Miami Bellydance Convention 2011!

What is the Miami Bellydance Convention, you ask? Are you kidding?! International belly dancer - and the best boss ever! - Nathalie Zarate brings a highly anticipated weekend of belly dance competition and performance every Labor Day Weekend (September 2 - 5) to Miami, FL! It's only the BIGGEST belly dance event in Miami! Already known for great food, dynamic culture, beautiful beaches and hot climate, the MBC brings even more HEAT to South Florida.

The Miami Bellydance Convention has grown each and every year, bringing talented instructors and performers from all over the world to share their interpretation of the dance we have all come to know and love, teaching workshops to eager belly dance enthusiasts from beginner-level to seasoned dancers.

So what should everyone look forward to in 2011?

• Change of venue! The 4th annual MBC will be hosted at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown Miami
• Bigger dance spaces (workshops)
• A wider variety of vendors and merchandise
• A fierce fashion show
• Pre-gala formal cocktail reception
• An amazing gala show featuring worldwide talent
• Open preliminary competition
• After-parties!!

The cast of MBC 2011 include the following*:

*For a complete instructor list, please visit www.miamibellydanceconvention.net.

• Yvonne Pereira (Winner, MBC 2010)
• Joana Saahirah (Egypt)
• Mayra Huzid (Argentina)
• Belly Queen (New York)
• Moriah Chappell (USA)
• Renata Lobo (Brazil)
• Lacey (USA)
• Valerick Molinary (Puerto Rico) and many more!

The competition is going to be ON FIRE this year. With amateur and professional categories, there's a little something for everyone. If you want to push yourself and your craft to the next level, be sure to register for MBC 2012's competition. 2011 categories are officially CLOSED.

If you plan to attend the Miami Bellydance Convention this year and are interested in reserving a room at the Hyatt Regency, you must do so by August 22nd before the rates increase. Take advantage of the discounted rate NOW!

DO NOT miss this event! If for one reason or the other you can't make it this year, there will be an even bigger, better Miami Bellydance Convention in 2012. The Saturday evening professional gala show will be available for viewing online so join the MBC Facebook Fan Page for upcoming details on how to watch the show from the comfort of your living room.

On a personal note, I lived in Atlanta when the MBC started so I haven't really experienced it. I took one workshop last year, which was my only exposure to the event. I must say that I cannot WAIT for Labor Day Weekend. I will be working/performing at this year's MBC and look forward to what will prove to be nothing short of an amazing experience. Don't wait three years like I did. Get your butts down to Miami and experience the MBC!

A glimpse of MBC 2010




What to expect in 2011

Important links:

MBC

www.miamibellydanceconvention.net

MBC Facebook Fan Page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Miami-Bellydance-Convention/214122911954975

Hyatt Regency Online Reservations

https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_gi_new&groupID=3413886

See you at the Convention!

Abandonment

Wow, I've really abandoned my "weekly post" weight loss check-ins, eh? Too busy! There is so much going on in my belly dance world! I have not stepped on a scale in days but my jeans are loose!!! Yay! :)

Week 1

3 pounds gone!

New Class with Nawar at Dreams Bellydance Academy!

Greetings, all!

Wow, half a year has passed since I last wrote.... so amazing how time flies. Life has been busy and exciting! I quit my [day] job and landed one the week after (declined it, have been on a nice hiatus for a few weeks but accepted it later...), I performed in my first belly dance theater production, SHUKRAN, produced by Nathalie Zarate of Dreams Bellydance Academy and the Miami Bellydance Convention, and I started an event planning company with my cousin (Design Envy Events -- website will be launching soon so stay tuned!). I decided to take life into my own hands and pursue my dreams, which of course, also include belly dance. :)

My new Level 1 class begins on Saturday, July 9th at 1:30 PM at Dreams Bellydance Academy. I am thrilled and honored to be teaching Nathalie's belly dance style. The world of belly dance is a large one, no doubt... but it always blows my mind how different the dance can be; from the names of movements to the execution. You never forget where you came from and I am happy to have received my foundation but I have learned a great deal and I've been growing as a dancer. I am pleased with how far I have come and can't wait to grow even more.

So, the actual purpose of this blog is a pinch of information and a pinch of public humiliation. I've shared my whereabouts for the past six months so here comes the public humiliation part. I know this is something quite common nowadays... blogging, I mean, ... however, I am hopping on the bandwagon. I am probably at my heaviest weight right now and I think I've reached my max. It hasn't helped that I live in one of the hippest areas with lots of fabulous restaurants that I can't get enough of. Add to that the fact that I've been pretty stagnant for the past five weeks since I've been on my self-proclaimed vacation and that equals weight gain. I am putting my foot DOWN. For clarity, I will be doing it the "right way" and not by means of fad diet or cosmetic surgery. That's right! I'm forgoing Rocco's Tacos, Bayshore Thai and La Bonne Crêpe... at least for a while ;). I will be - dare I say it - exercising!! There are some things that happen to us in life that are out of our control. Weight is not one of them! I will be recording my journey on WBDA!

I am debating whether or not to post my starting weight... but I will check in weekly, announce what better be my loss for the week, or my gain, and will do so leading up to my "25th" birthday. Note the air quotes on that...heehee.... I am highly motivated and I know I can do this the right way this time around.

Visit www.dreamsbellydance.com for all of the fabulous new classes being taught at the studio, including a sexy belly burlesque course taught by Valerick Molinary, and a morning Summer Shimmy Workout class taught by Annemarie, and I will check back in a week! Don't forget, Level 1 starts Saturday, July 9th! See you there. Wish me luck!

2011 Thus Far?

As we often start off the New Year with goals and resolutions, it is a good practice for us to regularly review our progress to ensure that we are on track. After all, if we aren’t progressing, we aren’t growing, right? So, how much progress have you made with your belly dance goals in 2011 thus far?

Let’s see…I have discovered a gold mine of a teacher in Aubre Hill and transformed my bellydance style after meeting and training with Ansuya. What honors! I have also had the opportunity to attend my first Belly Dancer of the Universe Competition in Long Beach. This event was truly amazing: dancers competed to live music that they had never heard before. They also had to compete in a drum solo face-off immediately after performing to unrehearsed live music . These women (and one man) were truly talented. This year has gotten off to a great start for me and bellydance. I feel that I have learned so much in just a little bit of time.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store: continued training with Aubre Hill, meeting up with WBDA’s Jenny Nichols at my first TribalFest in Sebastopol, CA, June workshops with Rachel Brice, my 3rd Zulu Lounge experience (where R.B. herself will be performing), workshops with Anasma and so much more!

Next up though: my 2nd Raqs L.A. experience this weekend! Last year Taaj and I flew out from Atlanta to attend this event. Now, I will be attending as an L.A. resident! It’s amazing how much things can change in just one year. I am especially excited about April Rose’s Bellydance vs. Hip Hop workshop. Ssssssss!!!!

So, how has this year been thus far for you?!

~Daneen

My Dance Style: Freedom Style

I had the opportunity of seeing Ansuya perform Saturday night. She was amazing! Since I started belly dancing a few years ago, I have had the opportunity of introducing my friends and family to something new. I had another opportunity to do so this past Saturday night. I gave my friend a head’s up while driving to Donavon’s Studio Iqaat, “Now, you will be seeing two styles of belly dance tonight: traditional cabaret and tribal fusion. You will see what you envision when you think of a belly dancer as well as another version.” The best way that I could define fusion style was as the form of belly dance that is not performed while in a sequenced costume with heels and a skirt to traditional Middle Eastern music. But rather, when performing a fusion number, the dancer would be in pants with gaudy silver or copper jewelry dancing to hip hop, rock or eclectic music.

Well, if you have ever seen Ansuya perform, you are very likely to understand the conundrum I experienced when trying to ‘categorize’ her dance style. She entered the stage gracefully spinning with her long flowing hair, red sequenced bra, two veils, coin sash over her pants, and of course, zills. Clearly these are signs of a cabaret dancer, right? Wrong! Shortly after she made center stage, the beat dropped and all heck broke loose! Ansuya danced with soft and light as well as sharp and hard movements. She also performed floor work with body undulations while in a full back bend. I’m saying to myself, “I’m not quite sure where to place her. Which style does she belong to?” I knew that she was belly dancing because I could clearly see the veils, zills, turns, camels, shimmies, back bend, snake arms, etc. But, where does she fit?

Even though I could not determine where to place her, all I could think was, “Wow!” When watching Ansuya, you see the emergence of all things feminine: sassiness, flirtation, confidence, empowerment, sensuality, and seduction. She exuded all of these qualities while also commanding respect.

With having two main belly dance styles in my mind, I have been really contemplating on which style I would pledge my allegiance to: cabaret or tribal fusion. Cabaret has a very special place in my heart as it was the first style of belly dance to which I was introduced. However, there is a part of it that feels constricting and limiting because the expectation is that you will be ‘ladylike’ by society’s standards. So, I have been drawn to tribal fusion where the expectation is that you will push the envelope and show strength as a woman. Still though, as soon as I begin to think of myself as a tribal fusion dancer, I miss the association with cabaret.

Having been facing these questions about my journey in belly dance, I am convinced that watching Asunya perform and having the opportunity to study with her on Sunday was definitely a divine occurrence. I now know that rather than choosing cabaret or tribal fusion, I can choose both styles and everything in between. Furthermore, I don’t have to limit a single choreography to fit within one style either. When discussing this at her workshop on Sunday, Ansuya described her style as ‘freedom style.’ The next time anyone asks me which style of belly dance I study, my answer will be freedom style! Thanks Ansuya!

~Daneen

No Destination; Only the Journey

It has been two days now, and my glutes are still sore! On Sunday, I attended Part 1 of Aubre Hill’s Technique Intensives. Though I have been a student of this art form for almost 4 years now, using my glutes in belly dance is unchartered territory. I found myself becoming frustrated and embarrassed for struggling with what seems to be a fundamental of fusion dance. Despite my background being in traditional Egyptian cabaret, I have dabbled in fusion. Shouldn’t I have mastered the basics by now?

Then, I remember Aubre’s opening message: we are erasing all judgments and negative self-talk while we become fully aware of our bodies as we awaken muscles that lie dormant within. She informed us that there is no such thing as perfection with this art form because we are always discovering new layers and combinations that challenge us while also maintaining what we have already discovered.

Ahhh, Aubre’s message reminds me to breathe and take it all in stride! In belly dance, there’s no destination…only the journey. I can’t wait for Technique Intensives Part 2. Obliques, get ready! Until then, I'll be drilling my glutes. ;-)

~Daneen

Technique Tune-Up Intensives with AUBRE

January 23, 2011 - Glutes, Glutes, Glutes
February 13, 2011 - Oblique Fun
March 20, 2011 - Beautiful Arms, Hands and Upper Body
April 10, 2011 - Turns and Traveling for Belly Dancers
May 15, 2011 - Geometry of Hipwork

Visit www.dancegardenla.com/events.html for registration details.

Learn more about Aubre Hill at www.aubredance.com.