Yallah Raqs

Knowing the history and culture of our dance are so important. It’s so important in fact that it seems to have become a bit of a theme around here with these Bundle interviews. It comes up time and time again, and it’s great to hear in theory, but how do you put it into practice? Research can be a four letter word to some of us. We don’t know where to start and it seems scary. I mean, who are we to take that on? You’re a dancer, that’s who. You are perfectly poised to learn more about your dance. In fact, you already are. Nisaa joins us today to talk about the importance of research, how you can find your obsession, and why, whether you know it or not, you already are the thing you think is so scary. Hello you researcher you, and welcome to the podcast.

Music drives our dance. The music is what we aim to express with our bodies, it inspires us, and it is, a lot of times, what brings people into this dance. To say it’s important would be a bit of an understatement. Shahrzad has spent almost her whole life as a bellydancer, and now lives and performs in Cairo. She talks with us today about the importance of musicality, how she organizes her playlists, and some tips and tricks on how to make it part of your bones.

Having a working knowledge of your body can help you IMMENSELY in dance. It's all about working with your body instead of fighting against it. Today's guest, Mahin, is a lifelong dancer who has also studied exercise science, and if you don't get up and move or at least adjust your posture once during this episode, I'll be surprised. We talk about the importance of knowing basic anatomy, how descriptive teaching can have such a dramatic effect on students, and my personal favorite, The Glitter Theory.

Today, Dawn Devine joins us to chat all about Zills. We talk about her experience as a baby dancer with them and how that interest combined forces with her academia studies to lead her to discovering more and more about the history of zills. We chat about how old Zills REALLY are, and how much commitment it can take learn to be a musician AND a dancer by learning to play the zills.  A great mix of history and practical tips for your practice await you!

You'll often come across Khaleeji breaks in bellydance music. But what should you do during them? Khaleeji of course, if you have the skills! Today, Sahira and I chat about how she's created a Khaleeji Drum Solo Choreography Class for this year's Bellydance Bundle. We talk about the way that cross-training in Khaleeji has influenced Sahira's personal style, and could affect yours, and of course one of the best ways to do research on this amazing dance. So join us today for some hair-tossing fun as we talk about this dance form that has captivated bellydancers around the world.

I should work on my veil because everyone does a veil piece right? I should practice more because people tell me it’s good for me. I should learn that style of dance. I should, I should, I should. Well today, you’re going to learn why you should stop with that. Today’s guest, Victoria, has made it one of her goals to help you figure out yours. But for today, we’re talking about why goal setting is so important, some of the roadblocks we run into as dancers, and of course, some practical tips that you can take to your expectations of yourself as soon as you’re done listening

When we first start dancing there is SO MUCH to keep track of that Arms are one of those things we tend to leave to the sidelines. But today’s guest, Rosa, has spent a lot of time figuring out just how to make us aware of them again. Rosa shares with us why exactly it is that your arms and hands draw so much attention (I hope you have a duh moment like I did!), a good way to build awareness of your arms, and why you should be ​obsessed​ with your hands​​

Can you imagine being raised with Bellydance and not liking it at all, only to find it again as an adult and make it your career? That's exactly how Oreet found her way to being the founder of SharQui: The Bellydance Workout which has been featured on more media outlets that we have space to name right now! SharQui focuses on bridging the gap that can sometimes exist between fitness and dance, and today we dive into how you can incorporate more fitness into your dance as a dance teacher OR a student, and how offering a fitness class like SharQui can be a big draw for those of who either own studios or teach regular classes.

Let's take a moment to step back before we dive into the #21daysofbellydance challenge on Instagram and realize that we want to be doing all of this work on improving our practice and technique from a positive place. Not one of deficiency. Because you deserve it. We'll also discuss the important concepts of consistency and motivation. While this episode, it's all me (Tiffany) future episodes will be interviews with the contributors both to The 2019 Bellydance Bundle, and the Instagram #21daysofbellydance Challenge.

Learn a little bit about what our goals are for you here at Yallah Raqs, why I think this is such an important topic to cover, and of course, how we're going to help you design your bellydance practice!