Yesterday afternoon, I got to do this for a software company at their office in Melbourne. It was the boss’s 50th birthday and a quick 5-minute show featuring finger cymbals and sword was just the right way to break the ice and surprise the Birthday Boy before the team cut the cake. The beginning of my sword dance also proved to be the …

1. 1. Take an Orlando Belly Dance Class - This one’s totally self-explanatory! The best way to appreciate belly dance is to actually become a belly dancer for a day. There are plenty of belly dance studios in Orlando, with one of my favorites being Orlando Bellydance, Suspira’s welcoming studio

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“We care about our customers. We care about customer service. We care about excellence.”

Many belly dancers have gotten into “caring” lately, too. Especially the belly dancers who wish to book more weddings. All belly dancers SHOULD care, because most are borrowing from a culture outside of our own, and if we don’t care, there’s way too much potential for things to go wrong, especially at a wedding. But does your belly dancer REALLY care? Or is it all “hip” service? A quick checklist:

Does she care enough to get to know you personally and fully understand …

So we’re definitely going to go ahead and book a belly dancer for our wedding in Orlando. The wedding is not until October and we’re still finalizing the venue, the DJ and the photographer. My fiance hired a belly dancer to perform at his office birthday party last month, and he was able to call a couple of entertainment agencies and get one the day before. I, on the other hand, am really nervous about the idea of waiting until the last minute. What do you recommend?

Yours Truly,

Overwhelmed in Orlando

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Dear Overwhelmed,

I’m biting my nails right there with you! For the record, I booked a wedding on just shy of 24 hours notice once, …

Are you wearing some new jewelry today? Did you just say “yes?” Do you want to rock your engagement party with glamorous entertainment? This blog post is for you!

Even though your wedding day is the Main Attraction, a unique engagement party with live entertainment will set the tone for a gorgeous and unforgettable celebration. San Diego belly dancer Sabrina says, “In many cultures, the engagement party is just as important and lavish as the the wedding reception. Inviting guests to a warm evening of music and dance is …

But I think it’s time for the Cheesy Belly Dance Show to die.

We’ve all seen the James Bond movies and the Monkees music videos, with the dancers (in bad-ass vintage bedlah!) playing the femmes fatales. We’ve all been to bad Middle Eastern restaurants and touristy dinner-and-a-show attractions, seen some sort of circus-inspired spectacle with fire and snakes and acrobatics and wondered what on earth we just saw. Some of us have even been to …

“Help me keep this all a surprise!”

We’ll talk about that later. But first, a recap of last night’s adventures:

Last night’s Top Secret mission sent me to the gorgeous Heathrow neighborhood of Sanford last night, where I helped Maria pull off a perfectly timed surprise for her husband Greg. This wasn’t a typical “sneak in through the side door and hide in the powder room” surprise, but a rather crafty one , timed and executed with military precision. I was absolutely wowed by the amount of thought and care she put into surprising her husband on his special day.

It …

But as a multi-cultural entertainer, I find that a lot of my most memorable and meaningful work takes place when I pair up with a client who has a vision above and beyond just a beautiful show. After all, a good belly dance show can offer so much more than just an opportunity to put the Guest of Honor in the hot seat and dazzle the crowd with tricks. If done right, a belly dance performance can also be an enlightening experience that brings people of different cultural groups together!

On December 30th, I brought some Florida sunshine to …

You save your money, honey. (So you can travel for workshops). And in the mean time, you get creative, set goals, and use your time wisely.

For better or worse, I’ve accepted that from this point forward, I will have to find ways to thrive and grow between workshops as a “self-taught” dancer. No, scratch that. A self-starting dancer. I hate the term “self-taught,” because it implies …

This past Saturday was no exception! I did not one, but two fabulous 40th birthday parties, and each was totally fun and unique in its own right. A quick recap of the weekend’s events, to hopefully inspire your next milestone birthday celebration:

Rolanda’s Surprise 40th Birthday at City Tropics Bistro in Indialantic:

This crew had such a bad case of Booty Shake Fever, it’s a good thing they were “quarantined” in the wine cellar room! All joking aside, these guys were my dream audience – fun, crazy, classy …