You Never Forget Your First Time!

Like most bellydance students they never forget their very first performance. Maybe it was a student recital or a friend's birthday party. No matter where it was it'll always be an important milestone in your life. I'll certainly never forget my first few times performing even though they are pretty blurry memories mainly due to nerves. As much as I was dying to perform when the event was 2 months away, by the day of the event my performance nerves (they weren't just jitters) were so bad I felt as though my legs were like rubber bands. Once I was performing though I didn't feel a thing and had a great time. I enjoyed performing and still do, it just took alot to get me out there. I'd go through days and days of anxiety and the day of the show I'd think "what have I got myself into" all day long. The aftermath of the performance was usually several days of beating myself up for what I didn't do or what I could have done better. Thank God those days are over and I'm alot more relaxed and happy about performing. What I realized is that I'm way too hard on myself and it took a long time to give myself kudos for doing what I was doing. Remember it takes guts and hutzpah to get all costumed up and get up on stage solo or with a troupe not to mention the dedication and commitment of time you'll devote to learning and rehearsing your choreography. So give yourself alot of credit for each time you perform. Look at every performance as training for future performances. Get your teacher to give you a few pointers on what to work on for next time but take it constructively not personally. Remember the more opportunity you have to perform, the more you'll learn. If you are a junior dance student interested in performing offer to escort a lead dancer at your studio so you can see how she handles the client, the audience and watch her performance. You'll learn a lot and she'll appreciate some extra help at her gig and the support. I'll never forget the areas that my teacher pointed out to me to improve nor the important insights I gained from more experienced dancers when I was apprencticing. To calm my nerves before going on, I do a good warmup. Sometimes I don't have space to warm up at the venue so I'll spend time at home doing some stretching especially for my lower back, legs and upper body before I leave for the show. Nerves tighten up the body so a warm up is really important. I want my shimmy to be in good form by show time and if my legs are all full of nerves that's not going to help me power up my shimmy when I need it most. While I'm waiting to go on stage I spend that time shimmying, doing figure 8's, circles and undulations to keep myself stretched and warm. I also spend time on my own just to collect my thoughts, have a few moments to reflect inwardly and do some breathwork. I need my focus and attention on the performance, my music and my audience. I also never, ever watch the performer ahead of me either. I used to and then ended up comparing my performance to hers and worrying if I would do as well. Remember your performance will be what it is because of who you are. You will not dance the way the girl in front of you will or the one that follows you. So just go out and do your personal best for you. That's what matters most. And that's the biggest thing I've learned out of many years of performing. If I can say that I gave it my best then I'm happy with that. And if I made some of my audience smile and get up and dance with me along the way then all the nerves were worth it! Joharah

BellyUp Raising Money for Egyptian Society of Mercy to Animals

Get ready for Friday, April 29th when BellyUp hosts an International Dance Day Celebration at our studio here in Oakville. We are raising money and awareness for EMSA and we'd like you to join us for a night of dance, friends, food, prizes and more with guest star Jim Boz from San Diego, Cassandra Fox and others plus BellyUp's very own Tarab Dancers, Tribe Maya Fire and Joharah performing. Tickets are on sale now at BellyUp. $30 per person.