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  • Iraqi Kawleeya dance
    Recently, I have become aware of a particular form of Middle Eastern dance from Iraq called Kawleeya. There are videos of it on YouTube performed by Daila, who is an international award winner professional belly dancer based in the Czech Republic. You can see an example below.


    When I first saw one of these videos, I was amazed. Daila is a great bellydancer and moves in ways that seem almost humanly impossible! As for the Kawleeya dance, it seems to be characterised by the shoulder shimmies and the head rolls and energetic hair flipping. Kawleeya are a gypsy group in Iraq and Kawleeya literally means Gipsy. An Iraqi friend of mine, Jeanan, told me that, before the war, Kawleeya was a disgraceful dance. It was only performed by common people, by gypsies or by prostitutes (many of which in Iraq were Kawleeya), hence the bad reputation of this dance.

    However, as my friend tells me, after the war things have changed and the gypsies rose to become artists that represented Iraq. Now, all Iraqi women, according to my friend, want to dance like this and dance the Kawleeya way at social events. Personally, I like this dance and I think it is beautiful to watch, even though I would never attempt the energetic hair flipping for fear of injuring my neck :)

    I have posted one of Daila?s Kawleeya performances above. Everybody I spoke to agrees that Daila is an accomplished dancer; however, some people think that the way she performs is not authentic. I personally like the way Daila dances, but she is a professional belly dancer based in Europe, hence she performs for the stage and her dance may be influenced by various styles she is accomplished in. The way Kawleeya people perform maybe be a bit different, but I have never had the chance to see them dance so I cannot tell.
    Please feel free to comment with your opinions and give some information in case you know more about Kawleeya.



  • Tips on marketing your belly dance classes on the internet
    If you have just set up a belly dancing class, then the key to success is a high attendance. In today's technical age, one of the best ways to market a club or class is to do it online. There are websites and forums all over the internet, that are an ideal place to market your class such as Gumtree, and provide you to reach a potentially large audience.

    Fitness and sports clubs have also found that a good way of attracting new attendees is to collaborate with local universities. Students are also willing to try something new, so it worth considering advertising your class on their site, or within the union, Many student unions rent out their rooms for hire to sport classes, and by doing so and advertising online, you can get information on your class to a large, youthful audience.

    On top of that, social media is a fantastic way to market your class. Facebook, Twitter and MySpace are ideal ways to advertise local belly dancing classes for zero cost and reaching large numbers of people. Not just that, but if people join your class' Facebook group, their friends might become curious and do the same thing.

    There are so many ways to market yourself online, that you no longer need to just have a website (of course this helps) with basic contact details on. Just make sure your site is optimised to rank for terms such as '(name of city) belly dancing class' and other popular terms.

    Advertising your local belly dance classes on class directories such as on World Belly Dance or Belly Dance Org can also be a great and very inexpensive option.


  • Tips on starting your own belly dance event
    If you are looking to start your own belly dancing event, then there are things to take into consideration. Firstly, a Hafla, or a Middle East dance party, can take many forms from an educational seminar to a 'disco', so make sure you know what kind of event you wish to organise.

    Once you know that, you can start source a venue and everything else you need for the party, including food, drink and entertainment. Many Halfas are held during the Festive period as people are already in the mood for a party, and as such a belly dancing party is incredibly popular. Many belly dancing clubs use them as way to raise funds for equipment or for a local charity.

    Like any party or event, you need to make sure you have the numbers to make it worth your while, so as well as pupils attending, encourage them to bring friends and loved ones. After all, you may find many of them enjoy it so much, they might become frequent attendees at the classes.

    The venue is always the hardest thing to choose, as you need it large enough for the attendees, but such hired areas often have a cost. Doing it at your home or a friend's will result in problems, so it is worth biting the bullet and hiring somewhere for minimal fuss.

    Either way, once all that is organised, you can sort decorations, food, invitations and entertainment. It is guaranteed to be a fantastic evening, so make sure you take care organising it.


  • Tips on teaching dance safely
    If you are planning on teaching or organising a dance club, then there are several things you need to remember. Firstly, if you are the teacher, you are responsible for your pupils so you need to make sure that the venue has at least a basic first aid kit to look after any minor injuries. Depending on the type of dance that you are teaching, it may be worth looking into getting Teaching danceinsurance cover for your classes. More strenuous types of dancing could potentially lead to injury, so to protect yourself and your pupils, consider getting some form of insurance cover.

    As the teacher however, you will realise that injuries only occur through carelessness or through a lack of a proper warm up. Dance can be trying on the body, especially if it is unused to it, so it is important to warm up your pupils through a series of exercises in order to get the blood pumping and the muscles readLinky. This can be done through a series of basic stretches, or simple cardio exercises like star jumps or light jogging.

    Next is ensuring your pupils are doing the various techniques correctly. This can be done by pairing your pupils up, so they have someone to train with as well as performing the various techniques yourself so your pupils know what they are meant to do and the correct way to do it.

    The most important thing to remember is before teaching new pupils, discover whether they have any conditions that might cause problems in the future, such as back problems. That way you can make sure that they don't over-exert themselves. Find more tips on teaching belly dance and other forms of dance with some free guides on world belly dance. Also interested in belly dance holidays in Egypt? Looking for tips on learning belly dance to get started?


  • Tips on finding a good Venue for Teaching Belly Dance
    If you are looking to lead a belly dancing club or gathering, then the most important thing you need is a venue. Traditionally town halls, social clubs and health centres all rent out rooms to dance classes and clubs, so that is a good place to start.

    Almost all of these venues will charge some sort of rental fee for your use of the room, but premium sports clubs are no doubt going to charge the Dance venuesmost, however some may be willing to do some sort of deal where if you book in advance for a set number of weeks, they will offer a discount. Of course, this is all dependant on the club and isn't true for every sport centre.

    Church halls and social clubs are also good, essentially anywhere with a large amount of room where you can spread your pupils out for the dance classes and lessons. Most of these venues will have wooden floors which can be easily swept in order to be kept clean, and are easy to dance and train on.

    Alternatively, you can use the internet to see where other dance classes in your area go to train. Major cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham all have a number of dance centres that are routinely rented out by assorted clubs for competitions and classes. If you are unable to find a venue for yourself, sharing one with other classes is also an option. It is also a good bet that they will have facilities that will also be useful for your dance class, such as toilets and a kitchen.

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