I am going to elaborate a little bit on the belly roll.

Belly roll is made up of 3 muscles in truth. But for this video, i decided to talk about two muscles to make my explanation simpler.

1. The first muscle is your diaphragm
2. 2nd is above your belly button
3. 3rd is below you belly button

In truth, it took me 6 months to belly roll. But, I found a way around it. I lay myself on a bed and try to belly roll. And when I work against gravity, my muscles are working harder. Therefore, when i stand up. I am able to do it much easier.

History

In the past, women used to belly roll their children out. This is a great exercise. It not only strengthens your muscles, it also aids digestion!

I had been a little busy. Apart from my shows, this is what i do for an education in an university. Hope you guys like it.

In case you are wondering, that voice was done by me!

I have been watching many belly dancers using the chinese fan veils for belly dance. Initially I wanted to stay away from it as I am a traditionalist. And, Chinese fan veils are not a part of traditional belly dancing.

However….

I changed my mind.

I fell in love with its beauty. Also, I am trying to be more graceful with veil work. Therefore, decided it was a good excuse to purchase them and try my hand at it. It will add a new variety to my shows. It is really beautiful.

I have always been fascinated by Chinese culture. The architecture of their temples, costumes, feng shui, zodiacs….

Also I happen to be born on the eve of Chinese new year. I am the last of the tiger cubs to be born before the year of the rabbit. And my birthday usually falls around Chinese new year.

Fan veils aren’t easy to manipulate. My hands hurt. Also this is my first time dancing with them. I am trying to practice before I finally do it for a show. Now, I can’t wait!

My biggest inspiration came from Brazillian bellydancers who are obviously non traditionalist. They dance to every music in the planet. Even movie themes. My biggest inspirations are Karla Tem Tem and my friend Riti. I learnt we can belly dance to almost any kind of music.

Therefore i decided to dance to “Freed from desire” I heard this song by accident. I am a big fan of 90′s music. Also, the singer happens to look like one of my closest friends. So decided to just dance to it. I might do this song for a show. Its so powerful!

Tradition vs Modern
Well…an artform has to grow. We can’t avoid something just because it will make it less pure. Its like making babies. If you marry among your gene pool, your kids are not going to get any smarter. Thats how I think about dance. Its always good to explore outside.

But then again….You cannot do fusion unless you know the traditional roots of your own art form.

I am up for innovation. I am glad I purchased them. So were my cats. They sneaked up to my room and tried to destroy my veils. It has been damaged a little bit. So i decided to quickly do the video before it gets destroyed!

Thanks all of you for telling me which color veils suit me. Most of you felt i was more towards the element fire. So i purchased fiery veils. I kind of like the power behind it. Whenever I am down, I dance. It always makes me feel better. This fiery veils give me power. Right now, I am going through some mental challenges in my life. I am glad this adds fuel to my desire to live.

Thank you all

However….

I changed my mind.

I fell in love with its beauty. Also, I am trying to be more graceful with veil work. Therefore, decided it was a good excuse to purchase them and try my hand at it. It will add a new variety to my shows. It is really beautiful.

I have always been fascinated by Chinese culture. The architecture of their temples, costumes, feng shui, zodiacs….

Also I happen to be born on the eve of Chinese new year. I am the last of the tiger cubs to be born before the year of the rabbit. And my birthday usually falls around Chinese new year.

Fan veils aren’t easy to manipulate. My hands hurt. Also this is my first time dancing with them. I am trying to practice before I finally do it for a show. Now, I can’t wait!

My biggest inspiration came from Brazillian bellydancers who are obviously non traditionalist. They dance to every music in the planet. Even movie themes. My biggest inspirations are Karla Tem Tem and my friend Riti. I learnt we can belly dance to almost any kind of music.

Therefore i decided to dance to “Freed from desire” I heard this song by accident. I am a big fan of 90′s music. Also, the singer happens to look like one of my closest friends. So decided to just dance to it. I might do this song for a show. Its so powerful!

Tradition vs Modern
Well…an artform has to grow. We can’t avoid something just because it will make it less pure. Its like making babies. If you marry among your gene pool, your kids are not going to get any smarter. Thats how I think about dance. Its always good to explore outside.

But then again….You cannot do fusion unless you know the traditional roots of your own art form.

I am up for innovation. I am glad I purchased them. So were my cats. They sneaked up to my room and tried to destroy my veils. It has been damaged a little bit. So i decided to quickly do the video before it gets destroyed!

Thanks all of you for telling me which color veils suit me. Most of you felt i was more towards the element fire. So i purchased fiery veils. I kind of like the power behind it. Whenever I am down, I dance. It always makes me feel better. This fiery veils give me power. Right now, I am going through some mental challenges in my life. I am glad this adds fuel to my desire to live.

Thank you all

However….

I changed my mind.

I fell in love with its beauty. Also, I am trying to be more graceful with veil work. Therefore, decided it was a good excuse to purchase them and try my hand at it. It will add a new variety to my shows. It is really beautiful.

I have always been fascinated by Chinese culture. The architecture of their temples, costumes, feng shui, zodiacs….

Also I happen to be born on the eve of Chinese new year. I am the last of the tiger cubs to be born before the year of the rabbit. And my birthday usually falls around Chinese new year.

Fan veils aren’t easy to manipulate. My hands hurt. Also this is my first time dancing with them. I am trying to practice before I finally do it for a show. Now, I can’t wait!

My biggest inspiration came from Brazillian bellydancers who are obviously non traditionalist. They dance to every music in the planet. Even movie themes. My biggest inspirations are Karla Tem Tem and my friend Riti. I learnt we can belly dance to almost any kind of music.

Therefore i decided to dance to “Freed from desire” I heard this song by accident. I am a big fan of 90′s music. Also, the singer happens to look like one of my closest friends. So decided to just dance to it. I might do this song for a show. Its so powerful!

Tradition vs Modern
Well…an artform has to grow. We can’t avoid something just because it will make it less pure. Its like making babies. If you marry among your gene pool, your kids are not going to get any smarter. Thats how I think about dance. Its always good to explore outside.

But then again….You cannot do fusion unless you know the traditional roots of your own art form.

I am up for innovation. I am glad I purchased them. So were my cats. They sneaked up to my room and tried to destroy my veils. It has been damaged a little bit. So i decided to quickly do the video before it gets destroyed!

Thanks all of you for telling me which color veils suit me. Most of you felt i was more towards the element fire. So i purchased fiery veils. I kind of like the power behind it. Whenever I am down, I dance. It always makes me feel better. This fiery veils give me power. Right now, I am going through some mental challenges in my life. I am glad this adds fuel to my desire to live.

Thank you all

I’ve been dreaming to try this. Its not perfected yet. But I am working on it. I needed to get better with sword and zills. Really fast. So I practice both at the same time. I think I can join the circus now. I might do this in public when I get confident with it. I think zilling and balancing acts are becoming obsolete as performers choose the easy way out in shows. Bellydance is about tricks and skills. That is what made me so fascinated with this artform. I will continue practicing this way until I am an expert with both props. It is fun and I love challenges.

I might do this for the show tomorrow for the fun of it. Even though its not perfect it is something new and fun to try out.

Blessed be

Sabreena

I needed to add fillers between long shows. So i thought I’d add a tiny drum solo as an appetizer before a hardcore solo. I decided to make this a little different. I decided to focus on other parts of the body this time – Other than the tummy, hips and chest. I realized hand movements can really frame a dancer. And hands is something I am not very good with. It stems from shyness. Hands, hair and neck can be an interesting touch to a drum solo. So decided to get creative about it.

I love drum solos and that is my strongest sequence. But sometimes we have to get out of patterns and add a bit of creativity. I like my drum solo style. And I plan to retain it, except start using facial expressions, hands and hair movements to bring some life. We have to be chameleons.  Sometimes when you perform at parties or restaurant gigs, people look out for showmanship more than skills. Skills are definitely important. But if you do not connect with the audience you lose out a great deal. I have changed my personality in dance. I learnt by smiling and making people laugh, we bellydancers appear less threatening. Thats how I intend to do future shows. It makes people happy. I have a sense of humor and I think its time I make it part of my shows.

Hope you guys like it. You are free to use this choreography, just be kind enough to link it to my channel. I am curious to see how others do it.

Sabreena

I am not very graceful when it comes to slow moves and veil dancing. I’ve always avoided the veil because of my awkwardness. My strength has always been in drum solos. And balancing acts. Or songs with more beats. However, when you are performing you are required to showcase everything.

Veil is relaxing and almost therapeutic to watch. It is often the start of any bellydance show set. It puts the audience in a mood. It keeps them relaxed. After that it is easy to raise the tempo and get them involved when you start doing drum solos. Especially if you want them to pick up cues and start clapping while you dance to the drum.

It is like an appetizer, or the point you get the audience to notice you and know you. You don’t want to be aggressive and scare them away. Especially the women who are territorial about their boyfriends or their husbands. The veil is perfect to get everyone to like you.

However, the veil requires grace. “The veil is not a roti prata, it is an extension of your body.” Its not about flipping around aggressively. Its about understanding its part of your body and your movement.

For people who doesn’t know what a roti prata man does….Here is an example.

I started off like that. So i felt discouraged and avoided veil dancing as much as i can

I did not really do many moves in this video. My main goal for this practise was Barrel Turns. Barrel turns and spins can leave you dizzy. But there is a trick. When you spin to the right 10 times. You have to spin to the left to neutralize…so you won’t end up falling down.

I have started using Isis wings. So i have to practise barrel turns. Since i live in a house with a relatively low ceiling, i cannot use the wings. Therefore, i practise with the veil.

Bellydance is a very tough art form. It requires you to be graceful at times. Aggresive at other times. If you can’t learn to transition, it’s going to be very hard. That is why we do shows in a format. We start off slow and end up doing the drum. This is what my mentor Habibi taught me. But personally i feel, everyone has a persona. So you can play with the format and do it in your own style. A classic cabaret format start off with veils, taxim, then a prop (cane, sword, wings, cymbals) and then finally the most fastest and aggressive sequence – the drum. So if your character is more bubbly and you demand attention upon your entrance, you can start off with the drum. However, you have to be well versed in what you are doing first, before you play around with the format. These formats were created by trained entertainers who spent years studying the moods of various audiences.

But if you can pull it off, i suggest you should. Every dancer is different. And we all have various personalities. Sometimes its good to do what we are good at. But never get stuck in your comfort zone. Or your act will become stale.

Take care fellow comrades. Happy dancing!

I did a show sometime back and was not informed that children would be present. I had my usual outfit on. But when I went there, I felt awkward and wished i had worn something a little more conservative. Bellydance is a beautiful artform. And children are probably the most enthusiastic supporters. But i do feel naked around them at times and wonder if other dancers feel the same way I do. I still feel that i should be a little more covered around children especially if there is not going to be a big enough distance between me and the children.

As performers we have to battle different kinds of audiences. And children are one of the categories. I usually do funny things when children are at my show. They love miming and balancing acts. Most kids would come forward and try to balance the sword or the cane and they can be really fast learners. But i would probably be a little careful with my dressing if i know kids would be there.

Children are my favorite. They give you so much motivation when you dance around them. Michael Jackson once said that if children like what you do, then you are probably doing what you do really well. I usually look out for children. If they are glued to what I am doing…I have passed with flying colors.

Here goes a drum solo improvisation.  A fellow bellydancer sent it to me. I’m a big fan of Hossam Ramzy’s work. So here is my interpretation. Forgive my expression. I was really concentrating on the beat. Besides, I just thought it will be goofy if i smiled to the camera…because its a camera….

Im sorry about my frequency in updating my performances. My camera has been giving me trouble. So i could not really update stuff.

I hope you guys enjoy the drum solo