2024

We are approaching May and I have only just realised that once again I have failed to update my shinnanigans so far!

So, just what HAVE I been up to?

In February I was approached to teach some residents at Galloways in Preston, which was interesting. I began by giving a demonstration before teaching them a few moves. They all seemed to enjoy themselves, especially when I brought out the jingly belts :-)

In March I ran my first hafla of the year. I like to keep this one more traditional, asking performers to use Middle Eastern music only. I do this to encourage people to dance to traditional belly dance music which IS more demanding, but I feel more beneficial.

In April, I had the first of my Women's Institute talks. They were celebrating their 50th anniversary, so this was a special occasion, and how lovely that they presented me with my own set of crockery so I could join them for the celebration supper afterwards!

Incidentally, this talk is suitable for any group who would like some entertainment and an informative talk to boost. I have presented this to several Trefoil Guilds and also to walking groups too. It doesn't just have to be for the ladies.

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On Saturday 27th April, I performed in a lovely little cinema in Southport to help raise funds for charity.

I was approached by one of my students who new the family organising this event in memory of the dad who had sadly passed away after suffering with a brain tumour. I was going to be one of several performers during the evening, which promised to be very good.

Sadly, I was unable to stay the duration due to having another engagement that night, but they did an amazing job. They have managed to smash the original target and to date have raised around £3500 for the two charities. Just amazing!

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June - I have literally just signed up to try some networking in August with the Pinklink Ladies network. Admittedly, my brain kept me awake last night ticking over with ideas of things to do for it which is less than ideal, but still. It is an exciting prospect.

Update: This event went quite well in that I made a few connections, with the possibility of new projects for the future.

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Amongst those contacts was a hotel complex in Bolton where the possibilities of events are endless. Bizarely enough, the lady who was reperesenting the hotel knows a friend of mine and used to attend her dance classes a few years ago. How weird is that!

The picture here is showing my display boards which I took great lengths in preparing, listing some of the many benefits of belly dance (see relevant page on this website for those). I also produced a board with some famous belly dancers too.

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 I also got to perform on the day, although it didn't actually turn out as planned. The plan was that I would teach a short session, teaching some moves to anyone who wanted to have a go, but sadly the dayh flew past us and I ended up being pushed to the end for a performance only. I was slightly disappointed truth be told because I was looking forward to teaching, but the performance went down qwell, especially after some flirting between myself and one of the only men in the audience! Thankfully, he took the teasing graciously and in the spirit it was intended.

Another contact that I made was a husband and wife team. She specialises in Reike and healing, and he specialises in Sound Baths. So at the end of November we got together to create an evening of relaxation; belly dance followed by a sound bath workshop. Admittedly, there were a few things learned that night, such as dimming the lighting, and the heat in the room, but we hope to be able to repeat this again. I'm hoping to be able to do this every month, but so far due to illness that hasn't happened yet.

Of course, I continued to do several Women Institute talks, which I always love. Not only do I get to share my love of this dance, but I also get to show off my costumes which the ladies are always apprciative of. I think it also helps when they realise that costumes can be very heavy with all the beading (or, in the example of the photograph - even the props can be heavy .........).

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Christmas ended up quite busy, certainly the week before did, as I received two last minute bookings to perform. One was for a residential home at their Christmas party, the other was for a private house party. Both were enjoyabvle for different reasons.

And that was the end of 2024 for me. Let's see what 2025 holds.