With love to all in challenging times

In good news, I was delighted to be a guest on Creativity coach Michele Jennae‘s Old Soul Archaeology podcast! We had a wonderful time talking about creativity, healing, and dance. I invite you to check it out here: https://oldsoularchaeology.com/being-in-the-body-through-dance-and-somatic-experiencing-with-alia-thabit/​​

In sad news, My Mom passed away on April 17. She was a remarkable woman. I invite you to enjoy her obituary, and to send good energy during her funeral. Things will be running a little slowly around here for a while. I thank you for your compassionate patience. 
 https://aliathabit.com/frances-clark-thabit-thargay/

I know many of us are very sad in this time and grief abounds. I have seen so many notices of the passing of family, friends, and pets.
My heart is with you. 

With all my love, 
Alia

What is your Buried Treasure?

There is a Rumi poem, Book Beauty, in which a woman wants to be beautiful, so she take pages from the Qur’an, wets them, and mashes them into a paste, with which she then covers her face. She does this because the words of the Qur’an are beautiful, so if she puts them on her face, then she too would be beautiful.

Ouch.

It is so desperate and tragic, that image. But it reminds me of all the things I have put on myself in an effort to feel more beautiful, more attractive, from clothes and make up to a new costume, in hopes that this would do the trick, and I would be beautiful.

 

Just like she did.

We have been shortchanged by our society. We have few venues in which to revel in our beauty. If we admit to feeling beautiful, we are promptly struck down. We are fed a steady diet of airbrushed images designed to crush our sense of self-worth.

To be beautiful, we must consume. We have to shop and find the right dress. We have to go to workshops and learn more moves and work harder and be better. We never get to just be.

Except here. This dance and this practice reconnect us to our beauty and power. When we are in the moment, alive, eternal, we feel it. We feel the lineage of dancers before us.

We feel our connection to the Divine.

Our worth, our beauty, our power, they don’t come from things we buy to cover up our true selves. They come from within. They are treasures gleaming deep within our souls. Oriental dance helps us to find that buried treasure, to dig deep, to sift out our glittering truth, to bask in its soft light. To see and feel our true selves.

We can bring this treasure back with us into everyday life. We can walk this walk every day, everywhere we go.

This is a subversive notion indeed. This is what this our dance is all about. This is our true challenge.

What treasure have you found through dance?

Love,
Alia

PS Music! Taksim Trio live.

 

Extra! Afrodisiac – The Black Bellydance Show
Sunday, May 31, 2020 at 4:30 PM PST  – 7:30 PM EST https://www.facebook.com/events/293035675044702/


Extra: Prince and the Revolution LIVE watch party : at 7pm CST on Thursday, May 14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRa8ZH_iOXo  follow the link and set a reminder


Extra:  The film “Free Trip to Egypt” will be streamed for free for one day only at 7pm EST Sunday May 17th and will be followed by a Q&A with the creator.  Thank you Amanda! info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1328632977333048/ Tkts: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/watch-the-film-free-trip-to-egypt-for-free-watch-party-in-may-tickets-104654662914

How to Dance Away Body Shame​

The 90 Days is going well. Already many folks have found it easier to improvise, to dance for 20 minutes, and to enter a zone of presence and calm. Here is on of this year’s Love Notes I thought you might like. 

How to Dance Away Body Shame

Many years ago at Ahlan wa Sahlan, I took a class on dance from Siwa. One of the steps was a cute little skippy side step—with a twist. Not a physical twist, but a mental one.

The step was done facing away from the guests, and the intention was to show off the dancer’s, um, behind. Our intention was to show off our luscious rear end, to put our attention there and to feel and convey how juicy and nice it was.

 

How to Dance Away Body Shame

Frankly, this was the first time in my life I ever did this. And I was not young at the time. My relationship to my rear end (and a few other body parts), was problematic to say the least. But Lo!

It was SO FUN. And naughty and liberating and mischievous!

It was so fun that later on I did some experiments. I chose troublesome body parts (ones I generally hide), and danced as though they were the most beautiful, glorious, delicious body parts in the world.

Mmmmmmm ; )

Imagine a body part you hide—with clothes, costuming, etc—or wish you could.

In your practice, I invite you to let it be the leader, the most beautiful and lush. Display it with gratitude, pride, and delight.

Today was sunny, the snow was melting, and the day was so much longer! Let’s dance renewal and rebirth, too.

With our newly luscious body parts ; )

Love,
Alia

Music: Here’s Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue

And here’s a long version of Summertime

And here’s a great venue in which to flaunt your body parts! ; )
March into the Spotlight: Bring Basic Belly Dance Back Challenge
March 1-14 2020

  • Dance for fun, no costume or fancy setup. 
  • Video yourself. 
  • Post the vid on FB or Insta.
  • Hashtag with #basicbellydancerchalleng
  • Use the hashtag to find other videos.
  • Watch everyone else’s videos and they will watch yours!


It’s free, fun, and fabulous. Plus you can win prizes!
I’ll be doing it–I hope you will too!
I’ll be doing pop-up live streaming of my dances via zoom–if you’d like to be part of that, join here: remind.com/join/raqsalia​

March into the Spotlight: Bring Basic Belly Dance Back Challenge




Farewell, Azza Sherif

Alia and Azza in 2011.

Bittersweet greetings…

Azza Sherif, Egyptian dance icon, passed away in early February of 2019 at the age of 72 💔

AliaThabit and Azza Sherif
AliaThabit and Azza Sherif 2011. Photo: Lisa Talmadge

I had the pleasure of learning from Mme. Azza at Camp Negum in 2010 and 2011. She was a vibrant, funny, lovely woman. One time, she danced the same song five times in a row (to live music), so we could see and follow her as she (and the musicians) interpreted the song differently every time.

I had the honor of Azza correcting me. 

It was in 2011. Camp Negum was set on a cruise boat en route to Aswan. It was a Tuesday.

Madame Azza was teaching us a move, a deep hip circle with a head drop and a side lift. She went around the group, correcting  each person individually. When she got to me, she called me to the front of the room. “Look, here,” she said to the rest of the group. “Demonstration.”

She turned to me.”What is this?” she asked, pointing to my shirt. I looked down. She chucked me under the nose, lifting my face, like Moe in the Three Stooges, only nicely. “Look up,” she said, smiling.

“Where are you from?”
America, I said.
“You speak English?”
Yes.

“I like your dance,” she said. She spoke English slowly, her voice rich and warm. “You,” she gestured top to bottom, “all dance.” She turned to the rest of the group and touched under her eyes, saying, “I watch. I see.”

Then she turned back to me and said, “I love your dance.”
Out loud. In front of everyone.

“Shukran gezilan,” I gasped.

“Now, do,” she said.
So I did the move. And nearly fell on my head.
“Slower,” she said.

I did.

“Ah,” she said, nodding, pleased. “Very good.”
Then she eyed my tummy full of lunch. “After tomorrow, you don’t eat so much.” And she went on to the next dancer.

That trip was the last time I saw her. 

That Friday, the Egyptian Revolution shocked the world. We were in Aswan when the curfew came; Lisa and I ended up stuck there for most of a week.

Mme. Azza made it back to Cairo, which was maybe not so good, as Cairo was devastated by the upheaval. But she survived, even coming back to teaching. I went back to Egypt in 2015, but she had hurt her knee and did not teach that time. 

I am so sorry that she has gone, and so grateful that she has left us so much of herself on film. Here is a link to her page on the Carovan where you can see some of her performances (please copy and paste if links are not clickable). https://thecarovan.com/category/azza-sherif/

Farewell, Madame Azza. God loves you, and so do all of us. 

I leave you with Yasmin Henkesh’s videos of Mmme Azza dancing at the 2010 Camp Negum. She was 63 at the time.


Tamalyn Dallal’s new book is out! The Belly Dancing Kitties of Constantinople. http://www.bellydancingkitties.com

Alia’s Upcoming Classes and Workshops

FunClasses. I’m teaching live weekly-ish online dance classes! Each class is streamed live (currently on Thursdays at 7pm EST) and a recording is posted until the next class replaces it. Register here

July 14. I’ll be at Cairo Cabaret in Chicopee MA, dancing and teaching workshops in Improv and Group Dance composition. https://www.facebook.com/events/2223293227683591/

Aug 12-Sept 23. I’ll be covering for Amity’s Session Four Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced classes in WRJ. http://raq-on.net/index.php/classes-events/classes

Any time. Zitastic and Embodiment are now available on Teachable! 
https://alia.teachable.com

Thank you for being here!
Love,
Alia

What’s your wall?

Sometimes we hit a wall. 

SoHigh2

So high, can’t get over it. So low, can’t go under it. So wide, can’t get around it…

Where is your dance wall?
What stops you, gets in your way, or keeps you from dancing what you feel in the moment? What walls do your students or dancer friends face?

Here are a few things I, and other folks, have struggled with. 

Confidence
Never feeling good enough, creative enough, or anything enough.

Presence 
Getting stuck in one’s head, losing energy, falling out of the zone.

Introversion
Feeling constrained in performance or navigating social scenes.

Improvisation
The feeling in the moment ; )

Not Performing
Why is this such a crime?

Technique
How the heck do I… ?

Age/Looks
We don’t fit the mold, but have so much to express.

Personal Style
How do you find it? Does it take forever?

Finding Spirit in Dance
Is it really all hoodoo?

 

What’s your biggest wall?
How does it affect you?
What would help?

 

Write to me. Or post on the blog. I’ll write back.

Love,

Alia

PS I am once again endeavoring to create a little something new, this time in two weeks. This week is for figuring out what to make. Next week is for making it. It shall be done and ready to roll on May 1. I want it to be something that solves a problem for my dance friends–that’s you. Hence my question. More on Thursday!

How to be Old and Hot (what else is there?)

Self-CompassionOne summer on the Coney Island Boardwalk, I saw two Hispanic ladies in swimsuits dancing to salsa music blaring from a portable radio. Since it was New York at least 40 years ago–and salsa–they were probably Puerto Rican. These ladies were a lovely shade of tan that glowed in the sun. Both were older, maybe in their 50s–but I was just a kid, so hey, maybe 30s. Neither was “pretty.” Neither had a “good” figure–one had a big round belly and skinny little legs and arms. Both were saggy and lined.

Unabashed by the hundreds of other people strolling the boardwalk, they laughed and danced in the sun, completely engaged with their pleasure. They were relaxed, confident, and present. They were radiantly beautiful.

Hotness has nothing to do with looks. We have been told all our lives, in ways both explicit and implicit, that as women, our value is all in our physical attractiveness. We are encouraged to compare ourselves to unattainable models and work incessantly on our face and figure. We pity and despise anyone who doesn’t measure up, even as we are secretly delighted to scratch out the name (if not the eyes), of one more competitor in the big contest of attraction. No wonder so many women are so angry.

And then we get old.
That first grey hair. That line. Someone calls us ma’am. Some hot new property appears on our horizon. Our days are numbered. Somewhere we realize this is all a shuck and a sham. That our value is deeper than than our skin. But it’s a rough road, people. Even if we are not “pretty,” youth conveys a certain dewy hormonal veil of attraction. When we base our worth on youth, beauty, even athletic ability, we build our house upon the sand. Once that’s gone, we are pretty much washed up.

All of us over 40 have been there. Some of us live there. All of us are going there. Aging is no cakewalk, my friends. Take some notes now, so you, too, can be a beach-dancing beauty in your so-called “golden” years. If you are already there, listen up. There’s no time like the present. The three keys are Self-Compassion, Confidence, and Personal Pleasure. Today we will look at Compassion.

What is Self-Compassion?
Compassion is generally defined as Loving Kindness. Compassion exists outside of the duality of good and bad. In this case, we are looking at Self-Compassion, extending loving kindness to the self.

Most of us are pretty hard on ourselves. As we age, we have even more opportunities to hate on ourselves. Every glance in the mirror is an ordeal. We attempt to shame ourselves into doing better. This keeps us in a state of perpetual unhappiness. We never feel good enough. We fear that simply loving ourselves is suspect, a short slide to a slovenly satisfaction with our crappy lives. It’s not.

Self-Compassion IS treating ourselves kindly. It is how we might treat a good friend. It is mindful, honest, and kind. It does not involve evaluation. We are no better (or worse), than anyone else. We are all humans, each with our own challenges. It doesn’t depend upon our failure or success, if we are beautiful or not. We are all beautiful, we are all unique, and we are all deserving of kindness and love.

Self-Compassion means having our best interests at heart–we want ourselves to be well, and we are willing to help. We can look at negatives from a place of love. It provides all the benefits of self esteem without the narcissistic downsides.

Self-Compassion is key in releasing trauma. We give to ourselves the love and comfort that we needed in the past.  The sooner we start loving ourselves, the sooner we can let go of shame and fear.

How do we develop Self-Compassion? Part of it is a mindset shift. Accepting that we are worthy of love and kindness is a big step for many of us. We re-write our inner scripts–we replace scathing put-downs with understanding such as we might offer a suffering friend. We forgive ourselves for having been hurt, and for hurting ourselves. We hold ourselves close in our own hearts.

Kristin Neff is a pioneer researcher of self compassion. She has put together a quiz to help folks see just how self-compassionate they are–and a compendium of exercises to help develop it. So let’s get to it!

Self-Compassion is key to our development of Confidence. And confidence is key to presenting ourselves as more than a pretty face. We’ll take a look at that next time.

Lots of love,

Alia