Episodes

Celebrate 1970s Strictly Belly Dance records by Eddie the Sheik, admire the moves of Egyptian belly dance star Mona Said, and take a peek into stigma and the gritty lives of many belly dancers in Cairo now. This is the 3rd show in this series on the History of Belly Dance. In this episode and the next one, we’ll cover the 1970s up to present day. In the first two episodes in this history of belly dance series, we talked about belly dance up through the 1960s. We chunked it up into one episode ...

Johanna relives the breast cancer diagnosis that birthed her first dance studio and expanded her commitment to community. She shares her secret to layering a shimmy and undulation, and also urges us to meditate by focusing on 1 thing at a time. (Fire fan photo by Riotous Color Photography www.riotouscolor.com) Welcome to the second half of this heart-filled interview with multi-talented belly dancer Johanna Zenobia, the owner of Hip Expressions in St. Petersburg, Florida. Hip Expressions is an ...

Johanna of Hip Expressions helps us stop and take a breath, tells us her secrets to building great dance music playlists, and she shares some very fun and surprising danceable songs that you will love. Alicia Free: I am so honored to share the wisdom of this goddess of a teacher and performer with you all today. The multi-talented Johanna Zenobia dedicates her life towards the evolution of belly dance and community. In addition to being an absolutely fabulous dancer and drummer, Johanna has a ...

These loved Turkish, Rom and Arabic songs are a must-know for belly dancers, especially if you want to be ready to dance to a live band! Learn about the maqamat, rhythms, translations and ways to dance to Katibim, Al Ain Molayaitin, and Rompi Rompi. We have talked about so many fantastic danceable songs in the first 24 episodes of A Little Lighter, but I haven’t played the 1 entire song for you yet! To commemorate the 25th show of this podcast, we’re going to do something special and listen to ...

Why is it so hard to say “dancers” instead of “ladies”? Male dancers have to train even harder not to be a spectacle, and lady dancers can help too. Listen to Hakan tell us how. I am delighted to share this interview with our first featured male belly dancer, Hakan. Hakan is part of the dance community in Pittsburgh, which is the closest city to this two-week medieval festival you’ve heard me talking about called Pennsic War. Hopefully you heard and enjoyed the interview with Pittsburgh’s Maria...

In this second show in this 3 part series on the History of Belly Dance, we’ll dance through night clubs, theater stages and movie screens around the world from the 1900s up through the 1960s, when the Women’s Rights Movement welcomed belly dance classes into the dance studios of the US. But first, a Danceable Ritual that helps us enjoy whatever time period we are dancing in. DANCEABLE RITUAL Stop and smell the roses. Yes, it’s cliché. But a moment of smelling a flower can bring us great joy...

Folkloric Fusion Belly Dancer Maria Hamer of the Hamer Sisters talks about collaborating with Tribal Fusion stars Jill Parker, Zoe Jakes, and Mardi Love as well as how she spins and incorporates silk into her belly dance costumes. Alicia Free: We are here at Pennsic Medieval Festival, and you can hear a tent stake being hammered in the background…because we are camping! I’m here with Maria Hamer, a long-time belly dancer out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Training tirelessly and passionately for...

Improvising to live drums around a fire at a festival like Pennsic can turn a studio-trained belly dancer into a belly dancer who knows what’s up. The second part of the belly dance history series is coming soon. But August is Pennsic time in the Northeast, and it’s time to dance around fire. Belly dancing with fire will be a whole different show. DANCEABLE RITUAL Even in our modern lives, we befriend fire. We light our gas stoves, our wood stoves, and candles. Flames dance at the bottom of ...

As a drummer in some of the best belly dance bands in New York, Casey teaches us about the soul of belly dance rhythms in the belly dance classic song Laylet Hob, what drummers like to see in dancers, and how to fully enjoy dancing and life. Some great quotes from Casey from this interview: “A live drum solo with a dancer is a conversation in the moment. It’s the not knowing that makes it so much fun.” “The drummer offers an accent to the dancer, and the dancer responds with their anatomy.” ...

Travel back in time to belly dance like Ghawazee and Awalim dancers from Egypt, Ouled Nail dancers from Algeria, and Rom dancers who developed the art of belly dance centuries before us. A glimpse of what a pre-1900s Ghawazi performance might have looked something like… While teaching some saidi stick dance feeling and moves the other day, one of my students expressed that she would like to know more about other dance styles within belly dance. I wanted to hand her a simple and comprehensive in...

Discover Dalia’s secrets on doing belly dance fusion well, find out why she dances Flamenco Arabe on beautiful angles, and know what to do next time your inner voice says, “I’m not sexy enough”. DaliaCarella.com Alicia: I have the immense pleasure of having Dalia Carella on the show today. I’ve met her at Super Fun Dance Camp. We’re actually recording in a cabin at Super Fun Dance Camp after days of partying and dancing and drumming and going wild. Welcome to the show Dalia. https://youtu.be/m...

Learn how to do an earth shaking shimmy to the powerful 2-headed bass drum the davul (aka tabl beledi), improv with your belly dance friends like a Turk in a circle dance, and get a super dance bra strap tip from Farha. https://youtu.be/-lEUfgtMfWw?t=84 Parade season has begun in New York. Let’s celebrate a loved heartbeat of parades and street processions – the big bassy two-headed drum known as the davul! Or tabl beledi, or tupan etc. By the end of this episode, you will know so much more ab...

Find out why chatting in the dressing room is a good habit to quit, get yourself a gold or silver bra and belt, and discover what’s so confusing about Foq Elna Khel. Check out this VIDEO of Mahin doing the Damn Sexy Dance Move for this show! The Clock Maya… In show #15 we featured a Damn Sexy Dance Move and Costume tip from fabulous dancer Elisheva. This show #16 is taking it up a notch, with a full interview with another fantastic performer and producer, Mahin! Mahin of Phoenix Arizona is hone...

Free your hair with featured dancer Elisheva, add a fun new drum solo to your repertoire, and get 11 easy belly dance hairdo ideas you can try. This show #15 is a milestone for A Little Lighter! Hopefully you have been enjoying the Make-You-Shine Costume Tips and Damn Sexy Dance Moves in all the shows, and you are going to enjoy those 2 elements of this show even more. Why? Because they are coming from our very first featured dancer, the beautifully buff and graceful Elisheva (“Elly – Shehvah”)...

Find out why Arabic speakers call their lover “my eye”, fend off the evil eye, get the low-down on the classic belly dance song Habibi ya Einy, and get tips on how to wear false eyelashes. DANCEABLE RITUAL Every day, you look right into your own eyes in a mirror. And your eyes tell your mind a story. Maybe you are tired or noticing something you don’t like about yourself. Maybe you feel inspired and full of light. Your eyes are focusing on something, and what you focus on expands. This is a ph...

Dancers have been conditioning and coloring their hair and skin with henna for thousands of years beginning in Egypt and landing in India centuries later. Similar to the possible mirror image of the path of belly dance as we know it. In this show we will dive into the myth, mystery and history of henna. Henna, found in the hair and nails of mummies entombed in ancient Egypt, cooling the heads, hands and feet of women for thousands of years throughout the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia...

Show highlights: Learn how to make a dance video and get tips on editing and sharing your dance video. Warm up to Deya Dova’s “Myth of the Cave”, try the damn sexy dance move “Shoulder Peek Mayas”, take a selfie when you nail your costume and/or makeup, use a phone selfie ring light and full length mirror when you shoot, and try dancing next time you are on the phone. Top off all this self-reliance action by going foraging for wild purslane. Check out these super helpful steps for DIY videos: H...

Belly dance to rocking music from the Balkans, try the Čoček Hip Tip, and dance while you hold hands with people you love. DANCEABLE RITUAL Seeing people hold hands has often made me smile. Children holding hands, a parent and their adult child, seniors, friends, people who are obviously in love in less-conservative contexts like much of France and the US. And seeing strangers hold hands can be quite special. In belly dance, we don’t hold hands with other dancers often. Maybe in a circle at a...

Dance Kalbelia with gypsies in Rajasthan, get your travel dance costume together, and dance in a beautiful place at sunrise. It’s the very first Travel-themed show of A Little Lighter! And we’re going to focus on the horrific and magical miracle that is India. And of course talk about how to go dancing with gypsies in Rajasthan. Yay! DANCEABLE RITUAL Unpacking your bag with gratitude. Even if we are just packing our purse or backpack just for the day, we can see everything we choose to bring ...

Meet the ancient grandmother of the tambourine, really get the meaning of the gorgeous old song Lamma Bada, and think twice before wearing that coin belt. DANCEABLE RITUAL The riq, along with other frame drums, is an ancient Arabic grandmother of the modern tambourine. It is also one of the main instruments I play in my band Taksim. And you are going to LOVE what you learn about the riq in this show. We’ve seen hand held frame drums played by women in ancient Egyptian and Greek art, as well as...

Know what to say when a fellow belly dancer is killin’ it on stage, do the money shower clap to the famous song Caje Sukarije, and rock a belly chain like Jill Parker. DANCEABLE RITUAL Celebrating is an art. It is invigorating, it inspires us to keep achieving, and strengthens our habit of defaulting to gratitude. I celebrate a lot lately. Being parents has brought more celebration into our lives. We’re getting rid of diapers, and we celebrate many times each day when our 2 year old uses the ...

Find out which belly dance skirt to wear and which one to skip, incorporate skirt moves into your floor work, and learn this secret of storing your big 10 and 25 yard skirts. Try counting a 9/8 rhythm 4 different ways and enjoy 3 different versions of the Turkish song Rampi Rampi. DANCEABLE RITUAL: Washing our skirts We all have favorite skirts. Maybe you wear yours so much that it’s in your laundry basket right now. Imagine looking into your dirty laundry basket. Your everyday costumes. Your ...

Do the Greek belly dance move “Boubouka’s Backside” from an old movie to the classic Greek belly dance song “Scandalous Tsiftetelli”. Drizzle on some tahini, strike a postcard pose and open to the muse. RITUAL Opening to the muse. There is energy in the air all around us at all times. Electricity, light, wind, friction, other living things. Even more things that aren’t alive have energy, like fire, water, soil and stones. Dance is all about focusing energy on specific movements. We train ours...

Welcome to the hair episode! Learn how to move your hair when you belly dance to a trance-inducing beat, try the “Khaliji Sideways Hair Sway”, and turn your next shower into a stress-relieving ritual. DANCEABLE RITUAL: Cleansing Your Hair and Mind Washing our hair is a chance to cleanse our minds and enjoy massaging and detangling our thoughts, even if it’s just a quick shower. A paraphrased Buddhist proverb inspired this danceable ritual. It is, “Remember that when you cleanse your body you ...