Twelve Months, Twelve Sentences

2012 was the most amazing bellydance year I've ever had. This year when I was lucky enough to be part of Club Bellydance and got the dance with the Baladi Blues Band, and entered my first ever bellydance competition. Can I summarise it in twelve sentences?! 

January didn’t bring any bellydance workshops my way, but I enjoyed going to my first ever hooping workshop, taught by the brilliant Ann McLaughlin; and I spent a LOT of time dancing to Alf Leyla Wa Leila, because in...

 

In February I was lucky enough to perform with the Baladi Blues Band, my first time ever dancing with a live band which I LOVED, as well as being invited to compere the Edinburgh University African and Arabic Dance Society’s hafla, and starting work with The Peacock Project.

I worked so hard for this performance and loved doing it!

In March, the wonderful Lorna of Cairo came to Scotland and I was to dance at her classes, organise a performance for her and generally hang out.

The Beautiful Lorna of Cairo, in Leith. With me.

 April brought another hooping workshop with Ann, and I had an excellent weekend of rehearsals with the Peacock Project, working towards and completing the choreography for our entry to this year’s Shimmy in The City competition.

May was amazing, when I rehearsed hard for and performed in Club Bellydance at The Pleasance, with the Bellydance Superstars, the biggest Bellydance gig I’ve ever been involved in, which was a brilliant experience for the dancing, the learning and the new friends I made. Oh and I ran the Edinburgh Marathon two days later! 

In June (deep breath) I taught 2 bellydance sessions for children at the PLU festival, which was really interesting and fun; I performed sha’abi style at the GFAD hafla and got a good response; organised  & performed at the rather splendid Leith Festival Hafla, which was very successful; and organised, ran and compered the Musselburgh Hafla, which was a really good event.

July brought the Big Dance weekend, which was also rehearsal weekend for The Peacock Project, and I organised an amazing flashmob in the National Museum of Scotland as well as preparing 3 of my 4 classes to perform. I also organised a performance night for Lorna of Cairo at Mimi’s bakehouse, where we all had cake for dinner!

In August I returned to full-time study after 16 years away, as I began to study for an HND in Fitness Health & Exercise at Edinburgh College. 

September was the culmination of the year’s work for the Peacock Project as we competed at Shimmy in the City, in London, which was an amazing, challenging, growing experience, and I survived the terrible disappointment of not winning.

By October I was back to teaching four wonderful classes, in Musselburgh and Dancebase, with lots of wonderful women and a lovely man. 

In November I danced with the Helwa Hurdies at a Halloween hafla and enjoyed expanding our repertoire; I compered and performed at a charity hafla at The Quay, organised by one of my students Sara Gollan, which was a brilliant night; and did lots of preparation with the Dancebase Improvers class for the Dancebase Christmas show, including extra rehearsals and costuming.

The Helwa Hurdies in Halloween dress, I Dream of Jeannie style! (if you're too young, Google!!)

December brought the brilliant Dancebase Christmas Show, where both of the classes I teach performed and did really, really well.

The lovely ladies of the Dancebase Improvers, just before taking the stage for their Golden Era tribute dance.

Wow. What with studying full time now, I don't expect to have a 2013 as jam-packed with bellydance goodies as 2012 was. But it was such an amazing year and I'm so thankful.

Dancing with the Baladi Blues Band

I think I had the best dancing experience of my life on Sunday night.

NADA, the Northern Arabic Dance Association, brought the Baladi Blues Ensemble to Edinburgh for workshops and an evening show. It was brilliantly put together by Susanna of Habiba Dance, and I am very grateful to Susanna for giving me the chance to both teach a beginners workshop on the day, and to do a solo with the band in the evening.

In Edinburgh there aren't many opportunitites to dance with a baladi band. When Susanna first suggested that I dance with them I was very reluctant, convinced I was simply not good enough - especially when the other names on the bill included Lorne McCall, my first bellydance teacher; Susanna herself; and the amazing Kerimeh. On further reflection, I felt even more reluctant. A baladi band specialises in improvisation, so I wouldn't really be able to know what they were going to play - it might not be the same as the version I would have practiced to.

Luckily, I have very good bellydance friends whose opinions I trust. They told me to go for it, to film it, learn from it, and most importantly, NOT to pass up the opportunity to dance with a live band!

I spent most of January getting my head in the game. A mixture of positive visualisation, hypnosis and preparation really helped me to quieten down my inner critic and left me feeling much more positive about all my dancing. I worked at my make up and presentation much more than I've done before. Listening the the music came second - and choreography was almost out the window!

When the evening of the gig came, I worked hardest on not losing my nerve. Too often when the nerves begin to kick in, I think "oh well, I'll give it my best shot and it'll soon be over - maybe I'll be okay." Thoughts like that mean the mist descends and when I come off stage, I remember nothing about my performance. But this time, I was not at home to such mediocrity! I kept myself tall, kept visualising me dancing my best, engaging with the audience and the music, being alert and aware all the way through the dance.

Not one single bit of me panicked. I felt joyful and calm when I danced - excited, not scared - clear-headed, not startled. I could feel the band encouraging me to dance - you don't get that with CDs. From the afternoon's workshop, I'd learned that the band want to have a dancer to play for because it influences how they play - I knew they were watching me and responding to how I danced. That didn't feel scary - it felt really, really special. I knew lots of friends and students were in the audience, and I wanted to be the best I could be for them, as well as myself.

So, here it is - my favourite performance so far. 

The immediate audience response was really good. I felt ten feet tall when I left the stage. As the evening went on, the feedback got better and better. I had great comments from dancers I'd never met before, lovely compliments from a member of the band, and dancer friends who told me they hadn't seen me dance that well before.

The mental preparation was the key. It reminded me of giving birth! When I had my babies, I wrote my birth plans, talked to the experts, visualised what would happen, packed my bag, planned all the details - and did my best to make sure it went according to plan. Only, this performance didn't hurt nearly as much as giving birth, and I didn't have to change any nappies when I got home. (I had a toastie and a cup of tea. Much more relaxing.)

Thank you so much to Susanna, NADA and the Baladi Blues Ensemble. I don't think it's overstating it to say this performance has changed my life.