Top 3 Tips for Belly Dancers

This month's top 3 tips for belly dancers:
1.  Practice free style dance for 15 minutes 3 times a week.  Dance alone and dance purely to the music.    You want to get the music into your head and into your body. 
2. Try a different hair style this month.  It doesn't have to be dramatically different, just take some time and play with your hair.  Add extensions, put a little curl, use a hair decoration, highlights,, you get the idea. 
3. Your feet:  Are your feet noticeable in your dance?  Your feet are what grounds you in the dance but they should not draw attention. Practice this a few times this month: Think about how your movements are drawn up from the ground into your feet and then travel up threw your body.  
Suzy Evans
Please pay a visit to our website BellyDance.org

Beautiful Photo of Mia
by Michael Baxter

Ultimate Belly Dancer Combination DVDs

Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations is a 5 DVD series - almost like a mini-series! 

During a conversation with a friend,  this unique concept and came to me. I had previously produced a couple of combination videos with Ansuya and Ava Fleming. Seeing how popular they were, why not have multiple instructors teach combinations on a single DVD?  And why not make it a series? This would give students of belly dance a good variety of styles of combinations from different teachers.  Some of these teachers had not previously taught on video before, so many students would be exposed to new teachers; an instructor they may have not been familiar with and would not normally would get a chance to take a class from. I called them Ultimate Combinations because... they were!   The first 2 volumes were shot and edited.  The teachers included Sadie, Ava Fleming, Aziza, Amaya, Fahtiem, Artemis, Celeste, Anaheed and Amara. These 2 videos were quickly best sellers.  About 2 years later I added three more volumes with a new mix of dancers: Paulina, Zahra Zuhair, Katia, Aradia, Dondi, Ava Fleming, Celete, and Jamileh. These 3 new DVDs included new styles including some Turkish and some of that classic old-timey 1970s belly dance. Will there be more Ultimate Combinations?  Maybe... we'll see.  In the meantime, if you don't have these DVDs, please consider adding them to your collection.  Here's some links to the DVDs:

Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations The Complete Set

Ultimate Belly Dancer Combinations 1 & 2

Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations 3.4 & 5

You Are the Ambassadors of Belly Dance

No matter what level of dance you are currently at; from taking your first lessons to a professional who has been belly dancing for many years: It is you that are the representatives; the ambassadors of belly dance.  It is you that is representing this beautiful dance form to the general public. So how can you be an ambassador to belly dance? One of the best ways is to look to one of the top belly dancers, a dancer you admire. Some great examples: Jillina, Sadie, Ava, Kaya, Aziza, Ansuya, Zahra Zuhair, Sahra, Angelika, Leyla Jouvana, or anyone you personally admire.  How does this dancer conduct herself?  They act like a professional would: friendly, helpful, humble, kind and living the golden rule. They behave and conduct themselves as if they were a public figure. Their performances lift up the art of belly dance, they do not drag it down. Their performances are either choreographed or if impromptu they are well thought out and rehearsed. When on stage or at a restaurant or nightclub they assume that there are people in the audience that are seeing belly dance for the first time and therefore give a performance that is classy and graceful, not a performance that would downgrade the publics perception of belly dance and belly dancers.  It's not just a responsibility; it is also your duty to conduct yourself this way. All of us in this art form are depending on you to come through for all of us!  For those of us that have been in the dance for many years, we can tell you how hard we fought ugly stereotypes in the early years. We don't need belly dance synonymous with stripping or pole dancing.  Is ballet or modern dance ever compared to stripping?  Don't we in belly dance deserve the same respect other forms of dance receive?   -  Suzy Evans

Leyla is a wonderful Ambassador to Belly Dance.  Are you?

Go Now to BellyDance.org and Show Your Support for Us!

Sadie the Belly Dancer

Sadie is a true star of belly dance, as a matter of fact she is currently considered the most popular belly dancer in the world.  Besides belly dancing she also performs various forms of world dance, and theatrical theme shows. She draws upon an innate understanding of movement from her background in gymnastics and swimming. Her dance and music education spans more than 15 years. Her love for movement, music and culture has prompted her to explore and study various forms of world dance such as Belly Dance, Brazilian Samba, Salsa, Hip-Hop, Tahitian and Flamenco, with a dedication to foundation training in Ballet and Jazz. This background has given Sadie a style that is uniquely her own.

And in case you missed it; Sadie and Kaya recently competed in "America's Got Talent" 

She stars in numerous instructional and performance DVDs from IAMED / BellyDance.org.  
Click on the links below to view and purchase her DVDs. 

How to Belly Dance / Instructional Videos

• Pops, Locks & Shimmies with Sadie and Kaya
• Pops, Locks & Shimmies 2 with Sadie and Kaya
• Pops, Locks & Layers with Sadie and Kaya
• Star Combinations with Sadie, Kaya and Ava
• Thrillin' Drillin'
• Sultry Slow Moves
• Drum Solo Technique & Choreography
• Ultimate Belly Dance Combinations set
• Ultimate Combinations 1
• Ultimate Combinations 2

Performance Videos

• Belly-Dance-O-Rama 2
• Belly-Dance-O-Rama 3
• Belly Dance Rocks!
• Belly Dance Live!
• Stars of Belly Dance

Sadie in Belly Dance-O-Rama

Keep it Short

"Always keep them wanting more."  
Far too often belly dancers performances are too long.  I can count on 1 hand the numbers of dancers that I can avidly watch for more than 10 minutes. Most belly dancers should keep their routines to no more than 7 minutes.  Even if you have been given a 10 or 15 minute spot on a program, that does not mean you should fill it. 


Some years ago I was offered a 15 minute performance spot.  I felt obligated to fill the entire 15 minutes.   That was a mistake.  Not only did the audience get bored during the performance, but I did too.  


Be sure to add variety, layers and changes of pace in the routine.  If you are newer to the dance, there is nothing wrong with doing a 4 or 5 minute piece.  You want to be comfortable in your routine.  


If you keep your dance short, your audience will want to see more, but don't give it to them, it may be stepping just over the line. Learn how to gauge the length of your performance. Better to dance 1 minute shorter than 1 minute too long and start losing the interest of your audience.    

Tamra Henna in Belly Dance Sensations

Please visit our website BellyDance.org

Sword Face

You must avoid sword face at costs!!  Sword face is that look on your face you get when you are balancing a sword on your head and you're overly afraid it's going to fall off.  
There's only 1 cure for sword face. Before you even think about performing sword work in a performance, you must practice with your sword enough so that you are confident enough that it will not fall off.  Remember - Practice makes perfect....
This will also put your audience at ease and they will enjoy your performance, rather than worrying with you that the sword will go a flying off!
Suzy Evans
Please visit our website BellyDance.org

This is Zahirah.  She never has sword face.

Sharing is a Good Thing

If you're like me, you are on many belly dancer's email lists.  And most of us are on FaceBook, Twitter as well as other social sites.  
In this "its all about me" dance, I'd like you to think of others and share your dance sister's information with your friends on FaceBook and elsewhere.  When you get a newsletter you like in your email box, why not share it?  If everyone did this, then you too would reach many more people as your information would also be shared. What comes around goes around. I have been sharing newsletters for some time now on my own FaceBook account. And I can tell you it is appreciated. 
If you as a dancer send out your own newsletter, remember to turn on the "sharing" function, as I often get emails without it and therefore cannot share your newsletter. 
"Sharing" costs you no money but gives you tons of goodwill dividends. 
Just think of all that good Karma coming back to you!

See....kids sharing back in the good ol' days

Suzy Evans   
Visit our website and join our mailing list.  Will ya please?