New interview online & Dance articles of the month - November

Hello there :)

Isis Zahara of the Netherlands just posted an interview with me 'on learning and teaching' as part of the promotion for the upcoming 'Master Workshops Day' in s'Hertogenbosch, where I'll be teaching as part of the day program.

And further below you'll find some of my favorite dance articles of the month - happy reading!

The teacher team :) - 13 December 2014 in s'Hertogenbosch

Check out the interview here: Interview Khalida by Isis Zahara – 2014
“Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will.” – Vernon Howard Read more...

And check out the dance articles below:

Tips for adults thinking of taking up ballet:
http://dance.answers.com/adult-dancers/tips-for-adult-dancers-wanting-to-take-ballet

On becoming an 'A+' student in dance - Rockettes:
http://www.rockettes.com/dance/how-to-be-an-a-plus-student-in-dance-class.html

How to get rid of 'bad habits' in dance - Princess Farhana:
http://princessraqs.blogspot.de/2014/09/breaking-bad-getting-rid-of-pesky.html 

On smoothening transitions - Princess Farhana:
http://princessraqs.blogspot.de/2014/10/connecting-dots-making-smooth.html

On productive practice - The Bulletproof Musician:
http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/a-simple-strategy-for-worrying-less-and-practicing-more-productively/

Advice on structuring your belly dance practice - Shira:
http://shira.net/advice/study.htm

On developing artistry in dance - Pointe Magazine:
http://pointemagazine.com/issues/aprilmay-2006/artist-barre

The process of creating - Bakadesuyo:
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/strokes-of-genius/

And finally: Some fortune cookie wisdom:

Word.

Happy November!

xxx K.

Bellydance Essentials - Week 1-10 are complete!

It's finally done! :) The full 10 weeks of 'Bellydance Essentials - online Belly Dance classes with Khalida' are now available!

The official FB announcement

Perfect for anyone who can't/could not make it to the 'live' series in Würselen, but also for those of you who would like to add 'home classes' with me to your daily/weekly/monthly practice routine - I'm all yours :)

Full class overview

1,5 Hours (and sometimes more! week 4 has a bit of extra prop work) of dancing, technique drills, combos and my favorite props, now available for download or as unlimited streaming media.

Yay! See www.khalidadance.com/online-classes

Check out the class list at www.khalidadance.com/online-classes or go directly to www.gumroad.com/khalida to get started - We will be adding more Belly Dance Essentials classes to the series weekly!

The uploadening.. a work of much patience :)

With extra special thanks to the BDE 'live' participants for being part of the recording team, to miss Chandra for assisting and filming the classes, to Sandra's husband Mr H for lending us his video editing skills :)

With miss Chandra <3

Also a big thank you to miss Johanna for instigating the initial concept (woo!) and helping out with upload shenanigans for week 1, and to miss Razia Star and miss Queenie, my super smart dance friends, for bringing so much motivation, inspiration and general good stuff, always <3

Let's DANCE!!

Sneak preview videos of Week 1 and 5:




PS: If you buy a Bellydance Essentials online class it is yours FOREVER (or at least as long as the internet/the gumroad site/backups exists) - Either as streaming media (ideal for tablets/smartphone/'on the road') or as download (for computers), which means you can practice with each purchased class wherever/whenever :) you want.

You can do the classes 'in order' of weeks or pick and choose/mix and match, depending on your interests. For details of the class contents per session see www.khalidadance.com/online-classes

Happy dancing!

Go to http://www.gumroad.com/khalida for the full class overview or click on the links below to go directly to the classes of your choice:

BD Essentials – Week 1
BD Essentials – Week 2
BD Essentials – Week 3
BD Essentials – Week 4
BD Essentials – Week 5
BD Essentials – Week 6
BD Essentials – Week 7
BD Essentials – Week 8
BD Essentials – Week 9
BD Essentials – Week 10


xx Khalida
www.khalidadance.com

New dance season! Tuesday classes, Training Day and Masterclass in Würselen this October

I’m very excited and happy to announce I’ll be teaching a brand-new 10 week belly dance class series (mixed level) starting this October 7th 2014. Finally! :D

Classes will be 1,5h in length on Tuesday evenings 18:30-20:00h, and we'll be working on technique refinement, drills for different levels and dancing with some of my favorite props. Enrollments are now open!

BDE: Bellydance Essentials with Khalida

New fall workshops (Training Day!) and Masterclass coming up at the studio: Training Day (a full day of K-workshops) on Saturday Oct 11th 2014 and a new Step it up session (a 2-hour Masterclass featuring wish topics and optional feedback sessions) on Friday October 17th.

Training Day - A full day of Khalida workshops

Stepitup: A 2-hour Masterclass with Khalida in Würselen

Hope to see you there, too!

All enrollment info and deets via www.khalidadance.com

xxx K.

Dance streaming dance

Ahh, more exciting news :)

My belly dance instructional DVDs - Isis Wings with Khalida and Shimmies with Khalida - are now  available as streaming media as well!

Go to streaming DVDs here

Portable, weightless, yours forever! All you need is an internet connection and a smart phone, tablet or computer :)

Happy dancing!
x K.

www.khalidadance.com 
www.khalidashop.com
 

Fall time articles

Fall time is here! And reading up is one of my favorite ways to prepare for an upcoming new dance season.

For some of us it might be... trying on new costumes :)

Fall Fashion in Germany!

Here is a list of dance articles I enjoyed the past few weeks. Happy reading! <3

Why create? By Ballet Shoes and Bobby Pins
http://balletshoesandbobbypins.com/why-create

On how essential the essentials can be. By Dance Project
http://danceproject.ca/are-you-surviving-dance/#.U-Pu5GPNm70

What do good dancers do differently? By Rebecca Brightly
http://rebeccabrightly.com/good-dancers-differently/

Allowing yourself to make mistakes is the best way to learn. Bullet proof musician. http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/how-making-mistakes-can-accelerate-learning/

Sleep! By Ballet Shoes and Bobby Pins
http://balletshoesandbobbypins.com/the-importance-of-sleep-for-dancers 

Now.. I must pack! 

See you soon!
x K.
www.khalidadance.com

Beautiful brows! - My favorite eyebrow makeup tutorials

Hello there,

Today it's Monday.. But also makeup tutorial favorites day! Eyebrow edition :)

H-eye!

Getting my eyebrows to 'work' with me, especially using stage makeup, has been a challenge for me for YEARS (they are *very* irregular)

It still takes practice (and patience!), but in the past few months I've found a couple of great makeup tutorials, and experimenting with the techniques explained has made my brow-life much, much easier.

My brows - and Mr E!

Below you'll find my favorite youtube makeup tutorials for eyebrows, as well as the brow products I currently use for daily/'teacher face' makeup and for stage. Enjoy!

1. Great tutorial for 'sparse' brows by Promise Phan (also check her celebrity lookalike tutorials on the channel - amazing!)



2. Easy - yet very polished look, this one is for you if you like working with eyebrow pencils - perfect for 'daytime' brows (I use the same technique when I pencil, minus shaving the outer part of my brows - too scared!)



3. For all you MAC addicts (you know who you are!) - an eyeshadow/powder version:



4. For stage/performance makeup: This tutorial explains using concealer as a 'stencil' beforehand and filling in the brows with Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade (which is an awesome product for stage/performances, as it doesn't transfer or 'melt' under stage lights at all) - I use the colors 'auburn' and 'chocolate'myself.




5. And a bonus one by Julia Graf



I also absolutely love this brow tutorial Blog post by Keiko Lynn:
http://www.keikolynn.com/2013/11/makeup-monday-how-to-get-perfect-brows.html

My favorite products:

- Mac or Urban Decay brown(ish/ashy brown) matte eyeshadows (the exact shades depend on the makeup look, sometimes I mix powder with pencil or dipbrow pomade as well)

- Brow pencil: 001 Dark brown by Rimmel

- Dipbrow pommade by Anastasia in Auburn (a bit lighter/reddish) and/or chocolate (slightly darker) - usually I mix the two, using the chocolate shade or powder to darken the bottom line of the brows.

Picture by makeupatoz.com

Extra important for both powder and pomade 'looks' to work well is a good quality 'sharp' slanted eyebrow brush - And to sharpen your pencil! Check out the yt tutorials above for specific brush recommendations.

ETA: Bonus clip! Love love love.

Enjoy! :)

xx K.
www.khalidadance.com
www.khalidashop.com

Thank you!

A huge thank you to all Training Day participants today – 5 hours of dancing! BD Workout drills, Fun for feet and SoftnSmooth/Samia Style  – we did it all :)

Training Day July

Check out some of the videos we worked with in the last WS on the TD FB page.

Happy dance! On to the next TD edition – Saturday 11th of October and our SLS summer workshops this August at the Würselen Studio :)

Thoughts on #QKDI

After months of planning, brainstorming sessions and preparations, our long-awaited QKDI 2014 Dance Intensive finally happened. 4 Days of dance.

Our first collaboration, BC 2011 - feels like yesterday and aeons ago!

This for me is already the third year (!) of summer dance collaboration with the fabulous Queenie of Belgium and I have to say, despite us both being nervous (as always, ha!) about all of the things, QKDI 2014 exceeded all of our (already very high) expectations in every way. 

QKDI2014 - after the facts!

The weekend turned out to be exactly what we had hoped for; 4 days of intensive dance training, in collaboration with excellent and dedicated professional teachers (including guest classes in ballet by Constanze Janssen and popping by Obelixx!),  practicing and integrating skills from different dance 'worlds' and sharing our love for the art with a group of like-minded, kind hearted, highly motivated and hard-working dance loving people. 

In other words: 'Just. Dance.' <3

And also, snacks.

Dancer snax!

A huge thank you goes out to miss Constanze Janssen for the fabulous ballet classes and pearls of dance wisdom, to Mr Marco Obelixx Menezes for sharing his art and introducing us to the world of popping, and last but not least to miss Queenie Dance for sharing her knowledge, her gorgeous dancing, the fabulous co-teaching experience and just for being yer lovely self.

our QKDI2014 teacher team <3

Big hugs also to our QKDI2014 participants, as said before, it was a true delight to be able to spend 4 full days working with a group of such sincere dance lovers ♥♥♥ 

Yo.

QKDI2014 has left me (even now, after a full week of tax return, web updates and administration ^^) uplifted, motivated and extremely inspired, and I have a feeling this event will 'stick with me' for a long time. 

Thank you.

Double rainbow. Just because. :)

xxx K.

www.khalidadance.com
www.qookay.be

ETA: Check out Queenie's beautiful blog post on QKDI2014 here!

Prague visit in June - Pictures and a thank you

Another month gone by, time really does fly :)

First of all, I would like to say a huge big thank you to the lovely miss Eglal of CZ (who you might know from Jillina's BDE shows) for hosting me in Prague this June.

My Czech dance sister :) <3

It was the first time I got to visit this beautiful city for dance, and it was a true pleasure for me to get to spend time with Eglal and her Czech dance colleagues/co-teachers and dance with her students, who absolutely rocked the show. Děkuji pěkně!

The show performers - So jazz!

Pictures of the workshops 'fun for feet' and 'soft and smooth':

Express yourself!

Action picture :)

Post-WS smiles <3

The full show picture album can be found on FB here. Below are some more impressions of my visit :)

Not snow, but glitter this time!

Top view of Czech Republic :)

Caffeinated pick-up time!

Unbelievable city view from my appartment balcony <3

Tesla was here

'Dark gold' - Czech coffee :)

Nashledanou, dear Prague! <3

xx K.
www.khalidadance.com

Happy birthday, Norway!

Soo, today, May 17th, is Norway's National Day, celebrated across the nation. Happy birthday, Norway! :)

Karl Johan Street, Oslo

A perfect day to say my thanks for the wonderful time I got to spend there for the second time this year, at Siri and Catherine Ydstie's Oslo 1001 Nights festival the first weekend of May.

Dance for Norway <3 - Picture by Miriam Embla

After the shimmy class

Norway is a special place to me dance-wise, as it was one of the first countries where I got to travel for teaching a 'full' workshop-and-show weekend, and although I was pretty nervous about it at that time, I absolutely loved it. Since then I've been lucky enough to have traveled there 3 more times, and it always feels like 'home' to me.

Back in the day - Oslo 2010

Below are some pictures and videos of the latest edition of Oslo 1001 Nights festival. Co-teacher and guest performer was the fabulous Guy Shalom of Baladi Blues. Hope you'll enjoy!

Guy and Siri in action - Check Miriam Embla's tumblr blog for more pictures!

Fan veil love - picture by Miriam Embla

 Video of my fan veil performance - music by House of Tarab - check them out!

And a small cameo at the end of this drum solo with the infamous Shimmy Sistahs (Siri and Cath)

So much fun :) A huge thanks again to all workshop participants and supporters of the festival, the working team, the most appreciative audience, my lovely co-performers and teachers and of course to my hosting ladies, the Ydstie sisters.

My 'Ydstie Shimmy Sister' alter ego :)

Encouraging words from the breakfast table

'Before' 1001Natt Festival :)

For more info about this fantastic festival check out the 1001 Nights Oslo FB page.

Til neste gang, Norway!

Sky view of Norway <3

xx K.
www.khalidadance.com

Dance articles - spring edition!

Hello there :)

It's spring time here in the Northern hemisphere!

Hur!

While I'm working on the Spring/Summer newsletter, here are some of the dance articles I've enjoyed reading in the past few weeks. Hope you'll enjoy them too!

Let's start with something deep. How about.. How to power your dance progress?

Want To Grow As A Dancer? Here Are 3 Tips From Sorah Yang
http://www.thatsteezy.com/3-dance-tips-from-sorah-yang/

How to Break Bad Habits in Dance - by Sheena Jeffers
http://dance.answers.com/techniques/how-to-break-bad-habits-in-dance 

From a blog for musicians, but most articles are very applicable to dance practice as well!
http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/a-practice-strategy-that-will-help-you-play-more-accurately-when-it-counts/

Go for the fundamentals! By James Clear. With thanks to Zana Dance for sharing: http://jamesclear.com/fundamentals

Dance tips from Those Who Know- by Keesha Beckford:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/keesha-beckford/words-of-wisdom-from-an-o_b_5192102.html

Also check out this blog post with excellent tips for posing for pictures (and dance!) by Jen Brook: http://petapixel.com/2013/05/24/dear-model-posing-tips-for-how-to-look-your-best-in-photographs/

And last but not least:

Life Lessons Learned from Dance - by Sheena Jeffers
http://dance.answers.com/dance-appreciation/life-lessons-learned-from-dance

That's (P)interesting! Colorful inspiration for world dance day

Happy reading!

xx K.

www.khalidadance.com
www.khalidashop.com

Spring/summer event updates!

Sooo.. I'm back! The last weeks really have flown by, dance season is officially back in full swing :)

HAR! (photo by Zak Erving)

In February I've had the honor to perform a bd/popping fusion duo with Mr Obelixx of BE/Portugal in Heerlen(NL) and in Belgium - Which was the first (and second :)) fusion duo performance I've ever danced. Video will follow soon!

In action! :)

In March got to perform and teach in the beautiful city of Trondheim in Norway, hosted by my dancing queens Trine and Kjersti of Zagroutha :)

Trondheim, baby!

'The Glow' of performing

I was lucky enough to perform for the first time in Jaén, Espania as well this March at Alika Danza's lovely Bellysurdance festival. Two events very close to my heart.

At Bellysurdance festival - Picture by Fernando Ramos

ETA: Just received the video of that Spain performance :) With many thanks to Álika and the tech team!



April was all about Sakinah Yanara's Stars of Bellydance festival, where I had the honor to share the stage with the beautiful Nadia Nikishenko, Cie Smokey Eyes, QK Dance Intensive partner Queenie and some of the best Belgian Belgian belly dancers I know. (check out the awesome lineup here) We had a blast!

Stars of Bellydance artists, Oostkamp (BE)

Soo.. What's next? Right now I am practising hard for teaching and performing in Rotterdam (this Monday!), Oslo (1-4th May!), Betekom (18th May!), and Prague (21 June)

Next to that I'll be preparing for the first Stepitup session (30th May) and Training Day (26th of July) at our very own studio Sarossy in Würselen, DE. In August we'll have our Summer Love Specials (14, 21, 28 Aug) on Thursday nights.

Dance.. Endless dance.

So much dance :) And last but not least - A QooKay Productions update: Miss Queenie and I have decided to set the maximum number of participants for our 4-Day Dance Intensive (3-4-5-6 July 2014) in Würselen this year to 12 - to allow for more intensiveness.

Team QooKay - Q and K :)

This means we now have only 4 spots left! If you'd like to join us: Enrollments are now open via www.qookay.be - We're looking forward to dancing with y'all!

QooKay 4-Day Dance Intensive in Würselen, DE!

Soo, that's it for now, I think. Another post with interesting dance links will follow soon.

Hope our paths will cross this year - wherever, whenever :) Dance on!


xx K.

www.khalidadance.com
www.khalidashop.com

PS: To see what else I will be up to this year, check out my official 2014/2015 dance calendar here.