My best bellydance moment......
the first time I realized I didn't have stage fright complete with dry mouth, sweaty palms and that *omg, what am I doing* sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I still get nervous 'cause I want to do a good job - but it's not the blind-panic type of nervous.

:D :D :D

I have a few, but the first one to pop into my head was a particular drum solo with a live drummer. It was improv on both parts. We were so in tune with each other it felt like I was playing the drum with my movements and later on he told me he had felt similarly. It was one of the most intense and intimate moments of my life and it was in front of a full audience! It was exhilarating and wonderful.

Second place would have to be the time I was mobbed by a group of six year old girls who were in the audience at a benefit show. They all wanted my autograph! hee hee. :o)

When I got told by the teacher giving the workshop that when I'm in her area, let her know and if she has something going on, I'm welcome to dance at it!!!!!!! That just made my day.

When a belly dancer from out of our area came up to me and complimented me because she had heard belly dancers from other groups in our area comment that I was gracious and always willing to work with the other groups. She said that to see four seperate groups of belly dancers in one small area work so hard to accomodate one another was a rare thing. I was truly humbled by it, and see it as a testiment of all our hard work and graciousness...not just my own.

My other moment was when I was a baby baby belly dancer (maybe 6 months or so in the making) and someone else came up to me and geniunely complimented my isolations during a student dance. It was my first student performance. I was very pleased.

Once or twice in class I've made the jump from focussing on learning the moves and getting frusterated with myself to just having fun and enjoying the movements, I love that feeling!

Best belly dance moment ever....hmmm, well, I am not nearly as experienced in performing as many of you are, but I can actually think of several that stand out in my mind that really made me feel great. One was after I had performed with the troupe at a festival in Half Moon Bay, and I was immediately approached by a man from the audience. He came up and said that he and his wife were having a debate-- he was saying that he thought I had had a lifetime of jazz dance, and his wife was saying I had had a lifetime of ballet. He then asked, "Which is it?" I said neither, actually, although I had taken only a few ballet classes when I was very young, but that was it. I said that I had been a gymnast for about four years, but again, that was years ago. Belly dance was the first dance I had ever really studied in depth. Needless to say, I was quite flattered!

The other time was after I had danced at a Persian restaurant with my teacher and a fellow student, and it was only my second time ever performing. My teacher was a regular dancer at this place, and she told me that the owner of the restaurant had liked me, and wanted me to come and dance there regularly. I didn't take the job offer because I was too insecure, and didn't feel ready yet. (Looking back, I kinda' think I was nuts 'cuz it would have been great experience, but oh well.) Those were two moments that really made me feel like I was really coming along as a belly dancer.

One of my favorite moments was after a performance ( it was a slow taqsim number), when a woman in the audience came up to me and told me that my performance so moved her ( in a good way) that she had tears in her eyes. It was a wonderful feeling to know that I had touched even one person through dancing.

When a bunch of us went out of town for a workshop, our Friday dinner was at a restaurant where one of the girls dances regularly. She had all of us get up and dance with her. One customer came by and told me that she could tell I had been dancing for a while and she enjoyed it. Me, 53 and fat, and my very first time just improving cause it terrifies me. Made me feel so good.

I had what I refer to as a "rock star moment" a few years ago at a Canada Day celebration.

The school I was with at the time had a time slot on the main stage and I had two solo spots to give the rest of the girls time to change between their group performances. Crowd was big, and having a good time, but there was one small group of people waaaaay in the back that were getting especially loud and enthusiastic during some of our pieces. Mid way through my second solo which was to some really snappy Arabic tune, this young man comes dancing alll the way up the aisle from the back with a toddler in his arms. When he reached the stage he reached his arms waay up

and handed me the baby.

Who had the biggest, sweetest brown eyes.

So I danced the rest of my solo as a duet, with Dad providing extra entertainment out in the crowd still dancing up a storm. :0)

Duet concluded and I handed the gentleman back his son.

I found out almost a month after the show that the young man is a member of the local and very small Arabic community here. He's also normally an extremely reserved person(!) I took it as a huge compliment.

I still refer to it as the 'Drive by Baby' incident.

That same show another woman from that same group was inspired to pop up on stage and dance with my friend during her solo choreography. I think we picked *really* good music that day. :0)

One time at class, our teacher put on some music & said you have 10 minutes to come up with a 2 minute solo which must include these particular moves. So as I started to try to put something together I can see everyone, including my 11 year old, working on theirs also. Then they would practice it over & over. I couldn't for the life of me remember what I had just done. I'd try it again & still couldn't remember what I did so I could practice it as a routine. I got very frustrated. Time was up, no more practice. One by one we got up to perform our routine. But when it came to my turn I didn't have anything planned. So swallowing my nerves, I just winged it. Yep, total improv. I didn't think I had done very well. After everyone (there were 6 or 7 of us in class) was done, we each voted for our favorite performance. AND I WON!!!! I was so shocked. So I got to choose a prize - I chose a CD mix of BD music the teacher had put together. It was a very exciting moment & made me feel as if I'm not as bad a dancer as I feel I am.

One was when I danced my first solo improv at a hafla and a couple of ladies from the audience came up to me and said that I was such a beautiful dancer.

Another was a sister BBBD said that I inspired her to be happy with her body and dance. I think this is my best moment ever! If I can help someone do what they love and not let body image get in the way, then I am happy.

I took a break from dancing for three years, Ive been back for a year and a half, and I know I have a lot to work on, I can be awkward and uptight and Im terrible with my arms and posture. Last year I took a workshop from a well known belly dancer and at some point she told me, "Your hips are attacking the world!" I cant remember what form of dance we were doing but it did not call for lotsa hip movement I guess. I know now she wasnt saying it to be mean though it felt like it at the time. I cant help it, Ive got lotsa hips!!!

So I did feel very insecure about that for a while but when I got to performing more I had several people comment on how they wish they could move their hips like me! Just two weekends ago after performing at a festival I had a girl tell me she wish she had hips and could move them like I do! And then she said she thought I was the best dancer of the group (which as good as it feels I know its not true I dance with some amazingly talented ladies and I have a lot of catching up to do with them!) but it still feels soo good when people take the time and tell you that they liked your dancing!

I have a Canada Day one too, actually from yesterday.
I know so many of us struggle with people assuming we're strippers, but what we do is actually family appropriate. We don't struggle as much with that up here, but we had a small breakthrough on that front. We heard that we were going to be dancing for the Multicultural celebration and on stage at 4 pm. No big, there were many groups dancing, and I was thinking it's a bit late for some kids being in the sun all day and that. It seemed like the usual. What they didn't tell us and I found out when we arrived at the venue is that they put us on right after Fred Penner. I was so excited!!! They actually slotted bellydancers after a renouned children's performer (he's been a children's performer for over 25 years and part of many people's childhood in Canada from his show Fred Penner's Place). Plus, I got to meet the man I watched so much as a kid. He's really nice, loves kids, and hugs you like he means it :)

I was dancing in on an outdoor stage up north. lots of people in the audiance. I came out and was dancing away... and the audiance just seemed "zombified" I was trying to get a reaction [only a very few were dancers] .. then I see this little girl - she is probably 3 standing in the middle isle. She is standing there, blanket in hand - thumb in motuh.. just watching. So I worked my way to the side, down the steps and up the isle.. as I approached I change levels.. worked down to hers and proceeded to givve her, her very own show. she seemed to be the most into it anywway ! There was a film crew there, they caught the whole thing [it was cute] .. so after awhile the crowd started to get into it and the rest of the set went better.
The look in her eyes is something I will never forget.. there was complete AMAZEMENT.

my very first dance class was followed by my very first hafla. i'd been dancing on my own for a while (with some interruptions) and i had no idea there was going to be a tea party and dancing from several schools in the area after the class. there were a bunch of people who frequented the yoga studio it was at, their friends and family. anyway, there was a bunch of zagahreeting, and this one girl- still a baby- was making screams in appreciation and it was really cute.
anyway, there was open dance during the intermission and at the end, and at the end there was a girl, maybe 7 years old?, who was looking and sortta trying to move like the dancers. i danced next to her and "taught" her some moves "ok, try twisting" "big circle" and it was a lot of fun, i think she had fun. she wasn't really isolating or anything, but she was having fun, so that is what was important. ^_^