Why I Don't Teach

Photo by Santa Joe.

 

Maybe about once a month or so, I come across someone who thinks I should be teaching belly dance. I always smile and say something like "Oh, maybe some day, but not right now" which you think would be enough, but sometimes they come back with "Oh, why not?" or "You really should" or "I think you'd be great." So let me spell out a few reasons why I, and probably a lot of other dancers like me, do not teach yet.

 

1. Let's just get this out of the way. I am not as good of a dancer as you think I am! No, I'm not being excessively humble or tearing myself down. I think I am a good dancer, but I'm not yet a great dancer. More importantly, when you see me perform, you see the best of me. I only break out the moves that I am good at, the props that I am proficient with, the sort of music I'm comfortable with. You don't see all the elements of a well-rounded dance knowledge that I am still struggling with.

 

2. I am not even dancing professionally yet. This isn't to say that I think a teacher has to also be a professional performer. Maybe a teacher might have another job or family commitments that makes it hard for her to be out performing at night. But I think a teacher should be good enough that she (or he) could be performing professionally.

 

3. Knowing how to dance is not the same as knowing how to teach dance. I know how something works and feels in my body -- that doesn't mean that I know how it works and feels in your body. Or what might be making it not work in your body. Or how you can safely do that move if you have a knee injury. Before I teach belly dance, I want to make sure to get some formal training in anatomy and physiology, because I would hate to cause an injury to a student due to a lack of knowledge of body mechanics.

 

4. Tucson doesn't need yet another teacher offering beginning belly dance classes, and currently, that's all I'd be able to teach. There are other, more experienced, more qualified teachers already offering classes in my city, why would I compete with them?

 

5. Hanging your shingle as a teacher before you're ready can be really damaging to your reputation as a dancer. I don't want to overstep my bounds of where I am as a dancer and burn bridges with people who I might want to work with in the future. I'm in dance for the long haul and I want to foster good, healthy relationships rather than trying to shove myself into the void left by my own teacher moving away and making a quick buck or two before people realize that I'm in over my head.

 

So yes, I do appreciate the vote of confidence and I'm glad that I put forth an image of being professional, skilled, and knowledgeable but no, I am not ready to teach. Yet. Talk to me again in a couple more years! 

So far...

Pretty picture by Liora K Photography

So, here we are, one week into the new year. How are things going so far? Not too bad. I don't think I'm quite up to full-time yet, but I am definitely doing more dance stuff, and better dance stuff. I'm thinking actively about why I do the things I do, examining my motivations and seeing what benefit I get from doing things. I'm writing this stuff down, so that when I get into a "Why bother?" sort of funk, I can remind myself. Of course, I can't take full credit for these ideas, Jolie told me to write that stuff down, and I had a good conversation with Mahin about always knowing why you are doing what you're doing (whether it's going to class or accepting a gig). I am really fortunate to have more experienced dancers share their hard-earned wisdom with me!

I've also been examining the stuff that I own. Later this month I will be hauling a bunch of my old costumes up to Phoenix for Yasmina's Bellydance Swap Meet. I've been pretty mercenary in choosing things to sell. Originally it was just going to be stuff that didn't fit or didn't really suit my style of dance, but I'm also selling some things that I genuinely like but haven't worn in two or more years. And I'm going to be cutting apart some things that I don't wear and don't think are worth selling either. It will be nice to have more room in my dance closet, and more money to buy things at Tribal Fest. The two may seem mutually exclusive, but if I sell TEN things at the swap meet and use that money to buy TWO really nice things at TF, I still end up with more room. Especially if I buy jewelry instead of costumes!

Yesterday was my first chance to actually do some bellydance drills and it felt great. Of course, I had to deal with the fact that I wanted to practice everything and didn't have enough time. The fact that I wanted to do so many more things makes me confident that as I get my schedule ironed out, I will have no problem filling hours with dance practice.

I also went back to Ballet class yesterday. I've been going sporadically over the holidays, but I really enjoy it. The class is small enough that I get individual, hands-on corrections, and the other dancers are really friendly. I'm hoping to take ballet at least two times a week and I think once I'm attending regularly, I will see a lot of improvement. 

And now, to move forward with my plans...

Photo by talented photohgrapher Alex Wild.

Well, here we are, January 1st 2014, the first day of my year of treating my dance training like a full-time career. Of course, since I'm starting on the holiday I'm not actually working full-time today, but I have been doing a few internet things related to dance (like writing this blog post), and I plan to get a little practice in today while I'm getting ready to have my family over later.

My original thought was to start 2014 with this really well-organized schedule of exactly what I was going to do every hour of the day, but then I realized that was pretty unrealistic. I don't think I can go straight from basically unscheduled anarchy to strictly regimented full-time career mode overnight. Besides, how can I make my schedule without knowing how long things are going to take, how much time I'm really going to want to dedicate to different tasks, and for that matter, what the new year schedule is going to be at BreakOut Studios?

There are a few things I know for sure, though:

1. I need to get back to really drilling my basics.

2. I want to be in several ballet classes a week, whatever else I decide to take.

3. It is time to really put my Datura Online subscription to use.

4. ALL THE STRETCHING.

5. I will spend some time every day doing dance-related reading, whether it's a bellydance magazine or an anatomy book or going back over workshop handouts.

6. If I own a prop, I should be skilled with it.

7. I have a whole lot of costuming to get done.

8. I need to include some cardio and strength training so I can be in tip-top shape.

9. I will continue to experiment with makeup, and start doing more hair-related experiments too.

10. Sunday will be my DAY OFF. Except when I have workshops on Sunday, then I don't know what I'll do. But when I don't have workshops, it's a complete day off from dance. Maybe a little stretching, but otherwise I'm going to relax, work on jewelry instead of costumes, and make sure to get some quality time with my husband and our pets and maybe friends and family too.

And of course this blog is going to be a big part of this. It only seems right, since I originally started it to track that year where I tried (and mostly succeeded) to practice every day. I hope my readers will cheer me on and give me the occasional kick in the dance pants when my motivation is flagging.

Happy New Year and all that. Let's dance!

So.... what now?

Yeah, this is my thinking face. I always look this fabulous when I am deep in thought.

 

So even before I found out I was losing my awesome teacher, I was feeling a little frustrated about dance. Not about dancing itself, but about feeling like I had hit a plateau and there was no change in sight. There were small technique victories, but I didn't feel like I was going anywhere. I had recently fallen into a funk and was slacking off on ballet class, home practice, and costuming.

 

There were two ways I could have gone: I could have taken this sudden change as an excuse to quit dance (or at least take a hiatus), or I could double down. Since I am not a quitter by nature, I am doubling down.

 

What exactly does that mean? It means that in 2014, I am going to treat dancing like a full-time job. Now obviously, I am not going to dance 8 hours a day, because I am not a teenager anymore and I also didn't start dancing as a kid, so I really just don't have the physical conditioning to even try that. But I am going to spend 3-4 hours a day dancing and working out, and then the rest of my 8 hour work day will be spent on costuming, research, web presence and other things related to my dance.

 

Jolie's a smart cookie, and she told me to think of 2014 as my cocoon. Instead of stressing about the future (or even about the present), I am going to focus fully on my own development. At the end of the year, I can see how far I've gone and decide what to do next.

 

The next month and a half is going to be all about getting ready to take that big step. I have to get things in my house in order so that I can easily stay on top of the cleaning while working full-time. I need to decide what I'll be doing for my training. I need to set a schedule for myself. I need to pick out some costuming projects to work on and make sure I have all the supplies I need. I need to have at least one more private lesson with Jolie to get her feedback on things to work on for the first couple months of 2014. I need to organize my calender for 2014 to make sure I'm not double-booked (I've already committed to a lot of workshops and events). And I need to coordinate with my husband to make sure that our schedules mesh well enough that we get to see each other every now and then.

 

I'm nervous and excited! I'll post more about my plans as I iron them out.

The Inner Dancer taught me how to Dance Like a Queen!

This weekend I had the pleasure of taking a workshop with Samantha, aka The Inner Dancer, aka winner of the pro soloist category in 2013's Belly Dance Queen competition. I interact with Samantha on Facebook via her "Leave It On The Dance Floor" group and had seen her dance at Club Bellydance, but this was the first time I had the chance to study with her and she did not disappoint!


I signed up for the Dance Like a Queen workshop which was about the mental and emotional aspects of dance rather than physical technique. I really love classes that dig down into things like motivation and stage presence and dance persona and how you approach dance, and this covered all of those things. I feel like in the long run, this sort of workshop stays with me and has more impact on my personal dance journey than learning physical technique, which is harder to properly absorb in two hours.

It's hard to describe this workshop. It was a very personal process, with a lot of self-evaluation, group interaction, and really thinking about, well, how we think about dance. I feel like overall, the theme was about having a healthy view of where you are in dance and a good idea of where you want to go and how you're going to get there. It's about not seeing yourself as two separate people (AJ the regular person and Sophia Ravenna the dancer), but as one person who feels pretty good about herself and is able to bring a genuine expression of who she is to the dance floor. It's about intertwining your personal development with your dance practice.

As it turns out, one of the things that I love about Samantha as a dancer, teacher and person is that she thinks that technique and emotion are equally important. She knows that the really amazing dancers are the people who have both of those, and she wants to train people to bring it all to the dance floor. I'll have a couple of opinion posts in the near future that expand on my feelings on the topic, but let's just say that it always makes me happy when someone else backs up my opinion that you have to work hard and bring authenticity of emotion to your dance, too.

What really stood out to me about this workshop specifically was that my classmates ranged from really new beginners to established pros and teachers, and it seemed like everyone was getting at least a little something out of it. It's rare to be in a really good all-levels workshop.

I'd definitely recommend this workshop to just about anyone who is serious about dance, but especially those who are looking to go pro, who feel like they've got an unhealthy relationship with dance (for instance, carrying around a lot of negativity about where you are or what you can't do), or those looking to really dig deeper into how they think about themselves as a dancer.

Wait, that's not my music!

 

I mentioned briefly on Monday that there were some sound system problems at Saturday's show. This glitch led to a couple of dancers swapping songs, and another dancer having to provide her back-up copy. It left me thinking about what a dancer should do when she steps on stage and the wrong music starts.

1. Keep calm! No matter what sort of music problem you have (wrong music, sound system goes out mid-performance, CD starts skipping), put on your professional face and deal with it in the best way possible.

2. You can dance to whatever is playing, but there can be a couple of pitfalls in this. Obviously, if you're now performing to someone else's music, that means she then has to decide whether to dance to your music (which she might not like), or whether she wants to dance to her song and risk the audience being bored. Also, you might find yourself dancing to something that totally doesn't work with your costume, your prop, or your dance style.

3. Be flexible! In a perfect world, when there's a music problem you'll have a backup and everything will be fine. But maybe you forgot your backup, or the sound system doesn't want to play it. When that happens, be willing to dance to something else. This is why it's good to build strong improv skills!

4. That said, it's OK to insist on dancing to your song if it's at all possible. Whether you do improv or choreography, chances are that in the weeks leading up to the show you've been practicing this piece very hard. You've chosen your costume to match the mood of the music. You did your hair and makeup to fit the personality you want to express. Maybe you're using a prop and there's moments in the music where you can show off the really cool new tricks you've been working on. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do what you had planned to do, and you shouldn't feel bad about saying "No thank you, I don't want to dance to this other song, please try to play my back-up copy."

And now, a few ways to avoid musical pitfalls:

• Did I mention that you should always have a backup? Maybe two? I try to remember to bring my iPod to every gig, and sometimes I'll also have an extra CD copy. Or two.
• Remember to check your music before you leave for the gig. Double-check that the CD burned properly. Edited to add: A clever reader pointed out that you should not just test it in your computer, but in the least-reliable CD player you have access to, because if it will play in that, it will play at the show.
• Always pay attention to the music requirements for a gig. I know we'd all prefer to just be able to send in an mp3 and be done with it, but some gigs want the music on CD, and may even want a CD with that song and that song only on it.
• When sending digital music, make sure that it's in a format they can actually play. You don't want to accidentally send a song that can only be played on your iTunes, for instance.
•  Always. Have. A. Backup. But maybe also have a backup plan. For instance, if someone else is dancing to your song, have a different song you can perform to instead.

Professional Photos -- A Worthy Investment!

This past weekend I finally took the plunge and invested in a professional photo session with my dear friend Liora K Photography. Liora's been getting a lot of attention from the media lately for her feminist photo series and the Attractive + Fat photos that she took for The Militant Baker, and for good reason. She's great at what she does.

It's hard to make the decision to invest in professional photos as a semi-pro dancer. The majority of my gigs are still unpaid, and my main investment of course has to be my education, followed by the occasional new costume piece (or, if I'm at Tribal Fest, a whole BUNCH of costume pieces since I could try them all on). However, I felt like the time had come to make sure that I had a great headshot (see above!!!) and plenty of beautiful photos for my website, blog, and any promotional materials I might need to make. Since I had a bunch of great new costumes and Liora and I both had a weekend free, it was time.

The great thing about Liora is not only is she a true professional with a dedicated home studio, professional backdrops and lighting (not to mention training and mad skillz), but since she's also a bellydancer, she gave great directions, like "Channel Mardi Love" or "Give me a really big right maya." She knows the terminology, she knows what looks good on a dancer's body, and she didn't try to direct me into any cheezy stereotypical Egyptic poses.

I love the above photo, because not only is it pretty, but I think it really captures my dance persona, ethereal, mysterious, and probably daydreaming or plotting something.

I am really excited to share more of these photos with you in the future. And be sure to come back tomorrow to see what else we did while I was in her studio! I think you'll love it!

It's important to be professional

Sometimes I can't find a picture to go with the topic of my opinion pieces, so I made my own. Graphic designer I am not.

It's important to always be professional. Note that I didn't say A professional; it is perfectly awesome to be an amateur dancer for your entire dance life. But even if you never want to dance for money, you should still always have a professional attitude. It makes everything flow more smoothly, from class to haflas to traveling to events with your fellow dancers.

One of the best things about a professional attitude is that unlike pro costuming, nice props, and weekend intensives, it doesn't cost you anything. The most inexperienced, broke dancer can still be the nicest, most helpful person backstage and thus make a better impression than the professional in a custom dress from Egypt and the diva attitude. When you respect your fellow dancers, event coordinators, helpers and audience, people remember you and want to work with you in the future. By the same token, getting snotty about some minor problem at a student showcase can leave a sour taste that will linger well into your career.

So how do you develop a professional attitude? The first step is to always be polite! Don't trash-talk your fellow performers (if you do need to complain about something, save it for later). Be gracious when giving and receiving compliments. Don't take up more than your fair share of the dressing room or mirror. Be willing to help your fellow dancers make last-minute costume adjustments. Thank people for allowing you to be part of their show, for dancing with you, for taking pictures, for coming to the show, whatever. Smile, or maintain a pleasantly neutral face.

The second step is to always be reliable. Be the one who sends her music on time, shows up early, stays after to help, promotes the event, is willing to carpool, always comes to class, etc etc etc. When people see that you are dedicated and can be counted on, they tend to take notice of you.

The third step is to be positive. This was a struggle for me and still is on some days! Being positive means not complaining when something in class is difficult (or if you do complain, make it good-natured, "Oh, I'm going to feel this tomorrow! At least I burned off that pizza I ate for dinner!"). Being positive means that when you show up for a gig and there's only three people in the audience, you put as much energy into it as if there were three hundred. Being positive means that your social media presence is always upbeat, that you post nice comments on others' wall posts and YouTube videos. Being positive means that if you have a problem with a teacher, student, venue, event organizer or workshop instructor, you take it up with them privately rather than airing it on Facebook.

The fourth step is treating every gig like a professional gig. No more "Oh, it's just a student hafla, I'll just wear these old things and not bother with lipstick." You do full hair and makeup for every show, and you wear the nicest costume possible within your budget. And when you step out onto the stage (which is actually just a little empty spot in the dining area of a coffee shop), you turn on your mega-watt personality and you dance with your whole heart and soul.

 

The fifth step is to own up to it when you fail. Everyone has off days. Sometimes you get some bad news right before a gig, or you just feel cruddy in class, or something else in life is bothering you and you slip up and say or do something mean. When this happens, apologize. Don't make a huge big deal that draws more attention to it, but contact the people affected and say "I realize that I was really off last night and I was pretty rude backstage. I feel awful about it and if I hurt or offend anyone, I sincerely apologize."

There are other steps you need to take when you want to be an actual professional, but I'm still learning those as I go so I don't feel qualified to give much advice on them. For now, start with the things in this post, and I have a feeling you'll find yourself very popular at your local events, and as a bonus, the more positive you act in class and on stage, the more positive you feel inside. And that comes from a card carrying sarcastic cynic, so you know I'm not just making it up.

You cannot stop me

Why yes, it is April Fools Day and I am writing about YouTube trolls, so I think it is the perfect day to post a Professor Elemental song. I do feel like donning my fighting trousers and shouting "I. Will. Not. LOSE!"

You see, I got trolled on YouTube again yesterday. Someone seriously had nothing better to do on a Sunday morning than tell a dancer they don't know that she has no hopes of becoming a pro and furthermore, that she is very, very, very fat (I've weighed 140 at my heaviest. I can only imagine that one needs to be 90lbs or less to please this person). Oh dear me, a perfect stranger thinks I am a horrible fat dancer, I guess I will throw away my hip scarves and lock myself away in my house, sobbing while I push myself through endless Sweating To The Oldies workout videos.

This is the second time someone has chosen YouTube as the vehicle to tell me that I am wasting my time as a dancer. Well guess what? I really don't care what you think, random YouTube trolls. For every one of you, there are dozens of people who love to watch me dance, people who come to every show, people who tell me I am beautiful, and people who are thrilled to have me in their classes, their shows, their lives, their troupes.

I like to think I have a pretty realistic view of who and what I am. I am not the best dancer in the world, in the city, or in my troupe. I know what areas I exceed at and where I struggle. I know it when I misstep. And yes, it may shock you to realize this but I do in fact know that most of my fat has collected in my round white belly. Of course, it's funny, when I took up dancing I expected that comments about my appearance would focus on my awful teeth, but apparently there is nothing worse a dancer can be than FAT*. How dare I show the world anything less than a perfect six pack?

For some reason, YouTube haters don't want me to dance. I don't know why. Are they scared of the competition? Or can  they really not stand for someone else to be happy? Or do they really, genuinely believe that dance falls into some very strict parameters, possible taught to them by an awful, controlling, jealous teacher, and that anyone who doesn't dance the way they do is doing it wrong?

I really don't care about their reasons. I just want them to know two things:

1. You cannot stop me. I have put on my fighting trousers, and they happen to be dance pants. While you are wasting time tearing people down on YouTube, I will be drilling, or working on my new costumes, or encouraging the newer members of my troupe, or looking for new music, or daydreaming about Tribal Fest, or watching videos with an eye towards inspiration.

2. If you troll my videos I will delete your stupid comments and mock you on Facebook. And if I see you trolling a fellow dancer, I will be sure to counter your hate with love. Because I will not allow you to stop anyone else.

*I don't actually think I am fat. Also I know a lot of dancers who are my size and larger who are performing professionally, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it, YouTube trolls.

Momentum

I seem to have lost my momentum somewhere around November and I desperately need to find it again. I have such big plans for 2013 but I have been struggling to carve out time for practice. It doesn't help that this week has been weird... I've been out and about a lot, catching up on errands and getting massages and meeting with people.

Today's meeting was with Jolie. I will be assisting Skirt Full of Fire at Infinity: A Kinky Adventure in Phoenix next weekend. This is my first time doing a ride-along with the pro troupe and I am really excited to get a behind the scenes look at gigging (more than I get at the community shows that we do). Anyway, today's meeting was to discuss the details of that and what will be expected of me, but we also talked a lot about my professional development.

I really enjoy working with Jolie because she gives me the right mixture of praise and constructive criticism. I get a lot of "I've noticed you're getting a lot better at X, so keep practicing that but now let's focus on Y." Today was a lot of what I can do for my image, both from a physical standpoint and in my interactions with people. It's funny that a lot of what she suggested to me (play more with makeup, put more of a positive spin on things) was stuff that I had already put on my list of goals for 2013.

Anyway, all that talk made me want to take more action. I want to be practicing more and working on costumes and playing with my makeup and hair and journaling and having deep thoughts about what I'm doing, instead of goofing off on Facebook. I think I need to try having an actual schedule to adhere to, dividing up the various work that I need to do. Maybe that will help.

Off to brainstorm about how I can squeeze some practice in tomorrow...

Goals for 2013

What does a mask have to do with my goals? Well, as soon as my Mom gave me this handmade polymer clay raven mask last night, I knew that I wanted to find the perfect situation to wear it for a dance performance. It's really awesome!

Anyway, now that I am not quite as hyper as yesterday, let's see if I can focus on writing down a few goals.

1. I am going to Tribal Fest and I am going to make the most of it! I need to develop some good note-taking habits so I can really get the best out of the workshops I'll be taking. I will also try to be smart about my shopping and buy things that will really round out my costume wardrobe, and not just every awesome green thing I see (note to self: you do not need another green tribal belt).

2. I am going to get back to healthy practice habits. I have been a real slacker lately. If I want to grow as a dancer and be a professional, I need to put the work into it, and not just go to classes and then practice choreos furiously in the days leading up to a show. I need to drill my basics. I need to challenge myself with new things. And I need to work on my strength and flexibility, no matter how much it sucks.

3. I am going to take full advantage of my Datura Online subscription. It will not languish unused like so many of my bellydance DVDs.

4. I am going to play. I tend to get focused on drilling and preparing performances, and I rarely let myself just have fun. My practice needs to include just dancing to music for the heck of it. I need to set aside time to play with my makeup when I'm not rushing to get ready for a gig. I need to work on costumes just because I have an idea, not because I need a bra for a troupe costume.

5. I am going to be nice to myself. Jolie says I am too hard on myself, and even in this post you can see that I am talking about all of the things that I do wrong and need to do better. I am going to remember the things I do well, and tell myself about them, and occasionally tell the world, too.

6. I am going to learn to sew. I keep saying that. I need to actually do it.

7. I am going to be a professional. Even if I am not getting a lot of paid gigs, I will act like a professional. I will be on-time to my gigs. I will wear the best costumes available to me. I will be well-made-up. I will be friendly and courteous with the organizer, the audience, my fellow dancers.

8. I am going to continue to be a good troupe-mate. I will practice my choreographies. I will help my fellow dancers with costuming needs, extra practices, and encouraging words. I will promote the events that we are dancing at, share the videos of us performing, and continue to speak well of all we do, because I am proud of my troupe.

9. I am going to keep a dance journal. I will record my progress and my deep thoughts, I will say nice things about myself and I will occasionally gripe. At the same time, I am going to work to make this blog less about the minutia of my practice, and more about upcoming gigs, performance videos, vendor recommendations, product reviews and other fun things.

10. I am going to cross-train. Yoga. Jogging. Other styles of dance. Whatever I can do to improve my health and my dance instead of staying so focused on bellydance. I will get out there and do it.

2013 is going to be awesome!

I've got a website!

Part of transitioning from an amateur dancer to semi-pro status is acquiring the trappings of a pro. So this weekend I built my own website! SophiaDances.com

It's not much, but I did it myself with WordPress templates! I've never used WP before but I found it to be not too difficult to figure out. I won't lie, there were some snags along the way, and I have a lot more work to do, but at least I have something for people to go to if they want to learn more about me.

Of course I will still be blogging here! It's just that "Sophia dances dot com" is a lot easier for an emcee to say and a person to remember than "dance pants addict dot blogspot dot com." Plus once I get more comfortable with site building, I can add a gallery of photos, a biography page, and other professional-looking stuff.

I also ordered some business cards! Now when people ask me where I dance, I can give them a card and they can come here or to my website and see the list of my upcoming gigs (which is currently empty, but that's soon to change. Things are a-brewing).

Anyway, that's what I've been up to. Sorry about the long silence, after the Shakedown, I had less than a week to get ready before flying off to NY for Thanksgiving with my in-laws! I didn't dance at all while I was there, because it was a crazy trip. Now I am home, and I went to class on Sunday and it was great... then I woke up sick yesterday. *sigh* So I am using my time wisely to work on the business side of things, and also to make a new bra. More on that later!

Getting Things DONE

Don't let the general lack of blog posts make you think that I have not been dancing. Oh, I have been dancing, my friends. I've been going to class, and going to troupe practice, and practicing at home, and dancing in my mind, and shimmying when I'm bored in line at the store.

Actually, this has been a pretty good week. I have a confession: sometimes, I really do not want to go to dance class. Sometimes going to class and doing drills feels like the work I have to do in order to get better at the thing I want to do, which is, you know, dancing. But this week class has been really fun, not just because I love my teacher and my classmates, but because everyone was in a good mood, and we did fun, silly things and we decided that a new combo was called "The Hell Tornado." Really, when you have a combo name that could double as a SyFy Channel Original movie or a Rob Zombie cover band, you know you're having a good time in class. And that was before we discovered that we could perform one of our existing choreos to a ridiculous 90s pop song, which had us all laughing so hard we could barely dance.

That's not all I've been up to. On Tuesday, I devoted my practice time to career development instead and wrote a three year plan for my career, with the eventual goal of being a professional dancer. Just taking this step makes me feel more professional. I've written down my goals and how to achieve them.

One of the things I have to do is get braces. I know that there are people who think my smile is just fine, but I know I will feel more comfortable and be more hire-able if I have a standard beautiful smile. So today I had a consultation with an orthodontist, and while they said some things I didn't want to hear, it's nothing I can't handle.

So here I am, moving forward with things. No more "I want to be a pro someday" and "I will get my teeth fixed someday." Someday is now-ish.

Oh yeah, and I got a new costume in the mail today, as if The Universe (or whatever) was rewarding me for being proactive.

It's a good day to be me!

Loving what I do

Duke Standberry snapped this picture of the ladies of Skirt Full of Fire and Fire & Gold Belly Dance* after filming for Walk on the Wild Side with Cat, a show that airs on the local Access TV channel. We're not sure yet when it will air, and then when it will be available on-line, but I'll keep you all updated on that.

Saturday was a hugely busy day. First I went to the Community Class, then my husband and I grabbed a delicious lunch (this is my usual Saturday now, as I really want to support the merchants on 4th Avenue during the construction that is going on downtown). Once we got home I had to get ready for my outdoor photo shoot! It was 100+ degrees and windy, so it was challenging to stay glamorous. Then I had to change into my troupe costume in the park bathroom (yuck!) and touch up my makeup and hair in the car (don't worry, my husband was driving) so I could be ready to be on TV with the troupe! The whole TV filming thing took a couple of hours. All told, I put in the equivalent of a full day's work into my dance career!

It was a great day, though. I am excited about the photos and the show, I had a wonderful time working with SFOF and F&G (as always), and I got to wear some exciting new makeup and hair accessories. I'm feeling more and more like a professional. I may not be making a living at this, but I treat it like my job and do my best to present a professional image, and demonstrate an admirable work ethic. Dance is one of those things where you get back what you put into it. I am pouring my heart, soul, and hours of my time into it, and in return I am gaining respect, happiness, and new opportunities.

*I personally feel that when we work together, we should be called Skirt Full of Fire and Gold. I'm pretty sure such a skirt would have to be made of Kevlar.