Posted on : 13-05-2009 | By : Kathreen | In : Styles of Belly Dance
Ahlan Wa Sahlan
Baalbeck Lebanon
Welcome to Belly Dance Adventures and Belly Dancer’s Blog!
If you are new and exploring or if you have been dancing for awhile, you are cetrainly having an adventure!
Why are we doing this dance?
What is it that just takes a hold of your heart and whirls you? You are drawn in and consumed and you are passionate because it feels sooo GOOD!
There are so many aspects of Belly Dancing that we are exploring.
We are on this adventure together. We are a festival of beauty and color, music and movement, a collective joy and sisterhood.
We dance around the Globe and share this ancient movement of Middle Eastern Dance. We call it different names…Belly Dance, Raqs Sharqi, Fusion.American Tribal and more. Yet, it is one collective sisterhood of women that Love to Dance.
Our travels take us to many places within and without. Through the experience of this dance we connect with our timeless eternal selves.
We are beautiful, strong, soft, sensuous, and VERY colorful.
Wherever and whenever we dance we participate in an experience of Joy.
The adventure of Belly Dance is never ending. It is always morphing and changing yet it is rooted in the exotic, rich and fragrant music and culture of the Middle East.
In the last decade Belly Dancing has become a worldwide phenomenon. Women from all cultures have embraced this dance. Yet, with all the diversity there seems to be a common thread.
In my over 30 years as an Oriental Dancer it seems to me that you can pretty much boil it down to this…
Girls just Love to Dance and Play Dressup!!!
I created this bog to explore and share the many aspects of this wonder-filled dance.
Here are some of the landscapes we can venture….
- Styles of Oriental Dance and beyond…a diverse tapestry.
- Belly Dance Music…The Dancer’s Heartbeat
- Belly Dance Costumes…Our favorite addiction.
- Make-Up for Belly Dance…Enhancing our beauty.
- Belly Dance History….much disputed and always interesting.
- Belly Dance and Global Pop Culture…a dynamic fusion.
- Belly Dance in major worldwide media…let’s give em’ something to talk about!
- Belly Dance as therapy…Why dancing keeps us sane.
- And so much more….
I invite you to be a part of this blog…to share your adventures, ideas, stories, insights and wisdom in all things Belly Dance.
My name is Kathreen. You can read a few things about me in my Bio.
What is your name? Where do you live?
What EXCITES you the most about this Beautiful Art Form?
Please take a moment, sign on and say Hi!
Let’s get this party started!
The Adventure RAKS!
Ma’a Salama
Kathreen
It is so wonderful to have a bellydance blog and who better to start this than our very own lovely Bellydance Goddess, Kathreen. Kathreen has been such an inspiration to me over the last year and continues to give me guidance even long distance!
I am really excited to meet others with similar interests and to share thoughts and ideas particularly about costumes!
lalalalalalalalalalala – that is supposed to be the belly dance call for – I like this!
Thanks!
Petite FiFi, Naples, FL
I feel in love with belly dance after my first lesson 7 years ago! My teacher and dear friend Kathreen brings such love, joy, and support to all that join her in dancing. It is a true celebration of women and it doesn’t matter your age or size it’s about celebrating each other in such a positive light. Along with that you get the benefit of changes in the body that I have never experienced from any other exercise and it is such fun!
Love to all,
Patricia
Even though we may not admit it, I believe most people love to perform. We sing in the car and dance with the vacuum cleaner and our pets. The love of music and dance is universal, and expressing ourselves and sharing it with others has so many benefits. For me, belly dancing is an excellent total body workout that I love and look forward to. Once I was comfortable with the movements, this form of dancing was such a freedom of expression that puts your mind and body in a comfort zone that is hard to describe. It is an activity that needs to be experienced. Its therapeutic values are limitless.
Kathreen,
Thank you for all you do. Your high energy and spirit are contagious.
With much appreciation,
Kathy
Kathreen,
I love this blog! Leave it to you to be instrumental in advancing the education about this most incredible dance.
Little did I know when I walked into your studio that you would change my life. I came to you for health reasons, you won’t get a better or more fun workout anywhere. But I came away with a better understanding of my body, myself, and a culture that I knew little about.
This dance has taken me across the country, and also across the ocean to Egypt—where I got to experience first hand the “true dance”, done in the home. My heart is in Egypt still, with my new Egyptian family (once invited into the home, you are family), in the ancient temples of the Nile, and perhaps in a few costume shops at the Khan al Khalili bazaar.
All I can say to you is shukran, shukran, thank you!
Enchallah, I will see you, Brahim, and Hunter soon.
Many Blessings!
Ok, who is a costume addict? Both my hands are raised. Don’t you just love the costuming, makeup, and jewelry? I never sewed until I started bellydancing. So many things changed for me with this dance…new friends, sewing, costuming, etc… I love to take different and unusual things and layer them. The more the better!
Love,
Petite FiFi
This is so needed in the world today. Kathreen, it has been an honor to be a part of this dance with you. I know that, without your guidance through this dance, I would not be the person I am today. I am confident, beautiful, playful and more. And now, I get to share it with others. Yes, Life is wonderful. Thank you.
Let’s get this party started!
Don’t think, just dance!