Recent content by Bellydance Oz

The question is, how do you know they're thriving? Are they really active and attracting new members all the time, or are they kept alive by a dedicated team of existing members who post frequently? I'm on a few forums myself and while I still have a good time on them and am kept busy...

Oops, I forgot to mention: if you are going to start afresh, I certainly don't recommend using a "website builder" from a hosting company. Some of them seem very good, but the problem is that they are all different. If you build a website with GoDaddy or Wix or Weebly and then decide they're...

I'm late to the discussion, but I would definitely advise putting it all on one site. No question. Bigger is better. As I'm sure you know, you need to rank well on Google if you want your website to do well. Google chooses websites based on five things: Size:. The bigger your website...

I'm dancing with a new troupe, and have done three performances with them now. There are often Middle Eastern people in our audience and generally they seem to enjoy our performances - except for one dance. It's to "Salaam Aleikum" by Hakim. As soon as we start dancing it, the smiles...

I have a shaabi routine that I love, but I'm much too fat to dance it in tight jeans. What can I wear for shaabi? I have a nice baladi dress but it's a lace one, maybe a bit too elegant...

In this video, at around the 4.36 mark, Didem does a sort of up-and-down butt quiver. https://youtu.be/zDxjPE5fMVA Is this a Turkish move? We're having a bit of a discussion on Facebook on whether this is a legitimate belly dance move or a variation on the twerk.

I've joined a new school and one of the other girls has asked if I'd do a duet with her. We're spookily well matched (I actually got mistaken for her at a performance the other week), so we'd make a good duo. We've started talking about what to dance, and she sent me a couple of Youtube clips...

I've been looking for dresses recently and am stunned at the number of see-through costumes out there - crochet or lace or mesh. Seems like the current fashion is to show your undies. Whatever happened to belly dancers being elegant and more dressed than at the beach? The following photos...

I know that in Egypt, a "belly cover" is essential, but what does that mean? I think I've seen some mention that it is, in fact, just the navel area - so something like this dress would count as a belly cover, even though it shows quite a bit of tummy. Is that true?

I've just moved to a new town and a new teacher. She tells me that she only teaches Beledi. This has got me thinking - do I really know what it is? I know it means the dance of everyday people rather than performance dance, but what does that really mean in terms of style? And if it's...

I've been in England for six months and have been doing a fair bit of touring around various towns, as we try to decide where/if we want to settle longer-term. What strikes me is that if I wasn't already a belly dancer, I would think belly dance didn't exist anywhere in England! It's...

http://shira.net/musings/loyalty.htm

I recall there used to be a great directory for belly dance in the UK - anyone know where it's gone/who owned it? Is it still in existence somewhere? Also anyone know of bd classes in Southampton?

I have just launched a new Events calendar for Australia, which will be taking over from the one formerly offered by aussiebellydance.com. It is an Australian events calendar, but I do want to include some courses and festivals overseas - the kind of festivals which would be worth travelling...

A couple of years ago, I did a few performances at old folks' homes. They were arranged by my teacher, so I had no qualms about using her choreography. I had to move on from that teacher because she cut back on teaching, and didn't have a suitable class for me. Now I have the chance to do...