Renew and refresh

Rejuvenate your dance by following one or more of the following:

- take some dance movements that are at home in your body and put them to new music.
Sometimes 'old' movements that are almost habit in your body or movements done specifically to one song can find new life when you put them to new or different music. Let the music be your cue and see if the music tells you to modify the moves to suit to the new tunes.

- make some new dance combinations or movements.
Put on a song that you simply LOVE and move to it without censoring yourself. See what phrases or movements are repeated throughout the song. Does the chorus beg two hip accents just before the singing starts? Is there that little bit at the beginning that needs you to shimmy to it?

- go back to basics.
Once we move onto a new level in classes or conquer that new movement that's being done, what is left? How about going back to re-introduce yourself to the basic hip, chest and arm movements? Learn to refine and isolate more, use fewer muscles - every time you repeat a movement, make it even more 'perfect'. Go slowly and thoroughly...

- watch someone else dance.
Check out someone new on Youtube or borrow a new dvd from a friend and see what's new and exciting out there. Or, go the other way - check out some tried and established 'greats'. Look for Samia Gamal, Tahia Carioca, Nagwa Fuad, Nadia Gamal, Naima Akef, Souhair Zaki...

- check out some folklore.
Find out where what we know as belly dance came from. Try Tanoura, or some male dancing (not trained dancers, but just men dancing who were caught on tape...), celebratory dancing, wedding dancing.