Egyptian style Bellydance in Manchester, UK
This week I've been looking back on the last year of dance, and actually, I am very pleased with how my own dancing has developed. My focus this year was grounding; presence; sensuality; expression (and of course, the eternal task of finding good uses for my exceptionally long and noodly arms). And filming myself this …
Continue reading "Some brief reflections on a year of dance, 2024"
This Summer I set out to create a dance course based on something I hear from dancers in my classes all the time... Many of you have been telling me that you'd love to start to perform solo, or create your own dance for a hafla - but somehow, you never quite seem to get …
Continue reading "What song should I dance to? How do I choose???"
One of the most common things I get asked is which level of class to join - and when to move up to the next level! So in this post, I'll be answering all of the top questions I hear from dancers who are thinking of joining my classes, or wondering which level to join …
Starting something new is always a little daunting, so here are a few of my top tips which will help you set yourself up for a relaxing and enjoyable time when you join a new bellydance class! 1. Wear something really comfy that won't get in your way when you're moving, and that you feel confident …
As I begin a new term of classes, I've been thinking about what I promise to you as your teacher if you ever come to a bellydance class with me - beyond the obvious one, that I will teach you to dance to the best of my ability! These are a few of them: I …
Since I decided to call my new workshop series "Raqs to Infinity", I wanted to elaborate on some of the concepts from the first workshop, and talk more about the concept of infinity and why it's relevant to dance. The chances are, when I say "infinity" you think of something huge. Infinite distance. The vast …
Continue reading "Dance Infinities and the Secret to Seamless Transitions"
There's a video that has been doing the rounds in the bellydance community this week from an old Beyoncé show, where a short section of music from Oum Kalthoum's "Enta Omri" is sampled during an exotic-dance inspired dance routine featuring rather a lot of bare bottoms. And lots of bellydancers are acting outraged by this, …
Continue reading "Beyoncé vs. Oum Kalthoum – a bellydance storm in a teacup?"
I've been geeking out about Arabic music a lot in the last year, including listening to a lot of different things, reading loads of books, and even learning to play the oud. And in that time, I've realised that there's a bit of misunderstanding of muwashshahat (singular muwashshah) in the bellydance world. What we learn in …
This post is part book review, part essay, and part personal reflection. This week, I finished reading the excellent "Making Music in the Arab World: The Culture and Artistry of Tarab" by A.J. Racy. This book has been on my 'to read' list for a long time, and I was finally spurred on to buy …
The great thing about learning an art form from another culture is that it can be a gateway to appreciating a culture other than your own. It can help you to see the world from other perspectives, and learn to see people from that culture as three-dimensional individuals, instead of through the stereotypes we grew …
Bellydance by Rachael 
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