The Bellydance Intensive and What’s Next

I just returned from the Las Vegas Bellydance Intensive. It was wonderful to spend a few days completely immersed in my art form, meeting other people who share my love of Middle Eastern dance, and learning. Also, Vegas is a pretty fun city, as you may have heard. I really enjoyed the full day of workshops with Ava Fleming. My favorite workshops with Vegas locals were Aradia's class on Drum Solos and Leyla Amir's "Staging a Classical Egyptian Performance." Leyla is a gem who knows so much about Egyptian dance, and sadly, she was only given an hour within which to impart that information. Aradia taught an lively drum solo choreography, and I'm impressed with her DVD, which covers details of styles from Lebanese, Turkish to Egyptian. Karim Nagi, a fellow Bostonian, was another headliner (along with Ava and Kami Liddle) and his Debke class probably put me in the best mood while wearing me out the most. I couldn't wait to get back to the Middle East restaurant to join the debke line with the new steps I've learned.

It was expensive, however, especially when I ended up with a new costume. So I have decided not to travel to Montreal this year for Ahlan Cairo Nights. I can only hope that Randa and Lucy return someday to this continent for workshops.

Instead, I will be attending a local weekend, the Arab Dance Seminar. It's a combination of Arabic language, culture, music and dance classes, lectures and performances. Considering that there are three days of information, the cost is low – and of course I will be able to come home and sleep in my own bed at night.

Overall, I have come back from four wonderful days realizing that I love this dance so much, and I am so lucky to have found it and to have it in my life.