Fat Cat Belly Dance   Bringing joy and laughter to dance

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone.  Our “Drop In And Dance” event yesterday was a rousing success!  After covering costs for venue/refreshments, I’m pleased to report that our little party raised enough funds to enable us to make a donation in the amount of $141 to the Royal Ottawa Hospital Volunteer Association, as part of Clara Hughes’ Big Ride – to raise awareness, remove the stigma, and benefit mental health initiatives.

So many people to thank – Halyma, for helping me navigate the finer points of organizing a charity event.  I now fully appreciate how much work this amazing woman does, as a professional performer and businessperson; and by offering the rest of us performance opportunities throughout the year.  Our fine roster of performers – Merete, Zhannah, Farasha, Cassandra, the Moonlight Dancers, Cathy from Duniya Studio, Bollywood For Fun, including Eurika, Farasha, and Halyma;  Eliana, Samantha, Ameenah for her rockin’ drum, and Artesia.  You ladies gave us a wonderful show!  The marvellously efficient volunteers, including Wendy, for her generous fruit trays, Michele Roy and her awesome stage-set, Linda for greeting and managing the door, Melissa with her evil but yummy treats, Natalie, Andrea; Eric as our DJ, Yvonne with the man-snacks…my goodness, hope I haven’t missed anyone, because I certainly couldn’t have done any of it without you!

I’m very proud to be part of a dance community that so generously gives their time and talent – to share our love of the arts, and benefit those in need…truly inspirational.   (more photos on Gallery Page)

Halyma and Siddiqah in party attire…best wishes and shimmies to all!!

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Hooo-Weeeee!  Excited and busy with last minute preparations for our upcoming event on March 16th –  the St. Paddy’s Sunday Drop in and Dance   Please head over to my Events Page for poster/info.

Halyma and I are pleased to have such an exciting lineup of performers.  We’d love to welcome all our guests to come on in, relax, enjoy the show; get up on the dance floor and shake your booty to some great music, in a fun, family-friendly afternoon party.  Refreshments will be available, and proceeds from this event will be donated to:   bell.ca/clarasbigride  to raise awareness and help stop the stigma surrounding mental health concerns.  Our donation will go to the Royal Ottawa Hospital Volunteer Association, which allocates funds directly to patient care projects.   So let’s celebrate the end of winter, and dance…good for the soul, and good for our community.  Hope to see you there!! **************************************************************

Happy Sunday, everyone!   We’re now past the mid-point of this awful winter, and hopefully Spring will come sooner than later.  I’m very excited to be planning a dance party with my teacher/mentor/friend, Halyma, of Belly Dancing For Fun.  This event is planned as a casual, social afternoon of  great performances on stage, (all dance styles welcome), and the chance for audience members to get up and enjoy the dance floor with friends and family.   We’d love to have you join us, so check out my “Events” page for details, and hope to see you there!  

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Greetings, all.  Well, it’s mid-January already, and I hope everyone got signed up for their favourite dance class.  Physical activity is a great way to combat winter blues, or seasonal affective disorder, and help us feel a little bit better about making those damned New Year’s resolutions.  Sigh…we all seem to fall into the trap of setting unrealistic expectations and goals for ourselves; then feel guilty and bad if we fail to reach some crazy, idealized version of ourselves…aaarrgh!!..why do we do it?  Maybe it’s time to re-consider our self-image and expectation of fitness level and appearance – to instead think of ourselves as a fine work of art in progress..rejoicing in good days and accepting that there’ll be bad days; and not be quite so quick to judge ourselves (and others) so harshly.  The great thing about dance class is how it can make you feel – a few shimmies in a pretty hip scarf does wonders for pumping those endorphins, and boosting self-esteem!

Easy for me to say, right?  Well, no…I’m trying to take my own advice, hahaha!…struggling through a morning aerobics class – first time in over a year, and OMG, it’s tough!  Twice a week is just manageable for now, as I’m also signed up for Halyma’s Wednesday class, and teaching lovely BCA students on Fridays.  Recovering from illness or injury can be a lengthy, frustrating process; and though it broke my heart to give up teaching  at Canterbury, it was the right thing to do.  For now, it’s a time to learn patience, aspire to small but achievable fitness goals, and try to keep a sense of humour about current limitations and abilities…after all, a fine work of art isn’t created or repaired overnight!  

So, during these cold winter months, try to recognize and reward the inherent strength and beauty that lies within, and do something nice for yourself – maybe coffee and gossip date with your BFF, new lingerié, weekend skating and beaver tails on the canal..simple pleasures, ’cause you deserve it!  

Photo courtesy of Unposed Photography

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Happy New Year, all you divine divas!!  Hoping everyone enjoyed the festive season, and feel ready to dance the winter away.  Winter registration information has been updated on my “Classes” page, and some of you may be wondering why I’m not teaching at Canterbury this session..fair enough, I’ll explain.  

The past year has been very challenging for me, health-wise; and right now, I’m just not physically able to give multiple classes 100% of my energy and teaching technique.  So, luckily, I’m able to turn over the Canterbury class to my good friend and mentor, Farasha.  She’ll ensure that new and returning students receive the best possible instruction in beginner belly dance.  She was my teacher for several sessions, and her patience, sense of humour and support, enabled me to try teaching and performing in the first place.  You can check out a brief bio on my ‘Divas’ page; if you sign up for class, you’re gonna love her as much as I do!!  Here’s a photo of Farasha, performing at the recent Canterbury Christmas party:  

For now, I’ll be working hard to regain good health, and plan to shimmy my butt off sooner, rather than later…wish me luck!  For the latest, up-to-datest info on classes, workshops, events, and all things belly dance and Bollywood around town, check out Halyma’s website:  www.tav-creations.com and sign up for her free weekly online newsletter.  Got questions?  Click above the photo (top left) on this page to contact me, and I’ll be happy to chat…cheers everyone!  

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Wow, we did it!  Practice pays off!  The combined forces of the Jamaleen and Amala group graced the stage at Halyma’s class party last night, and received a very positive response from our audience.   I was touched by various comments received afterward, from friends and strangers alike, who enjoyed our performance.   Thanks to Zeevah, for her saucy little drum choreo; Wendy, for stepping in to round out our group; and Zahara, for taking centre stage (where she belongs) to shimmer and shine and help guide our newest dancers.   It was a really positive experience for first-timers, and their smiles were priceless…see ladies?…it’ not so scary after all!

Thanks very much to Halyma, Darner Media, and all the skillful backstage workings of those who make these events possible and so special for us all.  The variety and quality of performance art was truly inspirational, fun, and entertaining.  It was a real pleasure to participate, and kudos to all those students brave enough to work their butts off, step out onto a big stage, and make all us “Dance Mamas” proud…our work is done (for now).

I’ll be taking a break now…whew!…and will update my Classes page shortly after the 25th.   I’ll be adding some new photos to the Gallery page as well.  For the latest info on everything dance, don’t forget to check out Halyma’s online newsletter:   http://www.tav-creations.com   Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, Yule, and a safe and happy holiday season into the New Year…cheers!

Busy prepping and practicing for Halyma’s Tuesday night show.  With my small but courageous student group, we’ll be performing our double-diva choreography for a large gathering of students, teachers, and dance fans from all over the Ottawa-Gatineau area.   Although first time public appearances can seem really scary,  it’s a great way for students to challenge themselves in a creative collaboration –  by taking pride in accomplishing a goal, bonding and working together as a team, meeting new people, and being warmly welcomed into the dance community by such a supportive and appreciative audience.  

I’ll be challenging personal stage-fright, by veil dancing with my Routhier classmates to open the show with the Azhar D’Halyma group; then time for a quick costume change before hitting the stage with my students.  Multi-tasking, oh my!  Wrangling dancers, costume loans and changes, using multiple props, helping the organizer, and calming student nerves  can become a bit overwhelming.  You need a well-packed suitcase and a sense of humour.  

So, off to dress-rehearsal tomorrow night, then showtime!!  Can’t wait to see my dance buddies, and all those beautiful costumes, choreographies, and camaraderie….Yallah!!   

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Congratulations to my students for their hard work and practice.  We celebrated with a party last Friday, and performed a candle dance and drum solo for teachers, students, friends and family at Canterbury Community Centre.   Thanks to my dance friends for coming and showing off their new routines, and thanks to all who brought yummy dishes for our pot-luck intermission.  We were treated to performances by the Jaliwar Alimeh troupe, Zeevah, Farasha, Bellywood For Fun, and grande finalé by Halyma.  Big hugs and thanks to my awesome husband, for his role as Emcee and DJ, and hugs to Eurika for stepping in as DJ Babe.  It was a fine evening of entertainment, and I was proud to call myself hostess for this event.  Best wishes to all my students for the upcoming Christmas and holiday season – it was a pleasure spending class time with you!   *******************************************************************

Last week I was honoured to attend Farasha’s hafla, and perform for a small but select group, on the stage where I first took lessons in 2007.   Being there brought back a lot of memories of being shy, awkward, embarrassed, and secretly idolizing the senior students as I snuck in early to watch them practice before my class time.    So there I was the other night, in my fancy costume and makeup, performing a solo for three teachers, students and guests…amazing!   Dancing has changed my life in so many positive ways.  While there’ll always be that shy, awkward inner voice;  taking a chance and just “going for it” is one less thing on my life-list of regrets and what-ifs…so shimmy outta your comfort zone and follow your dreams!!   *****************************************************************

Hard to believe the end of the Fall teaching session is nearly here.  One more class next Tuesday at Canterbury for Jamaleen, and the Amala lovelies have their last class on the 29th, at HCRS.   I’m so happy they’ll all be joining me to welcome teachers, students, family and friends, on Friday Nov.22nd, for our class party (details on Events page).

This session has been both challenging and fun.  Total credit goes to my awesome students, for helping me discover a couple of new insights into teaching techniques for beginners, and a reminder about WHY I love sharing the basics of dance with them.  Although ongoing health concerns have limited my physical ability to shine in classes with Safiya and Halyma; their teaching ability and patience have, as always, had a positive and beneficial influence on my admittedly slow progress for technique and development of dance skills.   It’s easy to get discouraged and lose confidence; but thinking of myself as a “work in progress” helps keep things in perspective, and not take myself too seriously.  The ability to laugh at yourself is essential for letting go and feeling joy in the simple pleasures of life; like dancing, having fun, and passing on that positive energy to others….so I will shimmy myself silly, and say, “Honey, just shake it till you make it!!”  ***************************************************************