Sometimes I think I overdo things just a bit. My schedule is so full that my only "downtime" is when I sit to write my next to-do list! I can't help it. There are so many amazing aspects to belly dance: performances, rehearsals, creating new movement and choreography, the music, collaboration, teaching classes, workshops, traveling... What underlies it all is sharing experiences, laughs, inspiration and creativity. My motivation for sponsoring Suhaila Salimpour and bringing her to Austin is so that other dancers can share in the experience of the inspirational impact that Suhaila wields. I've traveled to California too many times to count to have that experience myself, and love to share the passion that I have for Suhaila's format with other dancers that are open to the experience. So, Suhaila will be here at the end of March, and I'm sure that we will all walk away at the end of the weekend with strengthened friendships and a renewed sense of motivation on some aspect of the dance personal to each of us.
I'm looking forward to contributing to the belly dance community in ways this year that I hadn't expected. Some of you may already know that I am "accepting the torch" from Bahaia as sponsor of the annual Austin Belly Dance Convention in June. Am I over doing it? This is the year that I am scheduled to test for Level 4 in Suhaila's format, which means about 10 months of projects, performances and rehearsals. Working a full time day job to boot, this really is enough to keep the schedule mega-full. I can't help it! The Austin Belly Dance Convention (ABDC) is a chance to facilitate a professional endeavor that brings dancers together for inspiration.
Regardless of how crazy I let my schedule get, I am constantly reminded of reasons that I love this dance form, and that keeps me going and going.
