never get a second chance at a first impression, and the MC just blew that for you. What you needed was a postcard with your bio, ready and prepared ahead of time. Here is my advice : Every time you burn a CD or set up a play list, add your bio to your bag or the CD case. Write it today, and update it annually, but keep it in your kit bag, ready for every performance. What should you write ? There are two essentials that you must add to every bio:
(You may prefer "Turkish belly dancer" or "Fusion belly dancer". If your audience is the general public, belly dancer will do. If your audience are mostly other belly dancers, add more details to your description such as "Sara Shrapnell is inspired by belly dancers of the golden age of Egyptian belly dance.") "Sara Shrapnell is a belly dancer" is a little on the simple side. Yep, they got my name and why I am entering the stage, but I don't sound very exciting... As we have time right now, lets try and turn that intro into three or four fascinating sentences. This is a good moment to focus on perfecting the "elevator pitch". Its a couple of sentences that tell others all about you or your project. Do you teach, love to perform, are you the youngest, oldest, world record holding, award winning or new in town? What makes you memorable or stand out from the crowd? I like to use the triple threat "Writer, Teacher, Performer." "Award winning" is always good, but remember, you should be able to back up all your claims. If you are "award winning", what is your award? Do you have the award at home? Can they google the competition ? If you hold a record, be prepared to share a link to the web site. Much better to pick a phrase that doesn't need proof, like "Enchanting", "Captivating" or "Beautiful". From a marketing point of view alliteration is always appealing (wink) - "Bella the Beautiful Belly Dancer!" Have a try and see what works best with your name. Its always hard to write nice things about yourself. If you are having a problem with finding the right words, ask your teacher, classmates or fans for feedback. Do they think you are the queen of shimmies, or are they amazed by your back bends. Ask others to point out your strengths and see how you can work them into your bio. Ask yourself what you want the audience to do, now they know who you are. Perhaps you want them to sign up to your classes, or come back to the venue next week. If you are at a belly dance event, do you want the audience to buy your book, visit you at your booth, attend your workshop.... "Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer. She is inspired by belly dancers of the golden age of Egyptian belly dance. Find her books on belly dance at her booth by the rest rooms." "Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer. She is teaching a workshop later this afternoon on improvisation and adding emotion to your dance. You can sign up on the door for just $15." "Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer. She has taught over 5,000 belly dance classes, and her new beginner course starts next Wednesday." If you are in the business of belly dance, don't be afraid of a little self promotion!
If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you) Why Belly Dancers need to Walk the Line Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections Being Part of the Solution Or these Hubposts: "Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher" That Moment When...
1/4/2017
If you regularly read my blog, you will know I have a love/hate relationship with publishing my work. I would much rather dance infront of 1,000 people, or teach a room full of strangers than share my writing. I mean, you have read my novel, right? Oh no, only about 20 people have ever read my novel, because I'm terrified of sharing it !! (It has rude bits!) However, I do love writing. That feeling of loosing yourself for 5,6,7 hours as the words come tumbling out and the pages grow like knitting, forming themselves into ideas, concepts and dreams. Its addictive. For the last five years I have mostly written about belly dance, and so my two passions have collided. But the problem with writing all day, every day, is that at some point you have to share your words with the world. I am hugely blessed to have lots of great people in my life who can read and assess my writing. Poppy Maya (The Awesome Poppy Maya as she is known), is always ready to review the quality of my work. I can turn to Dawn Devine for resources, research and validation, plus she understands sentance structure and can turn my words from a C minus to an A plus. Alisha Westerfeld thinks in images, and helps bring my ideas to life, and I have a team of pro and not so pro editors who tidy up the chaos I produce.
Excuse me if I blush and hide for a couple of days. I'll just be here, at the computer, for the next five hours.... writing something that people might someday read !
If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:
I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you) Why Belly Dancers need to Walk the Line Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections Being Part of the Solution Or these Hubposts: "Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher" Counting my (Belly Dance) Blessings
12/28/2016
At this time of year I take a short break from belly dance. Its been two weeks since my last class, three since I performed, and I'm starting to miss my true dance love. I have been belly dancing for 25 years, full time for the last 17. I write about belly dance every day. I teach three times a week, and practice each week day. Most weekends I attend or perform at events. If you are reading this, you are probably the same. Belly dance is addictive and it attracts the most wonderful, caring, loving and interesting people to its world. You may have noticed a little wave of negativity washing through these last few weeks. You can blame the stars, or the internet, Gen X or boredom, but its not how I see belly dance. Belly dance has been a huge blessing in my life and I would like to take a moment to count them. Feel free to join me, either in the comments below, or in your own blog or posting. Lets make the last few days of 2016 a wonderful moment of giving thanks to the dance that brought us together. In no particular order.... 1, - Friends. I have thousands of "Friends" on FB, and many of them have turned into real friends. Every time I attend an event, I look out for people I know through FB and connect with them, so I can meet them in person. I never walk into a workshop without a familiar face, even if its on the other side of the world. I can have coffee, or a meal, with fascinating people, no matter where I am in the world. We always have something to talk about. Belly dance has also introduced me to people that I consider family. Half of my Christmas cards were sent, with love, to families that I would never have met if not for belly dance. As someone who lost her mother way too young, I am lucky to have a place to spend time with older ladies. I love to chat and spend time with ladies of my Mum's generation. Without belly dance I wouldn't have so many wise women in my life. Finally, having a wide range of friends has made me open to new ides and taught me about the world. Belly dancers cover the whole range of political views, the gender spectrum, all ages, classes, ethnicity and religions. I have belly dance friends who can share incites into their lives, and others who are simply happy to dance by my side. thank you belly dance friends, you are a blessing.
3, - Income. It might be taboo, but I am hugely grateful that belly dance has been my main form of income for 17 years. At first I taught multiple classes, and more recently, I make a living through selling my belly dance books. I feel hugely blessed that so many people value my time, energy and thoughts enough to spend their hard earned cash. Perhaps their class time is the best hour of their week, or snuggling up with one of my books is the highlight of their day. People also pay me for the on line lessons, workshops and mentoring. If you ever paid me for anything, I am truely thankful, and I hope you felt it was worth every penny! 4, - Family. Not many people know, but my Mum used to belly dance. Unfortunately she was very ill for a long time, but it gave us a common topic to discuss. When she could no longer dance she acted at MC at my events. My daughter is also a professional belly dance performer. When my children were younger, they attended lots of events, helped out with loading and unloading the venue, lighting, sound and hosting. I think it has influenced them all in different ways. Now they are older they help with tech support and marketing advice. I am very thankful that my job is a family business and that they can all get involved. 5, - Performances. I am not one of those people who only goes to shows if I have a performance slot. I love to see belly dance performances of all levels at any venue. If I have an evening at home you may well find me surfing YouTube to feed my addiction. I dont care what your style is, I just want to see good dancing, a pretty costume, some stage craft and an interpretation of the music. I flip between the golden age classics to art that scares or upsets me, I enjoy the folk dances, Tribal Fusion, and glamorous theater productions. I am lucky enough to live in the SF bay area, which means I can see a show (or five) every Saturday night. I am lucky that I get to pick and choose, dress up, meet friends, and see wonderful performances whenever I want. 6, - Music. Just as I love every kind of belly dance, so I love all the music that comes with it. I enjoy a great live band, or a single drummer. I am lucky enough that my music collection is now so big that I can play anything, anytime, to suit my mood, my dancing or my surounding. I would like to take a moment to thank those of you who have taken the time to record music for belly dancers, or to play at an event, or to teach a workshop about the depths and meanings of the classic tunes. Belly dance has given me the soundtrack to my life. 7, Confidence. For me, this goes beyond the confidence to walk onto a stage and present a dance that I have spent 10 months working on. There is a confidence that comes from being surounded by brave, bold, beautiful, strong and intelligent people. When you take part in a show and see others project the pain and upset of a recent break up into a performance, or see the lady who just lost her job suck it up and spread joy to the very back row, it emboldens you to put your shoulders back and believe that anything is possible. Knowing that others may like your work, also gives you the confidence to truely assess the critisims that always come with presenting art. When I see one of my books in the hands of a new reader, I still hope that they like it - we all want to be liked. But belly dance gave me the confidence to write those books, because I love it so much that I have studied it in depth, talked to experts and drawn my own conclusions. I am an expert. How is that for confidence !! 8, - Beauty. Without belly dance I would never had said that I was beautiful. That is really sad. I still have days when I dont like parts of my body, but they are very few and far between. When did it become acceptable for woman to be modest about their beauty? Belly dance has given me a body with lots of curves. It can shimmy and strut, slide and glide and sometimes it can even do some really complex foot patterns ! I have also learnt what colors suit me, how to wear my hair, I have some pro make up technique and, just in the last few years, I have learnt how to pose for the camera. I can turn heads just from excellent posture. Surrounding yourself with beautiful people, not only gives you the tools, it also helps you to see your inner beauty. The belly dance world is full of people who give unconditionally, love and share without expectation. Every week we set up in the changing room and see a dozen "normal" people blossom into stunningly beautiful creatures. Knowing you are beautiful is a powerful thing. 9, - Knowledge. I am lucky that I have had the time, energy and money to travel in order to take workshops from some of the greatest minds in belly dance. I am also very privileged to have met many wonderful belly dancers who have taken the time to talk to me, share their ideas, send me books, write me essays or simply ask me questions. I am not the scholarly type. I struggle to take notes and to find my references. Dance is a physical medium, we share our history, stories, hopes and desires through movement. I have collected that knowledge too. 10, - Students. I have been abundantly blessed with students. Back when I lived in the UK, I had a different class on every day of the week, and each of them had a totally different vibe. They were all filled with wonderful people, who chose to spend their precious spare time with me. Even when I had to move away, many of them chose to keep in touch, and they still share their videos, photos and dance journey with me. Now I live in the US, I have less classes, but more time to spend in preparing each of them. My US students have taught me all about America, and never laugh at my funny accent. I have been blessed with a troupe of ridiculously talented dancers, who let me challenge them with choreography that is way beyond my ability. They are committed, engaged and ambitious - which means they drive me to be the same. When we love something as much as we all love belly dance, its easy to get passionate. Passion can build bridges, or it can tear them down. The world of belly dance is very small. We are not a rich, sucessful and popular industry. I think we are in a growing stage, and most of us would agree that we have to build our student bases, or audiences and our standards in order to make belly dance accessable to more people and keep dancers and teachers employed. We do that best by being welcoming, sharing knowledge, sharing students, sharing performance opportunties and praising the skills we see in others. I contributed to our last book "Becoming a Belly Dancer" for a very selfish reason - I want to see great belly dance in my retirement! If you would like to add to my list of belly dance blessings, please feel free to add to the comments below, post on FB or write a blog of your own. - Sara x
If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:
Teacher Knows Best Dealing with Difficult Students I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you) Why Belly Dancers need to Walk the Line Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections Being Part of the Solution Or check out my Hub Blogs including: "Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher" Holiday music for class
12/11/2016
AT THIS TIME OF YEAR, we all want to do something to celebrate the holiday season. One of the easiest things you can do to get your class into the festive spirit is to mix in some festive music to your lesson plan. I've saved you from hours of surfing, by finding my top danceable, festive tunes. Enjoy !
Thank you for reading this blog - wishing you and yours a very Happy Holidays !
If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:
Teacher Knows Best Dealing with Difficult Students I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you) Why Belly Dancers need to Walk the Line Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections Being Part of the Solution Or check out my Hub Blogs including: "Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher" Belly Dance Shopping Mall !
11/26/2016
Updated and edited 10/25/18This blog post started life as a Facebook post that got too big to handle ! I started listing my favorite small business' that serve the belly dance community and the list just grew and grew ! It feels like its time to set up a virtual shopping mall where we can find all our favorite stores in one place. I have only included business' that I have used and products that I love. My FB friends sent me lots of other recommendations, and once I have made a purchase with them, I will consider adding them here.
Dawn Devine has a huge range of wonderful books available on Amazon. Check out the full range here:
There are three big on-line belly dance stores that I regularly shop, Dahlal, Miss BellyDance and BellyDance.com. Between them they cover almost all a belly dancer could desire !
DVDs and videos ! - There are way too many to mention, but these are the ones that I have LOVED this year :
Finally ! - I would like to offer you a flick through my latest book "Becoming A Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage" written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya. Simply use the arrow to flick through a few of the 400 plus pages. Becoming a Belly Dancer is the stagecraft handbook for belly dancers and is available now on Amazon. Check out the reviews - it makes the perfect gift for the belly dancers of all styles !Want more shopping ideas ? Check out these blog posts on other pages: If you like this blog, go back to my blog page and check out some others like:
Teacher Knows Best Dealing with Difficult Students I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you) Packed and Ready to Go !
7/6/2016
While I might not be performing as much as I once did, I am still in the habit of keeping a case packed and ready to go at a moments notice. Partly its a storage solution - why unpack and store my performance kit,when I can store it in the suitcase? But it is also a matter of being ready to perform should the need arise. So what is packed in my bag? I start out by dividing it into two shoe boxes. The first one will hold whatever costume I am planning to wear, and the second holds my "kits". I use small purses, draw-string bags and even zip lock plastic bags to hold my kits - I have a small sewing kit, a "touch up" make up kit, a cords and chargers kit, a back up jewelry kit, a hair care kit and a toiletries kit. By storing them all in a shoe box I can find them quickly, but also throw the odd item into the box as I am packing up and know I will be able to find it again later. Where possible I try to put together my kits with spares and sample sizes. My make up kit is really only for last minute touch ups, as I prefer to put on full stage make up at home. As I run short of a product in my "at home" make up kit, I purchase a new one, move the almost empty one into my performance kit bag, and bin its predecessor, which is probably ready to expire. I keep jewelry that matches my costume in the box with that costume, but I also keep a back up set in my suitcase. My back up jewelry kits are light weight, cheap and a mix of gold and silver. Sometimes the jewelry that matches my costumes looks a little sparse, or a clasp might go as I am walking onto the stage. This back up jewelry kit is there to fill in the gaps. In addition I always have a neutral veil - that is, one that goes with all of my costumes. In the world of belly dance we can count rainbows and animal prints as neutrals in addition to white,black, gold and silver. I also pack a cover up, shoes and a second costume. My second costume is usually a dress in a fabulous fabric - I want something that will pack up small and goes with my dance style, just in case someone else arrives with a similar costume to my favorite, I spill food down myself or bust a seam. I use the front pocket of my suitcase to store business cards, flyers, copies of my bio and spare CDs. Those are all things that organizers ask for as you walk in the door, and I don't want to have to open up my suitcase in the lobby to find them ! After an event I remove my costume from the suitcase to air and refresh in the sunshine. I might replace it with a different costume, or pack it back into the suitcase at the end of the day. I open up my kit box, make sure everything is put away, and make a list to replace or repair. Finally I label the music CDs so that I know what is on them, should I want to use them for an impromptu performance in the future. While "Rakkasah 2016" might make sense to me now, in the future "Raks Musri, veil, opening 2.30 - Tabla solo, long shimmy, 3.30 - Sunshine, upbeat fun to join in, 3.30 - total 9.30 burnt as one track" is a gift to the future me, who is rushing to find a fun set under ten minutes. Finally, one golden rule for me is that my suitcase should always be light enough for me to carry. At my age, I can't afford to hurt myself taking my suitcase in and out of a venue. I recently applied to perform at an all day event, but I missed out on getting a performances slot. As I left the house to go and see the show I put my kit bag in the trunk "just in case". Mid morning one of the performers rang the hostess to say she couldn't make it, and suddenly I had a performance slot ! I sat in the car and topped up my make up from my make up kit bag, added my "back up" jewelry, selected a CD from the pocket and got my chance to shine on stage. Last minute performances like that have the added bonus of no pre-gig nerves! So next time you are unpacking your bags after a gig, ask yourself, could you be using the opportunity to set up your bag for your next performance?
Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer. She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US. She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide and on-line via the Belly Dance Business Academy. Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context. Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching. Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” is available on Amazon. Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is available in 2016 . Teaching Belly Dance: Making Corrections
6/14/2016
Updated 12/13/16
First lets start with a little truth: a correction is only worth mentioning, if the improvement can be made. When faced with a total beginner, who has been asked to perform a figure 8, the teacher will see dozens of problems:
This list could go on and on, but if the teacher points each of these issues out to the beginner student, he or she will become overwhelmed and unable to make any improvements. Instead the teacher must take her time and improve the dancers movements one step at a time. Where to start ? Firstly, make sure you have talked to each student about their existing fitness and injuries. If they have a problem with any part of their body, be sure to encourage safe posture in that area first. Cover posture at the start of every lesson, and focus your initial corrections on postural problems. If their whole posture is off, and they don't complain of a particular issue, I tend to start with hips, back and shoulders. Make it your mission in life to observe posture. Watch people walk, stand, sit and dance. Look for clues to pain, such as favoring one leg, or a dip of the shoulders. Understand how our muscles and skeleton work together to make belly dance movements. When observing your students, first look at them from a distance, watch their whole body movements. Then walk closer to them, so you can see the mechanics in action and observe the root of problems. I like to offer up personal corrections only when I am standing close enough that the other students can not hear. Usually I will set up an exercise and then walk the room, observing and critiquing each dancer in turn. One correction per exercise is usually enough, unless their posture is particularly bad. I use the "critique sandwich" technique: that is I place my correction between two positive statements, such as: "I see you have been practicing! Watch that you don't roll onto the outside of your right foot, keep your weight centered and strong. Your arms are looking much better this week." This kind of correction is easy for the dancer to focus on and usually the correction can be made within a few moments. If you feel that your whole group has a problem, or that an issue needs to be addressed, wait until after the exercise and aim your critique at the whole group, like this: "I noticed that lots of you were having trouble with the weight shift. Make sure that you are passing your weight through your center, and only pushing out as far as you are comfortable. If you feel like your weight is on the outer edge of your foot, or if you start to feel pressure in your ankles, shrink your hip move, so that it is putting less strain on your lower body."
While you shouldn't under estimate your students, it is also worth remembering that some of them will be unable to perform some moves that you can do. Give your students achievable goals and cheer them on to the finish line. Most belly dance students come to class for fun, and while corrections are not a whole lot of fun, improving is the best feeling in the world. Make sure every correction is a step forward that they can take towards being a better dancer. Gradual, achievable corrections, given regularly and mixed in with praise, will help your students improve their dance skills and make your job as a belly dance teacher so much easie
If you like this blog, go back to the blog page, for others you might like including: Or check out these Hub Blogs including: "Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher" Belly Dance Discount Season
5/27/2016
This weekend, many of the big belly dance stores have a sale on. Here is my round up of what is available, the discount codes and some of their best buys. I have only included companies that I have used and would use again. These are my personal opinions, and discounts were available as of the time that this blog was posted. We all shop on an understanding of "buyer beware'. If you know of another sale happening, then please feel free to share in the comments below: ISIS EXCHANGE - Isis is a costume company from Florida. They cover the full range of costuming from $10 coin belts to custom sets of bra, belt, skirt and veil. I particularly like their entry level bras, which are around $50, come in a range of sizes and suit both Tribal and Glam dancers. They are one of the best places to get the lacy look that is so hot just now. Of course I am in love with the bright pink lace, but they have something for everything. In addition to their 20% off deal for this weekend they have free shipping to the US and Canada on orders over $99. Check out their web site here: DAHLAL INTERNATIONALE - Dahlal is one of my personal favorite places to shop. We found our last troupe costume through Dahlal and get so many compliments! They specialize in the very top end designer costumes like Eman Zaki, but also stock the full range of separated, sets and belts. Their look is Glam, but there is something for everyone. I am a huge fan of their "Off The Nile" range, which covers top end class wear and comfortable performance pieces. Its perfect for those of us who travel a lot to dance, because you can create a mix and match wardrobe that will take you from teaching a workshop to performing on the stage, with pieces that will pack into hand luggage. They have a $5 off code (spend over $25) : MYWAY5 - and a $20 off code (spend over $100): MYWAY20 MISS BELLY DANCE - Missbellydance.com is the top shopping stop for us "plus" belly dancers. Their range of plus sized costumes is second to none and covers the range from classwear to troupe costumes. I like to send my beginner dancers to Miss Belly Dance, as its the perfect place to create a belly dance wardrobe on a budget. Check out their stunning 25 yard skirts in cool spring colors and a wide range of patterns. Our troupe invested in one of their fabulous trouser suits a couple of years ago. Miss Belly Dance has a code for 12% when you spend $75 or more : memorial2016 TEACHING BELLY DANCE - Of course I should add my own products... If you go to the store page of this web site you will see my book "Teaching Belly Dance' for just $24.50. That is a saving of over 15%! Amazon sales fluctuate through the weekend but they currently have it for $26.74. Check in over the weekend to see if they drop the price further. If you already have my book, why not add a review or pass on the link to a teacher or talented dancer that may start teaching in the next few months. If you like this blog, go back to the blog page, for others you might like including:
Being Part of the Solution Dealing with Difficult Students I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you) Or check out these Hub Blogs including: "Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher" Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer. She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US. She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide and on-line via the Belly Dance Business Academy. Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context. Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching. Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” is available on Amazon. Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is available in 2016 . Sara's Mailing List Being Part of the Solution
5/16/2016
Updated 4/22/19 Lets start with a little bit of negativity for a change : belly dancers moan. They moan about the lack of good teachers, the lack of good students, about gigs, no gigs, cheap gigs, they moan about changing rooms, running orders, costume prices, musicians and dirty floors. I am pretty sure its not a belly dancer thing - everyone moans. I bet the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker all do just as much moaning. Belly dancers want to see better belly dance, done to a professional level at professional venues for professional pay - but most don't know how to make that dream a reality. We have some other issues in the belly dance "industry" that we struggle to deal with that increase the problem:
When I first heard about the Belly Dance Business Academy I saw a parallel in our aims. The BDBA wants to provide tools for those in the business of belly dance to help them make the most of their skills and talents. They want to take the best practice and share it with others, provide motivation, support and practical advice to help teachers, event organizers and touring artists. I was hugely honored to be asked to join their teaching team. The first class I produced for them is already live ' Event Hosts: Setting up expectations of changing room ethics" - its a free class and includes the flyer that I put up at events to explain the "rules" that I expect. Something as simple as putting up changing room rules can help prevent event drama and elevate the standards of expected behavior in a community. I see The Belly Dance Business Academy as the perfect way for me to reach a wider world of belly dancers and continue with my passion - helping others to enjoy belly dance ! Finally, here are a few ideas on how to be a positive force in the belly dance industry:
Thank you for listening to my "moan". With a little positivity and a whole lot of working together we can enjoy watching our industry continue to go from strength to strength. Full disclosure - since writing this blog post Sara has become a co-owner of the Belly Dance Business Academy. If you like this blog, go back to the blog page, for others you might like including:
Being Part of the Solution I'm Perfect for Belly Dance (and so are you) Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer. She has taught more than 5,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US. She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide and on-line via the Belly Dance Business Academy. Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context. Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching. Sara has written two books: “Teaching Belly Dance” "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya. Both are available through Amazon. Are You Ready to Teach Belly Dance ?
4/25/2016
In my book “Teaching Belly Dance” I gathered a huge selection of advice for the new belly dance teacher. The first question for the advanced student, the team leader, or budding workshop host who wants to move into teaching is "am I ready". Many of us fall into teaching - perhaps when our own teacher moves away or needs someone to cover her classes during a vacation. Maybe you have moved to a new area where no one teaches your style of belly dance, or maybe you want to make enough money to cover your own belly dance expenses. Whatever your motivation, here is a check list to help you make sure that you are ready to teach belly dance. How good are your basic skills ? Its time to take a critical look at your own skill set and abilities. Often in our rush to learn “new” moves we forget to focus on our basics. Assess your hip rotations, hip lifts and drops and your shimmies. Are they perfect every single time? or have you developed bad habits? Take a private lesson with a teacher you respect and work on the moves you plan to teach, to make sure that you don’t pass on any bad technique to your new students. Can you teach to all the learning styles? Teachers often teach towards the learning style that suits them best, after all that is how they learn. Your students will have a mix of learning styles, and each individual deserves the same opportunity to learn. Make sure you can teach the basic moves to the visual learner, the audio learner, the verbal learner, the logical learner, the physical learner and the emotional learner. Remember that most of us learn with a mix of styles and those styles can change week to week and depending on the move we are being taught. Teach to all learning styles, even if you are sure that your students favor one or two. Do you understand the importance of a good warm up and cool down? Don’t just repeat the warm up that your teacher does, but take time to understand its role in a class and how to for-fill the needs of your students. Put your students safety first and learn good practice, so that you can adapt your warm up and cool down to suit your dancers, the room temperature and the content of the class. Do you have enough material to teach a semester (term)? Think about how you can make the 12th class just as much fun as the first by allocating your material throughout the semester. Start by making a list of all the moves, concepts and ideas you want to teach and splitting them between the number of lessons you plan to teach. This will form the basis of your semester plan. Your lesson plans will develop out of your semester plan. Do you have a good selection of music to keep the students interested? Its time to catalog your music collection and purchase new music to fill any gaps. How is your fitness? Talking and dancing may be a new skill for you. Make sure you can complete your own warm up and still talk immediately afterwards. Do you have insurance? This is essential. You will need public liability and to check that your venue has building insurance. If you intend to host workshops or put on shows then you will need further insurance to cover those activities. In some areas you also need a business license and to register for tax before you can take any money. Check with your local small business organization for clarity. Have you picked the right venue? is it warm and inviting? Does it have a good floor? is it handy for a car park or public transport? Can you afford the rent? is it available at the right time of day to suit your students? Will you have enough students? In the early days most businesses struggle and you will probably need another form of income for at least two or three years. For every person who emails you or signs up on Facebook to your classes, assume that half will attend the first lesson and only 1/4 will still be there at the end of the course. You can find new students though flyers, postcards in coffee shops and with on line advertising, but your students will be your best promoters, so make them part of your sales team; offer them a free class if they bring a friend and give them flyers to pass out or pin on their fridge. Finally – Do you love belly dance enough to go out every night in the cold and the rain? Can you teach a figure 8 100 times this year and still make it sound fresh and fun? Can you stand back and let the dancers repeat a basic move for five more minutes when you really want to move on to something more exciting? Can you spend all your earnings on ten veils you will never use, so that your students can learn a floaty choreography ? Are you a people person? Are you the right person to be training the next generation of belly dancers? If so you have taken the first steps towards a wonderful new career. I wish you lots of happy years, filled with exciting (and profitable) belly dance classes! Teaching Belly Dance – The book about setting up, planning, teaching and enjoying belly dance classes is available on Amazon If you need help with lesson planning, Sara has a new book called "52 Lesson Plans and how to write 5,000 more". It includes a full year of lesson plans that you can teach "as is", and instructions on how to develop your own lesson plans. For marketing advice, check out the 4 part video workshop "Starting, re-starting and Kickstarting your belly dance classes" If you like this blog, go back to my blog page, for others you might like including: Or check out my Hub Blogs including:
"Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher" Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer. She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US. She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide. Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context. Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching. Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” was published in 2014. "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", the stagecraft handbook co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is also available on Amazon. We All Need Stagecraft !
4/13/2016
Recently we have been showing off the first proof of "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", at the events we have been attending. The feedback has been amazing. People love the way it looks and that it covers EVERYTHING that the student needs to become a belly dancer. However one question really surprised me: "Is this for Tribal dancers too?" Heck, YES ! Tribal dancers need stagecraft skills! Everyone who steps onto a stage needs to understand the key issues that make a dancer a performer. They need to have the technical skills, they need to have the mind of a performer, they need to look like a belly dancer, they need to match their dancing to their music and pick music that suits their audience/venue and they need to promote themselves to the wider world. Personally, I love to see a dancer of any style, who has thoughtfully put together a performance for my entertainment. I want to know that they care enough about me (as an audience member), to have connected their music, dance skills and costume to create a cohesive look. Relaxed, happy and confident performers are more enjoyable to watch - and that is our main aim in writing this book. We want to give everyone the tools they need to be the very best performer that they can be. You can dance any style of belly dance - Glam, Fusion or Ethnographic - and stagecraft skills will elevate your performance. Stage Stars come in all shapes, sizes, sexes and styles of belly dance, but they all shine under the spot light. Consider stagecraft as an essential element in elevating your performances! f you like this blog keep scrolling down, or go back to my blog page, for others you might like including:
Or check out my Hub Blogs including: "Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher" Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer. She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US. She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide. Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context. Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching. Sara’s first book “Teaching Belly Dance” is available on Amazon. Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is available in 2016 . And I don't mean "Walk the line", like as a metaphor for life. Nope - you have to be able to walk from A to B by the shortest possible route. This is one of my fundamentals of belly dance performance. You cant own a room until you can walk in a straight line. You think you already walk in a straight line? ok - Simple homework: go stand on the upper level of your local shopping mall, or at an airport or busy train station and track the route from entrance to destination. For example, people arriving at an airport come in the entrance door where their Uber dropped them, and walk to the check in desk. Their next route is check in desk to security. Watch who walks in a straight line from entrance to check in and then check in to security? Now watch who is bobbing and weaving and basically making room for those straight line walkers to get to their destination faster? I'll give you a clue - men walk in straight lines. Women bob and weave. Of course there are exceptions. Notice the female pilots and crew? They walk in straight lines. If you have ever tried to get a herd of small children through an airport you will probably have chosen a man (daddy) to lead the rabble and a lady (mummy) to sweep up the stragglers. Is it human nature or social conditioning? I don't know. I do know that I watch a lot of crowds and the men walk straight and the women walk around them. So what happens when women walk in straight lines? Chaos! Try it... Enter a busy Mall and take a moment to pick your destination. It can be anywhere, a shop front, the toilets, a food cart, but make sure you can see it. Walk straight forward and keep your eye on the goal. Don't move from your A to B route, don't slow down, don't side step. If you feel rude and anti social, go back up a level and watch the other people again. Do you think the other straight walkers feel rude and anti social? or do they think its perfectly normal to walk in a straight line when you want to get somewhere? If I walk through a crowd with my husband and he takes my arm, people get out of our way. However, if we get split up I always get left behind. I watch the crowds open ahead of him and close as he steps through. In the mean time I am making little headway, bobbing and weaving, saying "sorry" and waiting for a space to move forward. After a block he turns back and I am "lost", half a block behind him. Let me tell you what happens when I walk in a straight line. People (men mostly) bump into me. I am not being predictable. I am not acting in a socially acceptable way. They assume I will side step and then are confused when I don't. Some of them get angry, or glare, most just look confused. How do I feel when I walk in straight lines? Once I got over feeling rude, I started to feel powerful! I put my shoulders back, lift my head and glide through space while those around me adjust their stride to avoid me. Suddenly I am in control - not just able to get from A to B, but to get there without adjusting my route to please others. I'm walking like an airline pilot ! And now lets connect that action with belly dance. When I dance into a busy restaurant I need to own some space. Maybe I want 5 foot Square or 50 foot, but I want some space to present my performance. I also want some attention. People may be eating, chatting, looking at their phones, but I want them to stop doing that and look at me. One of the first things I am going to do is to walk around the space I want, with my head held high and my shoulders back. This is a cue to the audience to be quiet, shift their feet out of my space, pick up their bags, slide their chairs back and look at me. If I come onto the stage area and look apologetic for being in my space, the audience will look, and then turn away. I can't entertain them until I have their attention, and I cant get their attention without owning my space. So homework for this weekend - practice walking that line, owning some space, being assertive, confident and self assured. Think of every journey as belly dance practice and every venue as a stage! I'm looking forward to hearing about your A to B adventures in the comments below - Sara x If you like this blog keep scrolling down, or go back to my blog page, for others you might like including: "I'm Perfect for Belly Dance, And so are You!" "Assessing your Performance Videos" "Picking out a Troupe Costume" and "Why Travelling is one of the Best Ways to Improve your Belly Dance" Or check out my Hub Blogs including: "Your First Belly Dance Workshop" The Top Ten Belly Dance Tunes for Performance" "Finding a Great Belly Dance Teacher" Sara Shrapnell is a belly dance writer, teacher and performer. She has taught more than 4,000 belly dance classes, both in the UK and US. She now teaches in Pleasanton, Dublin and Livermore in the SF bay area, as well as workshops world wide. Her classes are known for their humor, detailed breakdowns and cultural context. Students who have studied with Sara have gone on to teach and perform in all styles of belly dance and many have made their living through performance or teaching. Sara’s has published two books on belly dance. “Teaching Belly Dance” is the only book you need to set up, plan, present and enjoy your belly dance classes. Her second "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", co- written with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya, is a stagecraft handbook for belly dancers of all styles and at all levels . Keeping Belly Dancers Safe
3/5/2014
Posted on December 27, 2013 As a belly dance teacher your role may soon evolve into that of an agent, booking dancers for restaurants, parties or shows. In my book “Teaching Belly Dance” I run through some tips for how to do this and still stay friends (Super Tip : use contracts !), but I have also added a chapter on how to keep dancers safe. This is controversial for me. I am the mother of two grown sons and a daughter. I believe that one of my most important jobs is to teach my boys not to rape, to respect women, to be the sober one at the party, to call the police, to take a drunk girl home or to call her parents, to protect her, defend her, to speak up. And yet I spend more time teaching my daughter how to stay safe. Why? I want her to be able to walk the streets after dark, just as her brothers do. She should be able to call on a neighbor to borrow sugar, stand by her broken down car and wait for the repair man, to stay in a hotel on her own…. Statistically all these things are safer than the first few weeks of dating a new man, meeting his friends, visiting his home for the first time. The Hollywood monster maybe the stranger lurking down a dark alleyway, but the real monster is the boy next door, the new boyfriend, the man who wants to ask you for a date. Yet I fear the stranger too. As your belly dance teacher I also become your mum, like it or lump it. I’m going to tell you not to take the booking, cos it sounds a bit dodgy, not cos I want the gig myself. I’m going to come with you, guard the door while you change, stand between you and the drunks while you dance (and pretend to take photos), and drive you home. I know you fancy the man a the bar, but you are not staying to chat tonight. Call him tomorrow when he is sober and you are not the “belly dancer”. Sadly he probably wont be so interested. I am old and grumpy and bossy and a spoil sport. Years ago, I would call on a neighbor each afternoon and take her for a walk. She was about ten years older than me, amazingly bright and fascinating. She had traveled the world and was a wealth of information about the Middle East. She needed someone to walk with her as she was in the last few weeks of carrying her twins. It was a joyful shuffle and sway around the block. I was first choice babysitter to her babies, walked them home from school when she went back to work, spent Christmas afternoons admiring their presents. Today one of those twins posted a very interesting blog about “rape culture”, she quoted feminists, anti-feminists, sociologists and scientists. I’m kind of proud to see that this teenager is obviously studying this subject in depth and feels strongly enough about her views to share them with others. But I am also sad. She is 15. My generation should have sorted this for her. People like me and her mother – strong, intelligent women – we have been teaching our boys not to rape, but its not enough. She sees more work to be done, and she is right. In the chapter “Keeping dancers safe” I list the things we need to do as dancers, and teach to other dancers, to be “street wise”. I wish it wasn’t necessary. I wish I could cut that chapter. I wish that every dancer could feel safe from attack. But in the mean time I’m going to spell out in my book the “rules”. I am happy to be mum to any performer, and if I cant be there then let me give you my voice in your head telling you to be alert – like it or lump it ! Teaching Belly Dance is available on Amazon - Return to Sara's Blog to read more including : "I'm Perfect for Belly Dance, and so are you!" and "Picking out a Troupe Costume".
Sara Shrapnell's new book "Becoming a Belly Dancer: From Student to Stage", with Dawn Devine, Alisha Westerfeld and Poppy Maya is available in summer 2016 |
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