I did a show for a girl’s 21st birthday party. It was so cute to have the dad all dressed up like a sultan greet me and everyone trying to sneak me in as the surprise.  I had a huge dance space which I love as you can do all the fun stuff like my favorite Ansuya knee spins. (Which I love doing with a veil for effect).

The birthday girl was so happy and got her girlfriends to dance with her. I love parties where most have never really seen belly dancing so they are extra impressed and amazed. (score!)

I got to chat to a bunch of my girls at Joyce’s birthday party about belly dancing and how it’s a wonderful art to get into. Easy to do as it’s such an effective one-man-show and even more fun with a few of you.

You can see a few pics from Phoebe’s first belly dance show which I hope will be the start of many more ladies getting started.

My best advice is that you just have to start and you will get better as you go. If you’re a dancer, once you feel comfortable to remember 20 belly dance steps you can pull up at random and have a good shimmy (even if only one type works better for you than others, I started with the choo choo shimmy on my toes as I hadn’t mastered the Egyptian knee shimmy till later) and a presentable costume (which will also start upgrading as you start making money and contacts from your performing and networking) then go for it. I think it’s 60% personality and performance- connecting to the audience, smiling, being expressive, not making eye contact with guys, putting the ladies at ease, looking like you’re having fun- and 40% technical skill that makes a truly great belly dancer.

Happy Shimmying!