Dancers....

I encourage all belly dancers and wanna be belly dancers to read this blog post, it is so true! http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

I know in Wild Sky Tribal we have some added on truths too. In WST, for performances, we dance with the WST musicians, yes, they are our musicians! but working with live music opens a whole different can of worms that dancers are usually not used to.

While the musicians can stop and start over, doing it 50 times can be tiring the folks playing, so you may only have a few times to get it right while dancing to the music.

Sometimes musicians forget repeats, or where a particular ending is! If you are an ATS dancer, just roll with it, you never know what fun you can get yourself into! It might be an issue if you have to choreograph.

You all might not be on the same wavelength... don't forget to communicate, and be respectful of each other, Magic can happen when dancer and musician work together, and yes, both sides have to compromise!

You don't get to see Dancers with real live musicians much any more, when you do see them, tip well, it's a dying way to see a belly dance show.

Well I hope you liked the post, cheers!

The new place!

After a great, almost 6 months at Dance Invasion Center for Dance, I am sooo happy I could almost cry! The dream that has been Wild Sky Studio is finally tangible! Miss Karla, the owner are the Massage Therapy Wellness center in Pantego has taken me and my crazy dream, and ever growing Tribe of people and given us a home! A false wall had to be demolished, painting and mirrors needed to be put up, but it's December 22nd, and all of that is done. I even have some pretties up too!
We will be so ready to go on Januaray 8th!~

Fall classes start on the 14th!

This Sunday, starts all the fun fall tribal classes! we have something for every one!
4pm to 5pm is Intro to Tribal Belly Dance, perfect for the first time dancers to Tribal Belly Dance! no experience necessary!

5pm to 6pm is our Beginners class, great for those who have already had some belly dance experience, or have attended the Intro to Tribal Belly Dance class.

6pm to 7pm is our already popular Crones class for our dancing sisters 45 years and older. This is also an intro based class, no experience necessary.

Intro class is 40 per month or $12 per class
Beginner class $65 for 8 week series or $40 per month
Crones Class $40 per month.

So Grab a Friend, and come and get fit, and meet some new friends while learning Tribal Belly Dance!

please check out www.wildskystudio.net for more information!

the Meetup, a community outreach, and some primer events

Tribal Belly Dance is not just the dance itself, it's about the community of women dancing together, the sisterhood, the fun! So If you have been lurking on this group for sometime, or have recently joined, we've got some great primer events to help introduce you to Tribal belly dance and all the amazing aspects of Tribal!

On August 10th at 7pm, I will be hosting Tribal Talk! a discussion group at casa Wunder.

The topic for this discussion will be Tribal Belly Dance, what is it? what are the different styles within Tribal, and how does it differ from our sparkly sisters who dance Cabaret style belly dance. Learn why Tribal is seeing an increase in interest, and how to get involved in your Tribal Community.

there will be light refreshment and Tea! both hot and cold.



On August 13th myself and my sisters from WST will be shimmying our way to joy at a community drum jam that is put on by our friends at Feed your Head. This is another great way to meet us, and get a feel for Tribal Belly Dance, what it looks like, and while it is not a class, participate in the group dancing! There are a lot of people who come to this, and this is the most fun you will have on a Saturday night!



All of this leads up to the start of our fall class schedule starting on August 14th, yep you got it a Sunday! so if you have trouble with weekday nights, come on out on a weekend!

Classes are $40 per month or $12 drop in rate. and also stay tuned for a groupon for classes with me! you may also view class as well, please let me know if that is what you would like to do.

Our classes are:

Intro to Tribal belly Dance 4 to 5pm

Beginners Tribal Belly Dance 5 to 6pm

and our popular Crones Class from 6 to 7pm

followed by Wild Sky Tribal Practice from 8 to 10pm



all of these events are on our events calendar, and you can RSVP for them, I encourage you to do so! Remember, for all those who want to "try it out" or just get a feel for what Tribal is all about, join us for these events! Also, if you say you can't do it, and don't try, then you are not doing it. I know each and every one of you has the courage inside to come and try something different, something fun, and something life changing. I encourage you to make time, and give it a go!

I hope to see my old sisters in dance soon, and meet my new sisters in dance soon!

Heidi W.

Great short documentary on Tribal Belly Dance

Henna @ Life in Deep Ellum

I did Henna last night at Life in Deep Ellum presents a community barbecue. As always the Life in Deep Ellum events are just the right size, relaxed and lots of fun! I enjoyed the Tree Yoga demo, while creating some awesome art on folks. Here is a pic from last nights festivities!

I'll be out at the same location next Saturday night from 8pm to 12am as one of the featured artists at the Girl Show! Come on out and hang out in my Henna Tent, get some groovy Body art, and check out some of the most talented female artists in the DFW area! I encourage you to get your tickets ahead of time at Art Love Magic it is going to be an amazing show, don't miss out!

ok... Zumba looks fun, but....

So after setting a setting a goal of attempting to increase my student population, I have been investigating the "dance" craze Zumba. So at first look, it looks like a fired up, and fun aerobics class, nothing more. Taking a closer look, it seems that zumba instructors are attempting to "do" belly dance moves in these classes. They really aren't, they aren't even getting close to traditional Belly Dance, let alone anything in the Tribal realm.
Let me say, these moves that are being done, are being done with no attention to posture, and any potential student doing that could be hurt badly. Posture is so important, and it seems to be there is no thought given to that, and that scares me. Belly dance moves take time and practice to learn, don't rush it! In short, if you want to learn how to Belly Dance, take a belly dance class, you will get more for your money.

(yes, I know some Zumba instructors, this is not a dis directed at those folks, I am more shocked at how zumba claims to be ethnic dances, but the ethnic dances aren't even done correctly, and how somebody could get hurt...)

Carry on...

$10 Drop in class, thursday!

Come on out and give Tribal Belly Dance a try! $10 drop in class this Thursday!

Belly Dance, a holistic approach to healing?

Soo I have a little saying that I mention to my students frequently; Shimmying is good for mind, body, and soul. Here is why...

Mind: Physical exercise promotes focus and calm, which can really help put any day into perspective. Exercise also releases endorphins that make you feel good. To top it all off, dancing in a group that promotes respect for others and to honor your body, does a lot to help ward off depression, and promote a positive self image due to higher self confidence.

Body: Belly Dancing is a form of exercise that has evolved from women dancing for thousands of years, so it is the perfect way to keep moving in joyous way. It keeps your heart strong, helps with weight maintenance, and promotes flexibility, and strength.

Soul: What a better way to celebrate being a woman, than creative and joyous movement with fellow women.

Many women choose to belly dance because they want to loose weight, I understand this, I really do being a plus size woman in a society where un-realistic expectations are often pushed upon it's populace. However we are also a society of instant gratification, where we want to see 20 pounds gone in a month. Because of this mind set, I see many women have a great deal of interest, and sign up for belly dance classes, but once they realize, that they will have to work, they can't even make it through four, one hour classes in a month. This is a sad reality, that I see every month.

However, if women could stick with this type of exercise, for 6 months or longer, they would be able to honor and respect their bodies, choosing to fuel their bodies with better food, and drink. Giving their bodies enough rest to think clearly, and just simply loving themselves for who they are, and what they are capable of. For one woman who may have started out as "wanting to loose weight to look good," 6 months later turned that goal into "wanting to loose weight so I can feel healthier, and live a long and beautiful life, because I love who I am."

It's pretty power stuff, truly, but that is how belly dance can be a holistic approach to healing our bodies, minds and soul.


On a side note, yes, I do teach Tribal Belly Dance, but I am also a woman who lives with bi-polar disorder, and Belly Dance has been very instrumental in my management of this mental disease.

Costumes and more costumes

I love to sew, many folks know that! but I have been able to get some mundane sewing tasks out of the way making room for some dance projects. new coin bra, rajasthani style choli, etc...
Plus, classes have a slow start, but I know they will be strong in a few months, take Belly Dance!

Concerning Ink

As many know I create quite a bit of Henna Body art on many willing canvases. This temporary ink, is a great choice for many folks, and really helps add a lot of detail to any tribal costume, especially a dancers hands, which can be very expressive, I know mine have acquired a reputation for that. When it comes to Tribal dancers, permanent Ink runs amuck! ( I love that!) I know that hopefully within the next month or two, I will be getting my first tattoo, A Nile Goddess holding a lotus. I am very excited to be getting some permanent ink!

Dance Invasion Dance Center Open House

Check out a pic from Nely that she took yesterday while at the open house of Dance Invasion dance center, this is the studio we will be using for our classes.
So yesterday from 1 to 5pm I hung out at the Dance invasion dance center, the new home for my all of my classes! I got to meet the new owner, Melanie Tyler, and she is a very cool gal. Melanie is super experienced, and shares many of my visions for dance. I will be teaching summer classes at Dance invasion dance center. they start on June 27th and each class will be Intro based, and a 4 week series, perfect for the absolute beginner. The class schedule is as follows:
Monday nights, 9pm to 10pm
Thursday nights, 8:45 to 9:45pm
and our Crones class designed for our older sisters,
Sundays from 6pm to 7pm

To sign up, please go toThe Arlington Tribal Belly Dance Meetup

Tribal Dance for LARPers

Well, I have finally done it! I have found a stable place to teach Tribal Belly Dance, taught there long enough to raise enough money to install mirrors at the center for proper teaching of Tribal Belly dance, and now I am super happy to announce the creation of a Tribal Belly Dance class for LARPers!
You see, I have been on somewhat of a hiatus from Amtgard, and now have the opportunity to get back into the swing of things, and I am teaching a class for LARPers starting on April 9th @ 7pm at the Arlington Yoga Center. This is exciting, plain and simple.