Egyptian Dance Academy/Hannan's Belly Dance Studio: Student Summer Gala 2012!

So tomorrow is my second summer Gala show performance! Wow. It's amazing how many things can happen and change in just one year.

A year ago I went on stage and performed after spending the previous year working very hard at 1) losing about 80lbs and getting myself healthy and strong, and 2) going from an Introductory level student to a Beginner level student at the Egyptian dance studio I had joined.

During the last year I have maintained my weight loss and fitness level, and continued to go to classes and move through the Continuing Beginner level despite dealing with some physical injuries, mental/emotional challenges, and financial set-backs. I also moved house.

I'm only performing in one class for the summer student Gala this year. Due to the various personal challenges and issues I've had to deal with, I had to drop down to just one class instead of doing two. It's really for the best. As it turned out, I didn't have the mental/emotional/physical energy to prepare for two different class choreographies.

Really, I've had a hard enough time getting ready for just one class choreography. When I'm feeling good and "up" emotionally, it's not so difficult to go to classes, go to the gym, and do all the right things that I know are good for me. But, when I'm struggling with depression and anxiety, it's all the harder to keep on making the right choices, and to keep the positive, productive activities going.

The thing that I've learned as I've gotten older, and more experienced dealing with my cyclical depressions is that whatever is going on inside my head, no matter how painful or difficult it might be to endure it, as long as I've got a good plan and I stick to it, and keep moving forward no matter how slowly, eventually I will have worked my way through the "storm" to the other side with everything intact and on track. The depression will not last forever. It will eventually subside. The sun will come out again.

So sometimes it's been a huge struggle just to make myself go to class. Many times I've told myself I was going to just quit dancing, asking myself, why bother, why do I do it, what is the point? The answer is that every time I do make myself go to class, no matter how bad I am feeling before I get there, I start to feel better as soon as the music starts and my (totally awesome) teacher begins to warm us up.

I'm not doing this to become famous, or to make it my career. Who am I kidding, I'm 45 going on 46 this year. I'm doing this because it makes my soul feel alive and happy. The sparkles on my hip scarf find their way into my spirit and brighten up my feelings and thoughts. Belly Dancing makes me smile on the inside, not just on the outside. It makes me feel feminine and graceful. It allows me to celebrate my femininity in a healthy, positive way. It allows me to connect with my fellow students, each of us women, sharing something in common despite our differences.

It helps me fight my depression - my depression which would isolate me in my own personal darkness if I allowed it to. Instead of withdrawing, I reach out. I offer to share my hip scarves to fellow students who don't have one in the right colour for the Gala. I share my phone number with any of my fellow students who think they might quit from nerves and need a pep talk to get them to the Gala on time. They need me, but they don't know that I need them just as much, if not more.

Every class I go to is a mini-win for me. Every Gala that I attend and perform at is a badge of honor and courage for me in an ongoing war inside myself. All anyone will ever see when they look at me up on stage tomorrow is a smiling face and a glittering hip scarf. They will see me having fun with my class for my 2 minutes in the spotlight. They will see that I am a student, a student who is still learning so much. Not all of my moves will be polished and perfect. I may goof up and not always be exactly in time with the other students. What they will not see is how much it took to get me back up there between one Gala to the next, or all that has gone on in between from one year ago to now.

Only I really know how much of a fight it's been - one that is so, so worth it for me personally.

I hope I get some good pictures out of this Gala. I loved the ones that the photographer took of me in the last one in November. If I like them, I'll be posting them. We are wearing pinky/purple this time around. That reminds me, I have to get my nails done today. I won't have time tomorrow...

Wish me luck! (Butterflies in my belly)...

New! Egyptian Dance Academy Teacher Portraits!

My Belly Dance Studio has just come out with some gorgeous new Teacher Portraits that they are calling "Belly Dance Trading Cards".


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4864543410556.8131068.1206377915&type=1

My favorites are of the teachers I study under, but then I am biased! I think they are all beautiful women, but not only that, they are all amazing dance teachers. They are skilled, and they are generous in their desire to pass on this intricate, challenging, supremely satisfying feminine artform. I am eternally grateful to all of my teachers, Katy, Oksana, Abigail, and Nada. Thank you ladies, from my heart and spirit.

Peri-Menopausal Athletic Training Challenges

I am finding that as my body goes through this hormonal change, that it really affects my ability to train in the gym, dance, etc. When I was experiencing bad PMS/heavy menses in my younger years, and I was as regular as clockwork, I would just take a break and let my body rest. I always knew it was just two to three days off max, then I'd be back in the gym again. Life was simple and predictable then. I didn't realize how good I had it.

Now I never know how late I'm going to be, and every day that I'm late feels like the day the my period is going to start. So, I go for days and days of backache, abdominal cramps, bloating and water retention, super-irritability/depression and mood swings, crazy itchy skin like spiders and ants are crawling all over it, hot flashes, and the level of pain that used to only occur when my period was imminent/already happening. It's really confusing and frustrating! Obviously I can't just keep taking day after day off, expecting the period to happen at any moment.

Today is my *fifth* late day feeling like my period is going to start at any moment. So I just said to heck with it, I'm going to train today no matter what! I went to the gym, did an hour of belly dance, and an hour and half weights, plus half an hour of stretching. I did just fine but I made sure to keep myself properly hydrated, and appropriately nourished (I make sure to Eat Clean all the way, every day!)

I ate a cored apple stuffed with TBSP natural unsweetened nut butter before training. Then I kept myself hydrated with lots of pure unsweetened coconut water the whole time I was working out. And right after training I ate three chopped up hard-boiled egg-whites mixed with fresh pico de gallo. Yum. About an hour after that I had a protein bar (Vega) (because I couldn't go straight home after working out - I had other stuff to do), and then when I finally got home I had about a cup to a cup and a half of steamed, lemon-juice spritzed, brussels sprouts and chunks of tamari-marinated super-firm tofu (organic). (I've developed a major craving for super-firm organic tofu the last little while...I find that I'm usually either cooking with tofu or with egg-whites for my protein).  I also have been drinking a lot of (organic, unsweetened) pomegranate juice. In the mornings I always have a cup of hot no-sugar-added soy milk (organic) in my espresso. I'm doing everything I can to get the natural-sourced phytoestrogen levels up in my body to balance out those dropping hormones.

My conclusion is, that if I allow the increasing unpredictability of my failing reproductive cycle to interfere with my athletic life, I am just never going to get anything done! If I take day after day after day off, week after week after week, it's only natural and predictable that I'm going to fall behind in my cardio, my muscle building routines, my dance practice, and my body-fat-percentage weight maintenance.

I've been reading up on how to naturally handle peri-menopause and menopause, and exercise is highly recommended. I guess that means I just have learn to work through the back pain and abdominal cramps no matter how bad I feel. If I don't push through the pain, I'm just going to fall apart and become a fat, miserable, menopausal old and wrinkly couch potato. Yuck. I sure don't want that! I want to stay as limber and strong as I possible can as I age.  I guess we'll see how that works out over time...

It sure would be interesting to read how other athletic women going through the same thing I'm going through handle things. I wonder if I'll find anything on the internet if I do a search.

I'm a Bombshell Butterfly!

Thanks to Princess Farhana and Devilla's brand new Bombshell DVD, at this June 2012 Egyptian Dance Academy's Gala, I know I'm going to emerge from my baby-belly makeup chrysalis, onto the stage, as a beautifully coloured Bombshell Butterfly!

While the Egyptian Dance Academy that I attend teaches authentic Egyptian belly
dance, it does not teach how to apply correct stage, nightclub, and photograph 
makeup. Therefore since Sept 2010 I've been fumbling along on my own, trying to figure out how to apply false eyelashes for the first time in my life, and exactly how much of 
what type of makeup is enough for each occasion. And, I figure I'm probably in good 
company along with many other fellow students of the beautiful art of Belly Dance. 




Since Princess Farhana and Devilla's Bombshell Makeup DVD came out this April 2012, I have learned everything and more than I have needed to know for the last two years about doing my own makeup for Belly Dance occasions. This is one impressive, comprehensive DVD set. 


The Two DVD's cover all the basics in just over 3 hours. Out of the 8 totally different
looks my personal favourites were the Classic Smokey Eye, the Cleopatra/Pharaonic
Look and The Arabic Eye. Although now that I know how to apply them all, the Silent 
Movie Star/Silver Screen look just might start oozing it's mercurial way into my makeup practices. Oh heck, I'll probably try them all at some point since they all look completely accessible thanks to this amazing DVD. 


Princess Farhana and Devilla make a great a great tag team duo. They switch back and forth in their presentations, showing different ways to achieve the same look. Between the two, they keep the pace and energy upbeat and flowing, and the material and presentation fresh and appealing.


I enjoyed their choice of bright pink sari fabric tenting, and their model's mostly all
black uniforms. I appreciated the introduction to building up one's makeup tool kit, 
suggestions for cheaper alternatives, and pointers on how to use each of them. 


I think this DVD set will appeal to nearly any student of belly dance because its inclusive of 
different ages, races and shapes of facial features. But most of all, instead of being 
afraid to experiment with makeup, and terrified of making mistakes, I now see makeup 
as something I can use to create new looks for myself, and to have fun doing it! I think others will find themselves responding the same way I did after watching the DVD set. I felt liberated, and freed to experiment and enjoy makeup in a brand new way, which I know will be practical and useful as both a performer and a photographic subject. 


I also look at my profile picture here taken at my dance school's last Nov 2011 Gala and I now see what I would do differently with my stage makeup in an entirely new way. Probably the very first thing I would do differently is that I would emphasize my eyebrows a lot more! I would stack my eyelashes, and even maybe go with an exotic eyelash with a bit of a peacock feather on the end. Everything would be bigger, bolder, and more dramatic. I can hardly wait to see the new photos that will be taken this June with the help of the Bombshell DVD. 


My thanks go out to Princess Farhana and Devilla for providing this baby belly with just
what she needed, and in plenty of time for me to practice for my upcoming Gala! This May I won't be practicing just dance choreography, but also how to apply my own personal best Bombshell makeup look for the stage. You ladies are fabulous and your DVD is perfect! Look out belly dance world, here comes a brand new Bombshell Butterfly! 


Get your Bombshell DVD from the Princess here! 

Who is Nada El Masriya?

Nada El Masriya is the owner of the Egyptian Dance Academy where I study Egyptian Belly Dance.
She is also the Artistic Director of the Egyptian Dance Company which will be performing The Egyptian Panorama, this Saturday March 31st at the Betty Oliphant Theatre.

People may wonder why did I, Miss Totally Average White Canadian Woman choose this particular dance academy to learn Egyptian dance.  

My first reason was that the owner of the Academy and the Artistic Director of the dance company is native Egyptian Nada El Masriya. 

To begin with, look at how gorgeous she is! Wow. No wonder I now work out so regularly at the gym, and stick to my "Eating Clean" diet. This lady provides me with some serious motivation. I know that I've got one tough act to follow with this Egyptian dance-diety at the helm of this school. 

I remember when I first started out with Introductory level classes at this academy thinking that Nada had the figure of a mythical Egyptian Queen and I would never, ever, be able to even imagine having a figure close to hers. I weighed a whopping 200lbs when I started out two years ago. Yes. I really did.  No, I no longer do. You can ask my doctor if you want to. And no, I don't believe Nada ever struggled with her weight like I did before I took up belly dancing. She's danced her whole life on a professional level, and it shows. 

You can go follow the link to Nada's complete bio site if you want to, or you can read my

much shorter summary of her det's here:

* Nada was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. 

* She grew up belly dancing as part of her culture. 

* She studied it seriously as part of her native culture's art and history and folklore in depth at the University of Cairo (while also earning a degree in Egyptian law). Wow! 

* She was a member of the Reda Troupe for several years. 

* She's been performing Egyptian dance professionally for well over 17 years to date. 

* She keeps up to date and current in the latest developments and styles in Egyptian dance

by constantly returning to Egypt, studying under the greats, and bringing them

to Canada as well (e.g.: She brought Randa Kamel to Toronto last year in 2011...Hello?! Rrrrranda!!!) 

* So Nada is the real deal folks. She's got "it" like nobody else here does. Her dance style is deeply experienced and soaked through with true training in authentic Egyptian history, tradition and folklore, yet it's also exciting, pulse-pounding and fresh, mesmerizing, subtle, complex, nuanced and incredibly intricate and elegant. Dr. George Sawa Phd, the respected Egyptian Musical Scholar from Alexandria has compared her dancing to the ever-golden Samia Gamal's. And, Fifi Abdou has called Nada "The Ambassador of Egyptian Dance in Canada". Now, if that's not high praise, and honestly-earned, I don't know what is. 

Maybe you haven't heard much about her yet. If you haven't, I think that needs to change. She's comparatively new to Canada,  so she is still one of Canada's "hidden jewels" (to borrow a recent phrase from someone who knows her personally). 

As a neophyte of only two years so far, I consider myself to be incredibly fortunate and blessed to be studying under Nada. I'm also hoping that people will start to realize and appreciate what an exquisite and rare treasure they have from Egypt sitting right here in the middle of Toronto waiting for them to see her shine. 

So here is your chance to come out and see not only Nada herself, but also some of the dancers that she has been training, and the most recent and revolutionary dance production that she has created for the stage, Egyptian Panorama 2012! 

What is the Egyptian Panorama - The Potential for Change!

The Egyptian Panorama is being billed as a: "Belly Dance Journey through Egypt at a Time of Change" 

To translate this into everyday-average-people terms, this means that the production is a story that is narrated and enacted through dance and song.  The main theme is the by-now-famous "Egyptian Spring".  Hopefully you have been following the recent and ongoing Middle Eastern revolution in the media and online and are well aware of exactly how world-rocking and not just hip-shaking this story is. 

I don't know about you, but it strikes me that having a cast of all women performing this story makes it all the more poignant and powerful. 

But wait you say, these women don't look like the belly dancers I see in my favourite Greek/Turkish/Moroccan/Egyptian restaurant...

Well that's because this production isn't just about a bunch of women's "gyrating hips" as the popular press so often loves to grind out over and over (Le Grande Sigh), and which makes so many true Middle Eastern Dance artists cringe when they read it (again and again and again, infinitum, sort of like a figure 8...) 

No. It has a real message, a meaning and a story to tell (but more about that in detail later). 

It is true that it is "Magical * Revolutionary * Sensational"!  - just like the professional publicity bills say.

That sounds pretty exciting doesn't it? I think so. But then perhaps I'm biased because I get to actually study under some of the artists in The Egyptian Dance Company, and as a result I think they are pretty amazing. As a student of just two years so far, I'm starting to get some sense of how many years, how many classes, how many extra workshops, how many extra days and nights of practice, rehearsal, passion, dedication, sweat and study, (and personal financial expense) actually goes into learning this incredibly intricate and ancient art of dance. To take it up for fun and fitness is one thing, but to become a serious professional is a  majorly impressive commitment, commanding my sober and awe-filled respect. 


These are the hard-working dancers of the Egyptian Dance Company:

You can read their individual bios here. 

The Egyptian Panorama that they will be performing in, is in the real tradition of Egyptian dance -- meaning that it includes authentic Egyptian dance, theatre, and singing. There is true human story and real pathos  that any human being can relate to, connect to and take seriously. An evening with the Egyptian Panorama is an evening of true entertainment performance, not something flighty and easily dismissed with the toss of a few flimsy, gold-veneered coins.  

This is not the typical belly dancing that you can see in just any club or restaurant, and it doesn't conform to any common, superficial stereotypes. While it's rooted in ancient traditional authenticity, it's not stuck on replay on scratched vinyl way back in the past. This latest production is perched right on the breaking edge of the future wave of Egyptian belly dance as it spills out across the world, bringing an irresistable surge of change along in its wake this spring 2012. 

Rise up from the roots of all humanity! Take action from the core! Feel renewed, energized,  inspired and transformed by the latest surge in passionate, artistic, revolution in belly dance innovation right here in Toronto on March 31st at the Betty Oliphant Theatre! 

I think Egyptians, Egyptian-Canadians, and Canadians from all walks of life and all origins should be proud and excited to have such an amazing artistic and cultural event happening right here in Toronto, Canada this spring. I believe that its message is to give hope to all humans that all of us can make positive change happen, if we truly want it. 


For me personally, this message of hope and change resonates powerfully. It is in great part due to my involvement with this studio, and it's positive influence that I was able to lose 80lbs, build lean muscle, tone and flexibility, heal damage done to my sense of self-esteem as a feminine being, reduce anti-depressants I was prescribed, and begin to come back from the depths of a terrible depression. I can see the proof within myself and my own life, that great change is possible when you work with people who truly care and support you. If one belly dance studio can help change one person's life, what else can it do for others? 

Details Follow: 

March 31, 2012

Betty Oliphant Theatre 400 Jarvis Street Toronto tickets: $30 to $45

Phone: 416-462-3498

Email: egyptiandanceacademy@gmail.com

To buy tickets online: http://hannandance.com/store/index.php?cPath=27 

To see the theatre seating plan: http://www.discoverbellydance.com/Seating.html

I can hardly wait to see the dance company wow the audience this Saturday, March 31st at the Betty Oliphant Theatre, here in Toronto! 

Nada and Layali El Sharq talking about Egyptian Panorama coming March 31, 2012!

Here is a link to a recent interview Nada, the owner of the dance academy I study at did with Rogers TV. She does a little demo of how to do some simple moves with the interviewers. 


She and the live band Layali El Sharq do a very brief and spirited Baladi demo. 
Nada also talks about the upcoming production Egyptian Panorama here in Toronto. I can't believe it's only this Saturday, March 31st! Time is really flying! If I'm feeling butterflies, I can only imagine what the performers are feeling!