The REAL 10 Golden Rules of Dance Class Ettiquette

 Early last year I posted a set of dance class etiquette rules I found on another bellydance website. I didn't add much detail or express my personal opinion on then, I simply put it out there for discussion. Quite a bit of discussion ensued on the Deep Roots Dance Facebook page, and then later it was brought up on Yip! Podcast as well, generating still more discussion.

What I didn't mention at the time was that I actually had seen the original page many years ago and posted it over on my troupe website at the time (inFusion Tribal), and it made some rounds back then. The original being a 1997 article by Miramar from Jareeda Magazine. I should also take this opportunity to mention that in the original post, the author's name appeared to be removed by me. I did not remove it; actually the site from which I took the edited rules had removed it--that was just cut and pasted verbatim. I felt this version as it was edited was thought-provoking and worthy of discussion.  

A classic interview with Paulette Rees-Denis

I wanted to share this interview/article from several years ago in which Paulette was interviewed by a local NW dancer, Oberon, on iShimmy.com


There was always a fateful connection for me with Paulette...a reason why I was drawn to her, that was not simply geographical proximity. And those who know me will see how much we speak with the same voice on so many issues. I have always been inspired by how she has found such articulate, positive ways to channel her passion for bellydance, and all the nuances of artistic ethics and community building. She has always been, and continues to be, a mentor to me on so many levels, and I loved re-visiting this article and be reminded again why I am so proud to call her my original tribal bellydance "Momma". I hope you enjoy it, too!

Improve your 'About' page

I recently undertook the challenge of re-writing my About page (or bio page, or whatever you want to call it). It's so hard! You want to be able to talk yourself up, and you want to sound professional, but you don't want to sound cold, egotistical, or bland. You want your page to sound as vibrant and interesting as you are, without being overly flowery! You want to get lots of information across, but you don't want to get so long you lose your readers. A tall order!

I wish I had seen this link back when I was writing it:
http://www.davidairey.com/improve-your-about-page/

Not only is the article itself helpful in giving you things to think about, it has many links to examples and further reading to inspire your copywriting.

Consider this a reminder to anyone reading that updating your bio page is important every year or so, to make sure that the content and language is fresh and representative of who you are and what you currently do/have done recently. Don't hesitate to take on something as simple as changing a few lines of your current copy, all the way up to scrapping it and writing it all from the ground up. The latter is what I did, and it felt good to revisit my experiences and qualifications, and really write it again in a language and tone that is very "me" today.