As a part of our upcoming hafla at the Iana Dance Club, dancers choose individual choreographies to work on. An essential part of the preparation is polishing details of the routine. ☝️But before you can improve it, you first need to fully memorize the sequence. Here are a couple of tips that I use in my own practice in order to fully remember a new choreo: ✅Run it without music: You should be able to run the choreo smoothly on your own. Do it in your mind, simply imagining the music. Whenever you get confused, stop and clarify the specific spot. Then move on. ✅Pay attention to your recurring ..read more

Everyone is different and unique. Everyone’s body is different, and everyone’s mind is individual. Just the same way as learning patterns are different for each person. And when it comes to such a sensitive topic as conquering performance anxiety, there is definitely no such thing as ONE-ANSWER for all. Each person, each dancer will need their own tools. That’s why I keep approaching this topic in so many various and sometimes strange ways. ➡️ During our Mejance Intensive we’ve played with the idea of creating characters in dance. ➡️ During our Tarab intensive I gave you a bunch of references ..read more

A few days ago I went to Yasso’s costume shop to find a new costume… But it wasn’t a costume for me. It was for our Hafla participants! We are organizing our very first online hafla at the Iana Dance Club with several gift raffles among participants! Our main gift is a gorgeous professional costume that I chose as if I was choosing it for myself. Guess which costume from the above options I bought as a gift for our club members? Write the color of your choice in the comments below. __________________ Btw, there is still time to join us, and get a chance to win this amazing outfit. But you need ..read more

Lately, many teachers are shifting to a subscription model, seeing its advantages. Yet, a lot of students still prefer the ‘traditional’ one-time purchase of recorded courses. One of the main objection against subscriptions I hear is: "I signed up, but then I don’t use it and feel guilty about wasting money." Here’s the thing—doesn’t the same happen with your purchased courses? ?‍♀️ It’s an illusion that this problem is relevant only for subscriptions. Just because you own the course for life doesn’t mean you’re using it. How many workshop videos do you have sitting on your hard drive, waiting ..read more

(Warning signals to pay attention to) ‼️‼️‼️What kind of feedback he/she gives to students ?‼️‼️‼️ ?Unfortunately, some teachers use a trick of only saying good things and compliments to students in order to create emotional attachment. Students become addicted to this euphoria of feeling how awesome they are, so they come back for it again and again. It makes them a happy person, but usually not so good dancer. ?On the other hand, if teacher is only criticizing and pointing out mistakes, it can be a signal of low confidence. Such an approach will push you to train harder, but it’s not sustain ..read more

What are intensives at the Iana Dance Club??⁣⁣⁣⁣ Intensives are guided training programs on specific topics in belly dance combining selection of ?themed technique drills with ?complimentary lectures and ?fun practical assignments to help you fully incorporate all knowledge and skills.⁣⁣ Each intensive has one main focus: for instance, loose knee shimmy, or baladi improvisation, or even such themes as developing choreographing skills, or identifying rhythms. ?⁣⁣ It also has a suggested step-by-step training plan? divided into 1 to 10 weeks long depending on the workload of each intensive. You ..read more

We can experience Tarab from watching someone’s dance, entering amazingly decorated hammam room, observing breath-taking sunset, and of course, by listening to the music…⁣⁣⠀ Here is my list of 25 must-know Tarab songs for belly dancers: ?Fi Youm W Layla - by Warda ?Esmaouni - by Warda ?El Eih Besalouni - by Warda ?Wana Mali - by Warda ?Batwannes Beek - by Warda ?Alf Leila - by Oum Kulthoum ?Baed Annak - by Oum Kulthoum ?Enta Omri - by Oum Kulthoum ?Fakarouni - by Oum Kulthoum ?Lissa Fakir - by Oum Kulthoum ?Leilet Hob - by Oum Kulthoum ?Ana Fi Insta Zarak - by Oum Kulthoum ?Ghanili Shwaya, Shw ..read more

If you are not a good swimmer, would you enter the ocean gradually, or would you jump into the depth right away? ?⁣⁣ It’s the same with the drum solo improvisation.???⁣⁣ I see it over and over again that dancers who barely had any experience want to crowd their improvisation with hundreds of movements that at the end of the day, don’t even fit the music.⁣⁣ ??So what? Isn’t it good trying not to be boring for the audience???⁣⁣ ?‍♀️Well, how about stoping this unnecessary rush and movement hysteria, and capture your audience with the mature and confident dance improvisation.?⁣⁣ Being present in ..read more

?Put your phone away and on silence mode during your training time. Seriously. ? A phone is a huge distraction for all our activities. If you keep checking it during the training, it not only influences the physical process, since your muscles will have to switch from relaxed to engaged all the time, but also, your mind will wander all the time. ?? Did you know that it takes between 5 to 15 mins to focus your attention back after any distraction? ?So what happens if you check your phone every 15 mins or so? Put it away. The world will not die if you spend an hour alone with your dance.??? I us ..read more

What does it mean to ‘engage’ my belly and back muscles? ?Should I do belly dance movements with or without tension in my belly? ? These are surprisingly frequent questions among anyone who starts belly dancing. The concept of engaging your core muscles is not familiar or clear to many people, so let’s figure it out.??? ⠀ First of all, there is a huge difference between tension and engagement of your muscles. ‼️‼️For sure, there should NOT be any tension, because it always (and I mean, always) creates locks in your body.⠀ ⠀ Now, by engaging muscles, teachers can mean a few different things ..read more