The end of an era... and the start of a great summer of bellydance in Glastonbury

OK, so it's only a very short era, but last night was the last night of my first "Dancing with the Red Goddess" course, and 6 week Fundamentals course.

I've had such a wonderful 6 weeks, sharing the dance with some fabulous people, some new dancers, some more seasoned. I am going to miss them all!

The Fundamentalists ended their course with some combinations and some improvised social dancing. It is really great to see how much progress they have made. They worked really hard and put up with my bizarre technique descriptions and there is no doubt now that they an excellent set of fledgeling raquesahs. I am really looking forward to seeing them again for the next step of their dance journey.

I'm really proud of how the Red Goddess course turned out, it was an entirely new course, and I have been rewriting and adapting the content as I went. I've had a lot of great feedback, and a lot of interest from dancers who live outside of the local area. My next plan for this course is to adapt it for a weekend intensive to accommodate dancers who wish to attend it as a residential.

So what now?

Well I have been sorting out the summer of course.

I'm doing a bunch of private workshops for visiting groups, school sessions etc. I am putting together an awesome Dark Cabaret themed choreography workshop, and some folkloric sessions. Then of course I am  looking forward to the Scarlet Lotus Summer School session.

Summer School is the next 6 week block, which will actually be 2, 3 week blocks. The first block is looking at veil technique, 3, 90 minute sessions covering basic veil, double veil and veil fans. The second block it "unusual props" and we will be looking at poi, fans, palm candles and, my favourite, stuff you can balance on your head.

Another Fundamentals course will run alongside this, for new dancers, or anyone who wants to take time out to really focus on strong basic technique.

Michelle Manx

This July we are also welcoming a fabulous guest teacher for a one off, not-to-be-missed workshop. Michelle hails from Texas and has a distinctive, individual dance style that draws on the aesthetics of '50s pin ups. The workshop will be running from 2-4pm on Sunday 20th July in the Red Brick Building Glastonbury, and is just £15. Reserve your place while you still can.

If you would like to learn more about Michelle, take a look at this excellent mini documentary, this interview, or grab some popcorn and watch some of her dancing.

Looking ahead

In the Autumn we have the third of the 6 week courses, this time it's Dark Fusion basics and I will be looking at tempting some dancers over to the dark side, at least for a little visit anyway.

I've been getting a lot of great feedback from students who are interested in a weekly evening class, and potentially a bit of a hafla/dance party, so watch this space.