Below are the most recent 10 friends' journal entries.

Friday, December 18th, 2009
bellydancing [ asilah_vista ]	9:56p	Join us in oriental_albums ♥ (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
bellydancing [ kiaroskuro ]	12:33p	Washington DC: ATS General Skills Certification! February 19-20, Arlington, Virginia: ATS General Skills Certification with the one and only Carolena Nericcio! Details under the cut. ( 4 days of ATS! ) (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
bellydancing [ dalloua ]	4:28p	Double Veil Workshop Sacramento This Weekend! 12/20/09 Mychelle Crown Bellydance - Mind/Body Fitness Presents, a Special Double Veil Class with Mina this Sunday, December 20th 2009! Local and Bay Area legend Mina is offering us a one-time only Double Veil class before she makes her big move to Georgia! This is a fantastic opportunity to learn the art of Double Veil from a Master Performer and Instructor, at an amazing price! Learn the techniques, tips (and tricks) to mastering this dynamic prop. Mina is an award-winning Professional Bellydancer, and producer of Sacramento’s quarterly “A Night in the Oasis Event.” This is our last chance to learn from Mina before she leaves! Double Veil with Mina Sunday Dec. 20, 2009 3:30 — 5:00pm Only $20! Location: Sacramento Academy of Dance 2818 Marconi Ave., Sacramento 95821 Studio A www.sacdance.org RSVP Mychelle Crown right away to reserve your space at mychelledancer@yahoo.com Award-winning Professional Bellydancer Mina. About Mina: Mina is an award-winning Professional Bellydancer who performs regularly throughout the Sacramento and Bay Areas, and is the founder and artistic director of the Dalloua Dance Company. With over fifteen years experience in Bellydance, Mina draws on her background in classic cabaret, folk, and tribal fusion to create her dynamic style. A master of props, from cane to candelabra to double veil, Mina makes every show a memorable representation of our art form. She has earned her excellent reputation as a master performer and instructor, and is truly a gift to this art. We will miss her when she moves! See www.dalloua.com for more information about Mina! Mina performing a Double Veil Dance Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Friday, December 11th, 2009
bellydancing [ j_d0e ]	11:17p	Whatever Lola Wants A friend just passed along a link to a French-Canadian film with a plot that's based around the world of bellydancing. Has anyone heard of it or watched it? I'm craving reviews, because my instinct is that it's awesomely bad. Plus, it features the song Shik Shak Shok. *mind explodes* ( Click to watch Whatever Lola Wants trailer and two of its dance scenes ) (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
bellydancing [ betnoir ]	1:11p	WAAAIIIIILLLLL!!!!! Tribal dance class on hiatus until mid-January. *twitch* *twitch twitch* Current Mood: anxious (4 Comments |Comment on this)
bellydancing [ cera ]	12:11p	sneak peak =) new piece, finally done. i think we're gonna do it at tribal fest. this was a rough one for me, and i think it's gonna work out now. whew. it's a departure for me...hope you guys enjoy it =) (14 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009
bellydancing [ kissmyshimmy ]	1:13p	Hello Lovely People. I could use a bit of advice on this situation – since I’ve never really encountered this dilemma before. I am currently teaching dance at a Pole-Dance studio. It was a friends daughter opening up the studio – and was asked, mostly as a favour, to help out and teach for a couple months there (for a discounted rate… friends daughter after all ) in order to help her get on her feet – and heck, I like any excuse to dance. Normally, and really trying hard not to sound like a snob, I would be hesitant teaching at a pole-studio because the intentions of taking the dance class might not be for the right reasons etc. But who am I to say what they do with what they learn? I just find it sometimes a long hard battle to explain that the stigma that belly dancers and strippers….. Anywho – rattling off topic here. So! This nice woman teaches pole and owns the studio. I gave her a very detailed out line of the course and she seemed good with it. Out of nowhere, she shortens the original term length down to 6-8weeks without talking to me first. She complained about my warm-ups. Now, understand that before I start I see if anyone has injuries, bad joints etc, and if they do – I give them an alternative stretch. The owner didn’t like my “style” of warm-up and rather I did more ‘knee friendly’ stretches and proceeded to tell me how to warm up and to use pole-dancing stretches. She didn’t want any lunges, no poleis, nothing. No warm up for the legs at all. I sell / rent my own hip scarves. Which I informed her about when she asked for my course outline – and she got really upset after one of my classes, in hearing range of a student, that my scarves were not under her insurance and how: “the studio can be liable if the students take home the scarf, a child or pet eats a bead and dies” ….. So I told her I would sign a waiver, absolving her of all of that and she refused. Clearly she wants a cut because she said that they are to be sold in the studio for a fee with tax etc. My all time favorite. Micromanaging – She re-wrote my syllabus and told me to do my entire class a new way. Slotting times for warm-ups (she only gives 5minutes, which I think is just silly), slotted dance time, and no cool down time allotted. She/Owner wants us (ALL instructors) to come on our off time (pay free) and do a private class for just her so she can ‘mark us’/give us a report card. She insists that we continuously remind the students to sign up to more classes. I make a mention at the end of my class – But she had the nerve to track down my students, call them and ask if they were coming back. When the students explained that they would in the new year and not now (due to exams and Christmas) she told the students that: “I guess the instructor didn’t do her job well enough”. Which I find grossly inappropriate. I will remind the students to a certain extent – what more can I do? And the list goes on…. Have you ever taught at a studio you just don’t jive at? Current Mood: cranky (37 Comments |Comment on this)
bellydancing [ betnoir ]	8:00a	An interesting analogy A guitarist musician friend of mine was asking me how I was enjoying the switch from choreographed folkloric dance to improv tribal. I explained that for some reason, once I no longer had to fuss about memorizing the choreography for an entire dance and could instead just focus on the individual movements, everything made much more sense to me kinesthetically. He pondered this for a moment and then said, "You like being in the Now rather than thinking about what's next. Sorta like jazz." I thought this was a very interesting way to explain the difference between the two styles. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, December 7th, 2009
bellydancing [ betnoir ]	8:11a	Two things I discovered as an audience member 1. I am now incapable of clapping out the beat like most people do. I do it to the zill rhythm. 2. My husband's secret superpower is that he can apparently make bellydancers swoon because he can do a Turkish drop. Not a particularly *useful* superpower, but a darned amusing one. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, December 6th, 2009
bellydancing [ purplkandigrrrl ]	12:46a	Power Belly spoof infomercial. :) (8 Comments |Comment on this)