The Belly Blog

It's been tooooo long...

2009-08-12T17:23:00.002-05:00

I haven't made a blog post in months. I need to be better with this! Lots of things have happened this past summer- a few haflas, some great workshops, summer dance classes have come and gone, and now I'm getting ready for my first competition.

A student of mine recently let me borrow her copy of Snake Hips. It's a great book by a lady who found belly dance after the breakup between her and her boyfriend. It gave her something to focus on and became a huge part of her life (trust me, I know the feeling!). She also wrote about a few personalities you'll find in different people you take classes and perform with. I almost felt like I knew a real-life person for each of her characters. It was such a great read that I couldn't put it down. I read it in one day. If I wasn't a belly dancer before I read the book, I certainly would have been looking for lessons by the time I was done!

A week before I read Snake Hips, I read They Told Me I Couldn't by Tamalyn Dallal. This book was about her travels to Columbia where she was a dancer in a few restaurants. What a brave lady who would up and leave the country without anything, to find adventure financed by her dance income there! I think that was one of the appeals of the book to me. I love Tamalyn's adventurous spirit. I wonder if she's a Sagittarius? This book was similar in format to how she wrote 40 Days and 1,001 Nights. That books documented her travels to five different Muslim countries while she lived in each for 40 days. I liked reading her observations in both books.

I just ordered The Belly Dancer which is a belly dance novel. Obviously, the author is a dancer herself and has done an amazing amount of research regarding the history of the dance in this country. I've read a small except from it. Lately, I just can't read enough books about belly dance. The more years I study this dance, I realize there's more yet that I have to learn. It's still just as exciting to me as when I first found it.

Q & A for Students

2009-05-20T19:48:00.002-05:00

I wanted one place for students to go to post questions about class or what we are learning. It's a place to communicate where everyone can come and read and post on common topics. My blog seems like it will be the easiest place for this.

Just post a comment with your question in it and I will reply so that everyone can see. You can also communicate here with everyone else, that's fine too.

New classes for June

2009-05-18T15:43:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm nice and rested after Mayfest. I was glad to see those of you who stopped by! There weren't as many people as last year (I heard), but it was still fun. I always love an excuse to get into costume :) Hopefully, next year more people will be there and maybe I can work something out to perform.

The hafla is later this month in Mandeville, LA. It's going to be really fun. I'll be performing a cool Indian Fusion piece. Since it's at an Indian restaurant I thought, "hey why not."

I'd also like to announce that Tamalyn Dallal (one of the original Bellydance Superstars) will be up in Jackson, MS in late July. As soon as I get all the details, I will pass it on. She'll be there on her Back Roads Tour signing her books, CDs, and DVDs. She'll also be teaching two workshops. I'll post the details as I get them. She has something for everyone from beginners to advanced students.

See you in class!

New Classes

2009-05-06T19:15:00.001-05:00

Classes are in full swing right now at River Rock Yoga in Ocean Springs. Since classes sold out in only two weeks, I have added another location for classes as well as additional sessions and day classes. I have finalized another location for classes: The Mary C O'Keefe Cultural Center. All new sessions start in mid-June.

I'm working on possibly having classes at E Fitness & Wellness in Biloxi as well as the YMCA in Ocean Springs. I will have more information on these two locations in the next week.

Please come visit me at Mayfest in downtown Ocean Springs on May 16th. Come enter the free raffle for your chance to win a free session (6 classes) of bellydance lessons! Free mini-lessons will also be given each hour on the hour.

For more information, please visit my website at: www.GulfCoastBellydance.com

Open Registration

2009-04-15T20:37:00.002-05:00

Registration has started for the first two bellydance classes I am offering in May. Classes are expected to fill quickly! To sign up, click here: http://gulfcoastbellydance.com/classes.php. Please help spread the word and tell your friends. Hope to see you in class :)

Photos!

2009-04-10T11:03:00.004-05:00

Lisa just put a few photos on her blog this morning from the photo shoot last week. They turned out great! Check them out: http://lrcphotos.blogspot.com/2009/04/meet-alyssa.html

New Classes Scheduled

2009-04-08T11:10:00.002-05:00

I will be updating the Classes page on my website this week while I'm in Nashville. I have two classes scheduled at River Rock Yoga Studio in Ocean Springs. They will start the first week of May and will be Tuesday and Thursday nights.

The Tuesday evening class will be for beginners and the Thursday evening class will be for those with a few years experience. Both classes will be at 7:35 pm and will be run in six week sessions.

I'll also have descriptions of each class on the Classes page, as well as information on when and how to sign up for them. Each session will be $72.00, which equals out to $12.00 a class/week.

I'm still working on setting up classes at other locations, so check back often for updates. www.GulfCoastBellydance.com.

Performance at the 2009 Gulf Coast Bellydance Festival

2009-04-08T10:52:00.003-05:00

The evening of the festival brought an entertaining show. I performed an American Cabaret style piece and I can't wait until the DVD comes out, so I can see it too. Lisa came along to watch the show and she brought her camera along with her (http://www.lrcphotos.com/). She took some amazing photos! She really loved taking photos of the lady who is expecting in three weeks :) Yup, you can still bellydance when you're pregnant. She looked absolutely gorgeous up on stage!

My performance was right before intermission, so I was able to sit down right away with my wonderful "manager" John hehe and Lisa. I met quite a few really cool people after the show. I talked to Shamsi and Shelly who were absolutely wonderful. True artists. I even met one of my Bhuz.com buddies from the New Orleans Area. She's having a hafla at the end of May and I can't wait to go :)

After the show, we headed over to Mosaics down the street for the festival after party. Rosemary really did a fantastic job on organizing and pulling off the festival. It was awesome! I'll post some pictures when Lisa is done with them :)

Workshops at the 2009 Gulf Coast Bellydance Festival

2009-04-08T10:41:00.004-05:00

The Gulf Coast Bellydance Festival was this past Saturday. It was sponsored by The Priestess Dancers. It was my first year there and I met a bunch of really cool people. I signed up for two workshops- Drums and Egyptian dance.

I ended up with a private drum lesson from Shelly (yay for me!). I was the only one to sign up, so he helped get me started. I quickly realized I have a long way to go! If I get a quarter as good as he plays, I will be happy. It was amazing. I'm in Nashville, TN this week and I brought my drum with me to practice. Funny thing- I was listening to some tracks online from this amazing musician just two days earlier. Turns out- it was his CD! I had to buy it from him of course :)

The Egyptian class was awesome. Lady M is a great dancer and I have wanted to learn more about Egyptian dance lately. Go to YouTube and watch clips of some Egyptian dancers, like Dina. It's just so different and good. I learned tons of stuff from that workshop. I got the itch to become more knowledgeable about pure forms of Middle Eastern dance lately and there is just something about the Egyptian dancers!

I can't wait until next year :)

Photo Shoot

2009-04-08T10:26:00.001-05:00

I just got back from having some pictures taken. I needed some new pictures for my website and business cards. I decided to get professional ones taken and looked for a photographer in the area. There are a few, but after seeing Lisa's website, I contacted her. She's awesome! She takes the best photos. I highly recommend her and you can check out her pictures for yourself. Her website is: www.lrcphotos.com. She'll also be taking classes with me soon at River Rock Yoga Studio in Ocean Springs! I can't wait to see how they turn out :)

Just getting settled in...

2009-03-27T23:33:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, I'm Alyssa. I just recently relocated to Ocean Springs, Mississippi to be with my fiancé who transferred here for work. I will be starting classes soon here in Ocean Springs. I will be performing at the 2009 Gulf Coast Bellydance Festival on April 4th. Please click here to find out more information about the festival. I really like it out here so far and I am really looking forward to becoming part of the bellydance community in the Gulf Coast area.

If you are interested in classes, please email me and tell me a little bit about yourself and your experience in dance (style, level, etc.). If bellydance interests you, I would highly recommend you attend the Gulf Coast Bellydance Festival next weekend, sponsored by the Priestess Dancers. It will be an excellent opportunity to take classes, develop your dance skills and to watch several local dancers and troupes perform. If you decide to attend, I look forward to meeting you there!