A Dancer's Perspective by Yasmin

I gladly take any opportunity I can to brag about the Sabaya dancers. I could go on about each of the dancer's unique styles, personalities and dance achievements but because of a timely event happening this month for Stacey Lizette, I offer up an exclusive snapshot of her dedication to the art form.

On Wednesday, April 8, Stacey Lizette will be honored by the Women's Chamber of Commerce of Texas as a finalist for the 2008 Texas Blazing Star Award. She achieved this recognition through her double life as a certified IT Project Manager in the day and a bellydance leader in the evening and weekends. She has been an active member of the non-profit Austin Bellydance Association for the past 14 years, a member of Sabaya Bellydance Collective for the past 5 years, a dedicated student of Suhaila Salimpour for the past 9 years, a teacher for the past 4 years and has recently taken over the reigns as sponsor for the Austin Bellydance Convention, an annual event that brings dancers from across the US to Austin. These accumulated achievements have given her the opportunity to support various local communities by performing in support of charities and cultural events and through teaching women of all ages the power and fitness of Middle Eastern Dance.In all of her work, as an IT Project Manager, dancer, sponsor, and dance instructor, Stacey exercises the professional values of communication, prioritization, and positivity. She communicates to alleviate misperceptions and heighten awareness about the art form. She facilitates a positive attitude in herself and in others, which is especially important due to the demanding physical coordination and self-image challenges addressed in belly dance. By exemplifying these core philosophies, Stacey has become a role model and mentor for many dancers in the Austin community. I can attest to the fact that nearly every evening after work and most weekends, one can find Stacey either teaching, organizing dance events, working on costumes or rehearsing. In essence, her life is a delicate balance of two full time pursuits and I congratulate Stacey on her well-deserved recognition by the Women's Chamber of Commerce as a Texas Blazing Star finalist.

A Dancer's Perspective by Lily

In April, I am heading off to New Zealand again. This time, it's specifically for dance and for one week only. It feels like a dream... to be invited as the guest Interntional teacher for a national belly dance festival. I am still pinching myself to make sure this is really happening!

Currently, I am preparing to teach six tribal fusion style workshops and one advanced bellydance workshop to be taught in the span of three days. The topics of these workshops range from floorwork to technique to choreography. During the MEDANZ Festival (Middle Eastern Dance Association New Zealand), there will be other workshops presented by local teachers and a guest drum teacher from Australia. The Kiwis really know how to have fun because not only do they have a stage show but they also have a hafla as part of the 3-day festival.
Also, in April, I will be graduating from the 200-hour hatha yoga teacher training I started in September of 2008. The past 7 months have been an inspirational learning process. It's a very exciting time in my life right now... full of growth, change, and the art of movement. Thank you for being a part of it!

A Dancer's Perspective by Stacey Lizette

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.