Things have been pretty crazy around here as far as--everything--and the last time I made an entry I was still figuring out how to simply post one! I am sitting here late at night (since that is the only down time I have) reflecting on the last few years and how much I have learned and grown. Our family has grown since the early days of my first dance classes. I now have four children under the age of seven running around me all day long. And let me tell you--keeping up is a challenge! It is all at once perfect and overwhelming. It works for us. Each one of them is amazing and I love seeing their little minds exposed to elements of Art, Music and Dance. While I may have 'hit the ground running' after our first got here, there were three more times where I had to back away since, well, another little human inside and all. While I did continue to teach through to the end of each pregnancy, there remained many movements I had to avoid. Even so, teaching and dancing helped me to stay fit and active. Somewhere right after kid two, my husband got a job in another town several hours away, so we moved our family. I had to leave the close friends and instructors I had grown to love. In my new town, there were no bellydance studios, and as an instructor, I had to work for many months to build a new student base. However, I did begin to make connections with students, hobbyists, instructors and professionals all around the area. These amazing people. I can't even say enough how wonderful each of them has been--much more on these people soon--but anyhow, many lasting friendships and fond memories!! Through these connections, more opportunities for professional advancement began to come my way. The dancer at one of the local hookah bars allowed me to train under her to take her place as she was moving out of state for her human job. I thoroughly enjoyed my time entertaining those crowds. I gained some very valuable experience from those late evenings--most pleasant, some not so much. Going in, I knew I had mountains to learn but I also discovered I had so much ability I didn't realize was there before. You learn a lot when you are pushing your body physically in an environment where everything is improvised! More important even than the relatively short time I spent at that establishment was the connection I shared with the dancer who trained me. I would not be where I am today in my dance journey if not for her. When I mentioned how much I adored Jillina Carlano, she encouraged me to compete in the East Coast Classic Bellydance Festival and Competition since Jillina would be judging. I spent many months training for that competition. It was never something I would have done on my own. When you know you are gonna be on the stage for critique by your favorite artist, YOU STEP UP. And no, I didn't win. BUT, I learned a lot! I know! I know! How cliche of me, but it is so true! Movement that seemed intimidating to me before began to be part of my own repertoire. I began to notice nuances in my dance that were not there before. If I didn't notice, others did. And by the way, y'all, all this training and preparing was done with three children under the age of FIVE running around. This was not an easy accomplishment. Training is hard. I may have a strong desire to dance in my blood, but I am a mama first. My family comes first. I push myself hard to excel, but I usually know realistically where I can expect myself to be in this dream. Honestly, sometimes, keeping things in perspective can be difficult. Staying balanced in my expectations while keeping myself motivated and challenged--not easy. Insert mad props to the husband and family HERE. As any practitioner of this art knows well, the other half (the I'm with the bellydancer half) is who really makes things possible. Encouragment. Time alone. Time to practice away from the kids. More encouragement. And many many many other things. ALL the things. Yes. So Competition #1 done. After I competed, Nefertiti of Nefertiti Bellydance encouraged me to join her professional development program. Hands down, best business decision I ever made. I highly recommend this program to anyone wanting to advance in this Art. Also, hands down the most difficult next year and a half of ---everything!? So I get home from comp all stoked for everything I am about to learn and all the cool things I JUST learned and I sit down for our first meeting and tell everyone what I just learned: Hi guys...I'm pregnant!! Yup. So for the next nine months, I taught my own classes, Mommied three young children, attended my own dance classes in the program--complete with homework, which included many sample videos on top of essay work. Just gonna say this: trying to record dance video in my house without evidence of children in it is NOT POSSIBLE. If I got through the numerous takes to get the perfect one and dared to think 'Oh! How nice! No screaming in the background this time!', I would notice the kid undies clearly visible on the floor in the video or some other similar loveliness. I believe the only class I missed during that time was the week I gave birth! For the next nine months all the students in our group were gearing up for the Jewels of the Orient Bellydance and Wellness Festival Performances. Jewels is Nefertiti's creation and her students showcase a lot during this three day festival. I was scheduled to do three performances--a solo piece for critique and two group performances. The group pieces were particularly challenging because each of us tuned in to the group weekly from different parts of the country, so we could not rehearse together. We literally had five minutes right before the performance to do one run through. Time come, though, and I have to say we looked GOOD. That weekend was one of the proudest ever for me--good scores on my critique, good performances with my groupmates--all my hard work paid off. I felt as though my work was my personal best and I was proud to show it. Little Bee #4 was even there with my husband cheering me on. OK, no she was upstairs in our hotel room fighting sleep like most nights. Once again, Mr. Bellydancer was my cheerleader, my support system in every single way. Extra Daddy duty was really just the surface of all he did. Also... training for performances at a highly-attended Pro-Festival basically right after having a baby presents some very unique challenges of its own. On up that list is ......fitting into your costumes again! Yea...I sense an interesting topic for next time I feel like sacrificing a little sleep!
