The Return of the Warrior Woman

Speaking of passion, there isn't anyone who exudes it more than Berlin-based teacher, Raksan.  Readers of this blog will know how much I love her dancing.  When she dances she does so with every fibre of her being. It's magical.

A couple of weekends ago, she was back in the UK, teaching for Sabine Dawson in Salisbury. The first workshop was Gypsy Fantasy - Balkan Beats and Wild Women.  We were invited to 'explore our passion, sensuality and wildness'.  It was really enjoyable to learn some basic technique, listen to the music and just let go.

Sunday's workshop, aimed at Intermediate level and above, was completely different.  Billed as 'Contemporary Oriental Dance a la Raksan', it was quite challenging for anyone without a background in ballet or contemporary dance, but really rewarding nevertheless. We spent the first two and a half hours doing stretches in preparation for dancing, and it was great to feel that loosened up and flexible when we started putting together dance sequences.  

The workshop made me realise how unrealistic it is to expect to achieve that level of skill without putting in the work. And unfortunately, belly dance has always been judged as an 'easy' dance to learn.  It certainly isn't - especially if you want to achieve a professional level.  And watching Raksan dance certainly inspired me to work on my own dancing.