We’re in our last week of classes; next week is finals. It’s hard to believe that we’re almost finished. In some ways, this is scary, since I kind of have a summer job. I haven’t accepted it, but without any prospects, it looks like I will be. The pay isn’t great, but some income is [...]

On the Belly Dance New England website, an editorial was written on bullying in the New England community. Unfortunately, this is not unique to New England. While I think Middle Eastern dance is an amazing activity and encourage others to be involve, like any group, people behave as bullies. Being on the fringes of any [...]

I’ve always been at a weird spot with dance. I don’t lie about it being a part of my life, but I also don’t share it. The reasons are simply people are judgmental and often will say offensive/ignorant things that indicate that they aren’t willing to learn about the styles I dance. Because everyone is [...]

I’ve seen that question bringing people to my blog. Well, it really depends on how you do it. If you enter the conversation condescending and belligerent, it honestly annoys me. I don’t care for arrogance in general or people who are hostile. While I maintain professionalism, they aren’t pleasant conversations for either side. I think [...]

By sort of, I mean I’m going to try to maintain a constant practice. Keeping myself motivated to practice that much daily was difficult. I skirted it a few times (practicing mudras instead of really dancing), but I think I overall did a good job of maintaining a practice. I discovered that I can’t be [...]

My current job has no need for additional adjuncts during the summer, so I’m off to find another job. While I’m not surprised (I’m the lowest ranked person in the office, I believe), I am disappointed. I like teaching, and I hate searching for employment. The economy is still rough, which means that jobs are [...]

Najmat (my current teacher) hosted Diana Tarkan of Egypt this past Saturday for a workshop. I attended merely out of recommendation and trusting Najmat’s taste; I’ve only heard of Diana Tarkan in passing. Diana Tarkan is really amazing. She’s very sunny and smiley (I think she smiled during the entire workshop). Her explanations were very [...]

When I teach, I try to make things accessible. If at all possible, I like to bring in current research to let them know that physics isn’t this archaic thing and there’s still plenty of work to be done. They’ve brought up some interesting questions, one of which is how science contradicts religion. I’m not [...]