Belly Dance

Branching Out

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I’ve decided to take a big step in my social/dance life – I’m going to branch out and start becoming involved in the Phoenix and Tucson dance scenes. I’m planning to attend lots of performances and learning the culture of the dance communities as well as attending some workshops. Most exciting – I’m hoping to find another teacher that I can take lessons from about once a month to help polish my technique more and maybe help correct some of the sloppiness that has surely developed over the years. My overall goals for branching out is to get to know some of the people I’ve had very peripheral contact with, become more familiar with the latest trends, learn everything I can, and generally have my mind blown by amazing dance and dance contacts! I need to develop more – not only in my technique, but also in my musicality and artistic expression, which is very hard for me to do all on my own. I’m also hoping to develop more distinct goals – but right now, I don’t know enough about what I don’t know to really develop distinct goals. There is SO MUCH going on, especially in Phoenix, that I could stay very busy just attending events – which I’m looking forward to doing! Many thanks to my Facebook and other friends for keeping me up to date on what’s going on – I’m looking forward to meeting all of you in the upcoming months! On another note – … Read More

Performing and Energy

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It’s a weird thing – at least to me it is. There’s a HUGE energy exchange whenever and artist is expressing, creating, developing, or performing their art. When you’re “in the groove” as an artist, you can totally feel that energy exchange between yourself and the audience. I’m both a photographer and a dancer and have experienced this through both mediums. In fact, some of my photos now seem to carry with them their own life! Sometimes, though, as a dancer I get a little stuck. When I’m feeling ‘low energy’ – not just physically but spiritually as well – it can be hard to get out there and share. When I’m dancing, I feel like a conduit connecting audience, dancer, music, and energy – be it the energy of joy, playfulness, or solemnity. As an empath, sometimes I can be very sensitive to that exchange of energy and I have to go in with a small buffer between myself and my audience, or I lose my ability to connect with the energy of the dance and get bogged down in whatever ‘real life’ crap everyone is feeling around me – it takes a lot to transport my audience and myself to that different place! And when I work with live drummers, all aspects are amplified that much  more! So, having just moved and feeling tapped out, I had to pass on performing at the county fair. But I’m preparing – both physically and spiritually – for a performance at … Read More

Bellydance Update!

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Whew! So, I have been keeping VERY busy with bellydancing the last few months! I am amazed and delighted at all the opportunities I have to learn and grow, especially since I’m in a much smaller town than I’ve ever been in! I’ve really found a wonderful community here and I consider all the ladies I dance with to be good friends! We recently had a chance to perform at the local county fair. I hung back and took photographs during this opportunity and the other gals did just wonderfully! Here are some pictures from the event (I’m being too lazy to edit them, so forgive the rawness): Pythias, Latifia, and Zahirah Jemulla Zahirah Latifah Jemulla and Marisha Pythias Zahirah, Pythias, and Marisha AZ Desert Dancers and RaqsRhythm

As You Advance, How to Find a Teacher

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They say that as you need teachers in  your life, they appear. What they forget to mention, though, is that over time your teachers change. When you’re first learning, spotting your teachers can be a lot easier and they tend to be a lot more formal as well. Your grandmother, mother, grandfather… your priest or Sunday school teacher or you dance instructor or football coach. These people teach us a lot of lessons, both big and small, broad and indepth. But after awhile, these teachers move on to other students or tasks and we are left to find new teachers. There comes a time when a teacher just doesn’t show up to tell us where to go from here, and this is when we need to open our eyes. In the learning process you will reach a point where teaching is no longer a formal and ongoing experience. You may experience moments of formal teaching, but they are not the norm. When this happens, it’s time to open your eyes. Now you know enough to know what you need to learn in order to progress and start shaping your own learning. Now you can seek out your own sources of knowledge. And while most the time our teachers have been people who know more than us and are more experienced, now is the time when everyone becomes a potential teacher. While someone may not know ‘as much’ as we do, they have had different experiences and know different ‘stuff’ than … Read More

AZ Desert Dancers!!!

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Hey everyone! I am SUCH a dork! I’m sure I’ve mentioned a few times that I’ve hooked up with a local troupe here – but I have totally FAILED to mention who they were! These are some beautiful and wonderful women and I am honoured to have met them – and blown AWAY that I get to hang out and dance with them, too! Thank you so much to all the girls I’ve met – Zahirah, Samra, Pythias, Jemula, Marisha, Zoe, Latifah, Minerva, Vivienne, Emanuel, and Lyle!!!! I am absolutely LOVING dancing with you guys and feel truly TRULY blessed! xoxoxoxoxo Our next performance is February 2nd at Art in the Alley and February 5th at the Vista Grande Dance Performance!

WHOA!

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So, I’m finally starting to come to terms with the idea that I might be an artist – I’ve even started putting it down as my profession on forms and the like! I spend my days doing tarot reading, listening to belly dance music, and crafting/creating. Everyday I feel more like I’m bringing the physical-reality-me into alignment with soul-me and it’s really kind of groovy! On Tuesday I met up with a local bellydance group here in Casa Grande who are just FABULOUS! Since then, I’ve attended 2 practices and a show and am scheduled for three performances already! Say what!? EEK! As such, I spent the last 4 hours going through all my dance stuff and putting together a costume that seems to go alright and actually fits. I’m pretty excited about it! No paying gigs, but I’m looking forward to just going out there and doing my thing again! How bizarre is that? I need to pick my music by the 15th and perform on Dec 31st – how wild is that? And then again on Jan 5 and Jan 12? I think? I don’t know! LOL It should be pretty interesting. In quasi-related news, I also have decided that I like my current hair color and I like the way it looks when it all wavy from braids – and, when I’m wearing bdance stuff, it helps to balance my hips! I’m REALLY digging on this! Tomorrow I’ll try to get a pick of my costume and … Read More

Spirit + Dance

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Okay, so I know I’ve talked a lot about psychic stuff and tarot and astrology and I’ve pretty well neglected the dance portion of this blog. I don’t want you to get the idea that dance is any less a thing of Spirit and the gods than anything else. Dance has been for forever and a long with music is universal in it’s expression. I’ve been a naughty fan, but I’ve finally started to watch my stored up episodes of So You Think You Can Dance. The show, naturally, shows the worst of the worst, but also shows the best of the best. And even the worst,  when there is joy, I am joyous, too. And the best, when they are joyous, I laugh, and when there is sorrow, I am sad. Dance is such a beautiful and amazing thing – such a fabulous thing of beauty. It’s one of the few things that man does that I think actually lives up to our potential as a species, as a creature on this planet. Like the most amazing sunsets and the most flagrant of flowers, I am left stunned, amazed, breathless, and tearful and I could never be more grateful for the watching of these amazing talents. My own dancing has been sorely neglected – my fiance and my father don’t quite understand and so it’s only when I am both moved and able that I have a chance to dance my own dance. I think that dancing can be … Read More

Hello World!

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Alrighty! So, I have a couple websites around the great big web, but I’ve really been concentrating on the more spiritual side of my being lately and I thought it would be great to have a place to share the things I’m learning and thinking and stuff and stuff. So, here it is! The newly opened Nathara blog! Heheh. Comments, of course, are always welcome and encouraged – I would love some feedback on my thoughts! But, first, a little bit more about… ME! haha! In addition to reading tarot cards, medicine cards, fairy cards, drawing runes, etc., etc. – I’m also something of an ‘artist’, as silly as that sounds. 😉 I’ve been studying and practicing photography for a bit now, and if you care to check it out, you can see it through my flickr link on the left or by visiting my website! So, then. I’ve been reading tarot cards since I was about 10 years old. My first deck was a miniature Rider Waite deck that I still have and am still fond of to this day. But the imagery on the Rider Waite doesn’t do anything for me (although I LOVE the small size – I have rather small hands, after all!), so I normally use the Fantastical Tarot Deck (below). So, after reading the tarot cards for so many years, I’ve finally decided to start reading for the ‘public’ and you can find me over on LivePerson doing so. I’m on kind of randomly … Read More