Sofia and Jesse got on stage at Reunion 2020 for their first (and maybe only) live episode to discuss "Charisma, Uniqueness, Nerve, and Talent." A few brave souls joined us for the largest intro clap ever, listened to us ramble about what we think makes a good performer, and asked us about memorable stage mishaps. Many thanks to everyone who joined us live to laugh with (and at) us, to the Reunion production team for letting us carry out this crazy little experiment, and to our sound guy Peter for helping us set up and making us sound great. This episode was filmed live on January 25, 2020 in ..read more

It's 2020, and we're still our same ridiculous selves. Don't worry if you haven't set any New Year's resolutions -- neither have we! Because it's never too late for goal-setting and any day is a good day to start, Sofia and Jesse discuss their favorite tips from Daniel Coyle's "Little Book of Talent" to help you focus your personal dance practice for 2020 (or whenever, really). Plus, excessive nerding out over video games and Baby Yoda. **JOIN US FOR A LIVE RECORDING OF THE CUE** We'll be recording an episode of the The Cue LIVE at Reunion 2020! Grab a snack and join us for lunch on Saturday ..read more

Sofia and Jesse review the last few months including the WildCard Hafla, Shadow Dance, and hosting and teaching General Skills & Teacher Training. Study with Sofia & Jesse at the Austin Belly Dance Convention, June 26-28, 2020. Registration is open! https://www.theabdc.com/ Register for GS & TT 2020 in the SF Bay Area -- the only certification training for ATS® with Carolena and FatChanceBellyDance! https://www.eventbrite.com/o/fatchancebellydance-18325233943 SHOW NOTES Photos from ATS Forever No. 4 https://www.facebook.com/events/453258468753741/ Fi-Fi Wei Dupont's Association Le ..read more

Lucky episode No. 13 is our one year anniversary! We're not sentimental types, so after a brief reflection, we recap our very productive summer of being in Portland at different times, visiting Santa Cruz multiple times (tough life, right?), and epic collaborations. UPCOMING EVENTS There are only TWO spots left for our Tessera Tribal workshop at ATS Reunion 2020. Grab them while you can! https://atsreunion.com/registration/ Sofia is headed to Paris! The workshops are sold out, but you can catch her and a slew of amazing dancers in the "From Many Tribes" show on Saturday, October 19. https://ww ..read more

On the drive home, Sofia and Jesse recap their time at Hot Raqs 2019 (spoiler alert: it was a blast!), relate the challenges of the judging the festival competition, and and discuss the thorny issue of giving and receiving feedback. Congrats to all of the Hot Raqs 2019 winners and competitors! It was a fierce competition with so many great performances. Enjoy our performance from the Gala Show! https://youtu.be/Mu-xz-V02WI Check out our Instagram highlights from Hot Raqs: https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17984855935247060/ SHOW NOTES Hot Raqs Festival & Competition www.hotraqs ..read more

Things get goofy during Sofia and Jesse's drive to Clovis for Hot Raqs. Amid the giggles, they discuss their shared love of makeup, how they learned to beat their faces, and their different approaches to getting their faces performance ready. Registration for Sirens Fest is now open! Sign-up for the Tessera Tribal workshop: https://www.sirensbellydancefest.com SHOW NOTES Jesse's Makeup Timelapse https://www.instagram.com/p/BzUYJw8Fk_q/ Sofia's FB Live Get Ready With Me https://www.facebook.com/sofiadancesats/videos/538575583253084/ Hot Raqs Festival https://hotraqs.com/ Get Ready in 10 Minutes ..read more

In their 10th episode, Sofia and Jesse recap Kami Liddle's annual show "Stardust Follies" and discuss the challenges of presenting ATS® in themed shows and theatrical performances. UPCOMING EVENTS Tessera Tribal at Hot Raqs (Clovis, California) Workshop & performance in the Gala Show www.hotraqs.com Tessera Tribal at ATS® Reunion 2020 (Scottsdale, AZ) A la carte registration is now open **just a few spots left in our workshop!** www.atsreunion.com FCBD® Workshop at Reunion 2020 *SOLD OUT* To get on the waitlist, send an email to info@atsreunion.com SHOW NOTES Kami Liddle http://kamiliddle ..read more

With festival season well under way, Sofia and Jesse reflect on how the festival landscape has changed over the years, the present state of things, and the role that festivals play in the belly dance scene. Special appearances by Jesse's cats Ziggy and Yuri. Check out our performances from Rakkasah West 2019: Tessera Tribal® - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k2rc8RAwCE FatChanceBellyDance® - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYFC8gGtcKw 2019 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE June 7-9 - FCBD® at Cairo ShimmyQuake (Glendale, CA) https://www.cairoshimmyquake.com/home/ June 29-30 - Tessera Tribal at Hot Raqs (Clov ..read more

Sofia and Jesse head up to Hot Pot Studios in Sacramento, CA, for the ITS Level 1 Intensive and sit down with the one-and-only Amy Sigil to talk about cross-training, finding balance, group improvisation, and research and discovery in dance. UPCOMING WORKSHOPS Take workshops with Amy Sigil and an intensive with FatChanceBellyDance® at Cairo ShimmyQuake, June 7-9, 2019. www.cairoshimmyquake.com SHOW NOTES Video: Amy Sigil's performance at the Massive Spectacular 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKY2Nx7xRZY&t=1s Video: ITS group at Cues & Tattoos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKY2N ..read more

Sofia and Jesse take one last look at ATS® Reunion, discuss successful (and not-so-successful) performances, and provide a behind-the-scenes look at the FatChance® performance. UPCOMING WORKSHOPS & PERFORMANCES March 23 - Picky Technique with Carolena https://www.eventbrite.com/e/picky-technique-with-carolena-nericcio-tickets-55181837361 April 13 - FCBD® at Rakkasah West http://www.rakkasah.com/west/ June 7-9 - FCBD® Intensive at Cairo ShimmyQuake https://www.cairoshimmyquake.com/home/csq-2019-fatchancebellydance-intensive/ June 29-30 - Tessera Tribal at Hot Raqs http://www.hotraqs.com/ SH ..read more