We invited Debbie Smith back as our inaugural remote guest to talk with Karen about the nuances of belly dancing to live Arabic music without looking contrived.

A dear friend and Project Band member, Debbie is one of the few American belly dancers who knows Arabic and translates the words from the music as part of her process.

During this episode of the Baby Boomer Belly Dancer, we talk about:

00:00 Inaugural remote guest podcast with Debbie Smith

00:56 GBDAC2021 and what comes first... mastery or mystery?

03:02 Expression and sincerity in a dancer's performance

07:27 The opposite of effort...

09:32 Letting the music tell you what to do

11:35 Ways to increase your improv skills outside of class

14:25 What can look ingenuine

16:28 Looking for depth and reasons to do certain expressions

21:35 The process of taking in the music and putting it out in the form of movement

24:24 Dancers looking to deepen expression

25:56 Using translations to know how to feel about the music

34:02 When Westerners are mouthing the words to a song

36:12 Mapping a song out

Ultimately, context is everything!