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As we go along throughout the year, it can be easy to lose focus and direction, to get into a rut, or to overdo it and get burnt out. Or worse yet for a dancer, drop out of the dancing scene entirely!
Why not use the momentum of the New Year, with its promise of renewal and new possibilities, to help you set new goals and direction for your dance life?
Making dance New Year’s Resolutions has been a yearly ritual for me, dating all the way back to my "baby dancer" days, before I began to perform or teach.
Over the years, I’ve delved into new and unfamiliar areas of the dance like Turkish folkloric styles, focused on problem areas like shimmies and layering, and set goals like "performing a completely improvised dance in public".
This year, I’m refocusing on my own dance journey. I’ve been so busy helping others with their dance careers (through my work with ncbellydance.org and also teaching 3 classes a week) that I haven't devoted enough time for myself.
So this year, as part of that goal, I will be taking a weekly class and private lessons with Hannan Sultan nearby in Durham.
Hannan also has some exciting plans for the coming year!
"My new year's resolution for dance is to have FUN. I'm looking at this as the last year for travel and independence before I work on starting a family, so I hope it is action packed. I'm planning on traveling to events where I can study with inspirational dancers.
I'm starting off 2009 with Jillina's weeklong intensive, so that is a great beginning!
There are also a number of performance and teaching projects I have been contemplating for a while now, and this seems like the year to complete them."
Like Hannan, I'm also going to be taking on a new project this year: developing a group cane choreography for the ncbellydance hafla next Fall (try to act surprised when you see it). This will be my first time teaching a folkloric choreography to my students, and I'm excited about the opportunity to share my love of Egyptian cane with them. And if they make a mistake, I can always whack them with the cane! (just kidding)
Props are also on Andalee’s mind this year:
"I need to really work at the veil and finger cymbals (zills), especially. I've also never tried cane or sword, so that will be a fun adventure. I will start of 2009 with a bang as I perform a zill piece with my troupe Khahari, and I hope that inspires me to improve and keep going. I've also just recently bought my second veil and since I have cathedral ceilings in the living room, I will be able to practice my veil work! By the end of the year I hope to be able to do a dance piece that features both a veil entrance and zill number."
Props require strength, stamina, and coordination, so this year, I'm also going to be focusing on my fitness level. I'll be continuing my recovery from Lyme Disease, regaining muscle tone and stamina, and developing my abs so that I can finally do some decent belly rolls and flutters. As part of this goal, I will be doing personal fitness sessions with Andy Von, who has promised to kick my butt!
Asali is also making fitness a priority this year:
"I am resolving to create a "bellydance for exercise class" and start offering it to beginners and my current students. I think it will help bring people in who are only interested in exercising rather than learning an art or performing and it will help me to get into better shape too. I'm also resolving to get ACE certified as a group fitness instructor. Just sounds like a good practice."
My final goals for this year focus on NCBellydance.org – I’m going to be adding embedded video, which I think will really enhance the performer listings and help our NC dancers get more gigs!
I'll be giving the website a small facelift with the help of Sara Beaman, Audra Evans, and my husband, so the site will look as beautiful as the dancers on its pages.
Most importantly, I will be taking the first steps toward making NCBellydance.org a true non-profit (501c3) organization. I feel a bit intimidated by that last goal, but if we don't challenge ourselves, we don't grow!
I hope that you will also take this wonderful opportunity to grow as a dancer and as a person, to take on new challenges, set new goals, and above all...
...to DANCE!
About the author:
Haala is the webmistress for NCBellydance.org, and also a Teacher and Performer in the Triangle area of North Carolina. She is the wife of drummer John Price, and mom to two human and three feline children.
In her spare time, she dreams about having spare time.
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