For those of you who have never taken a dance class before, or even danced before...you may be thinking to yourself - Well...whats so good about it? Why might dance be better for you/your children than Air Cadets, Cooking Class, Gymnastics, Soccer etc. Well, honestly I could talk for a few days. However I will leave you with a little blog post to ponder on..

In my experience of dance it does so much more than give you dance steps. Over time you suddenly discover that a whole dance staircase of life has been built! In my earlier years, I was honestly afraid to dance, even with my friends, afraid to allow people to see ME. Vulnerable. When I started Bellydancing, it freed me, shaped me, defined me, undefined me, instilled self acceptance & confidence, inspired, empowered. It has also taken me to places that I would never have been able to go and experience without dance - internally and externally.

Not like in a Military kinda way, but in a soft loving and nurturing way - dancing has given me a greater understanding of discipline, problem solving, socialisation, self trust, self love, confidence, team importance. Dance has given me the ultimate gift of accepting vulnerability, accepting myself. 

Dance provides these experiences because dance is creative. 
-What does creative mean? What does getting creative do?

Creativity is: Love, inspiring, change, adaption, transitioning, vulnerability, promotes change and growth, creates 'something' from 'nothing', educes emotion, open mindedness, allows/accepts emotion & public display of emotion, forming yourself into a physical 'thing'. Creativity is love, love is life and life is a Dance. 
​This is where dance becomes even more exciting! Dance is literally a gateway to self knowledge. As you dance, you present yourself. You are presenting the emotion you feel to a particular piece of music. Whether you have an audience or not, you are conveying yourself.  You are allowing yourself and onlookers to witness your personality, witness you. This is very empowering.
So dance does not only offer great fitness, heath and life skills, it also offers a gateway to self-discovery and knowing yourself on deeper level. And of course this is very important for great quality of life and success in life. 

And..this of course is why I teach dance. I wish to share this will everyone!

If you liked what you read, feel free to share with your loved ones for a thought provoking read as well. 

With love, 
Marta x

 So I had just moved to Perth and I thought I would jump on Facebook to see what groovy Bellydance events were happening to get amongst. I was scrolling through some events and some details for ‘Journey Along the Silk Road’ popped up. I saw the awesome pics and fell in love, I had heard of the Bellyqueens before, and I put them in my little ‘sometime in the future’ section of mind... So when I saw that Michelle Ridesdale was bringing them to Australia I got so excited! I had to be apart of it. When I realised it wasn’t just workshops it was also the opportunity to learn their choreographies and be apart of their dance production I knew then I had to be a part of it. SO COOL.

I had already missed one practice but that didn’t hinder my experience. We used Google sheets to share all the info on which cast member was doing what, what to wear for costuming and also had access to all the tutorial videos for each dance. I started learning the choreographies as soon as I gained access to them.  This was such a different experience for me and many other Perth dancers. We are all used to being in the studio and learning technique and chories in a very hands on format. Although it took some time to adjust, I found it very good. I was able to whip my laptop or phone at any time I had a spare moment....at home, out in the park, waiting in a line somewhere. It also allowed me to study the movements at my own pace. But of course, getting into the studio at the end of the week and realising many of the cast had different views of the choreo became a funny challenge.

So then came the time for the Bellyqueens to arrive and I think we were all blown away by the amazing weekend of workshops. After the workshops, it came the time for the week long residency. Every day 9AM-6PM we were practicing the chores, sewing little odds and ends, ensuring everything was ready for the big shows!

I worked so hard to learn some of the pieces and also the persona which we had to take on within the performances but I did not get all the ones I wanted. However, for the peices I did get into, I practiced so hard every day. So hard infact that, eventually my old back injury hard flared up and I wasn’t able to practice any more. I had to make a hard decision – keep dancing but risk injuring my back permanently or step back and let myself heal. Hopefully to perform in the very last show.

So, of course I wanted desperately to keep dancing with the aid of frequent massages, drugs and trips to the physio but I made a very mature choice (announced by some of my dance sisters) to rest my back and just enjoy the production from a seated position. I still practiced the dances in my mind and watched all the rehearsals. The Bellyqueens were very supportive and understanding. I applaud them for this. As well as my fellow Perth cast, as this would have been a distraction to learn new positions or have one body out of the performance, not to mention all the other added wonderful stresses a show like this creates. Although on opening night in Subiaco, everyone  was so fantastic!
I sat in the audience transfixed. Such a fantastic experience to have been backstage and engrossed in all the learning and the immense download of information and FUN. But also to witness this incredible production unfold on stage. Very amazing.
After a few days of rest my back was a little better and I was able to perform in the very last show in Mandurah. Fantastic atmosphere! I am so blessed that the Bellyqueens & the Perth cast were happy for me to join in for the last show. Anyone considering sponsoring the Bellyqueens or being apart of The Journey Along the Silk Road should not delay and book now, its an amazing experience which I will keep forever.

BIG shout out to the Bellyqueens, Michelle Ridsdale, Moya Harvey, Grace Chen (friend and travel buddy), as well as all the Perth Cast for being so welcoming! YOU ROCK!

<3 Marta x

If you enjoyed reading this, please give a like or comment.

A local Photographer in my home town, Maryborough Qld, conducted a series of stories told by young Australians for the ABC called 'I am 18'.
I felt obliged to share my passion and hopefully, create awareness and inspire some young Australians. Here is a little piece of me, hope you enjoy.

The way I see it, it seems in our small community in the Fraser Coast, especially Maryborough, there aren't many opportunities to grab. 
But if you're ready and eager to find/create your own and work for it, then there are plenty. 
Setting up my business was quite enjoyable and everything seemed like it was meant to be. I picked a name for my dance school Fraser Coast BellyDance, registered an ABN, sourced a place to hold my classes, bought insurance and off I went (as well as eleven years of dancing to build the knowledge allowing me to create a dance school). 
My experiences and my mother and father have taught me to never give up. Life is a process.  If you want it, you can achieve it.
Secret is you just need the passion. Also, don't let the bastards grind you down.
Most important things to me right now is learning: growing and expanding my knowledge of all the things I'm passionate about and find new things to become passionate about. 
Travel. I want to explore and find out just how the world is, being part of the new generation of adults, and realising how the world is, in some cases, terrifying.
I do my part every day to 'be the change I want to see in the world' but it feels like its not enough sometimes. I think about it a lot and it doesn't seem like others do.  It's such a burden.  It feels like I literally carry the weight of the earth's problems on my shoulders! 

There is so much that I could say but I don't know where to start.
Advice to others my age would be to find what you love and do it for the rest of your life! 
Photo: Adam Marlow

You can find other stories from Australians here:
https://open.abc.net.au/explore/83684

An article from 2014,
By Robyne Currel,
Fraser Coast QLD
http://www.frasercoastchronicle.com.au/news/glittering-festival-has-belly-dancer-inspired/2350924/