We will be soon reviewing the movie "Just like a Woman" featuring Sienna Miller. The actress dons a brunet wig and undertook 3 months of dance training to learn some moves for the film. We will be sharing our reviews soon. Have you seen it yet?? Let us know what you think?? 

Night of the Awalim Show & Workshops - Melbourne 13th-15th April 2012

I was very excited when I heard that Yasmina of Cario was coming to Melbourne for a bellydance show and series of workshops. I had heard fantastic reviews of her workshops overseas and now after participating in her sessions I know why! She is great - as a performer she really knows how to light up a room and as an instructor she is friendly and generous in her teaching. 

The Friday night show at the Thornbury Theatre was a real firecracker – enough to spark up any dancer thinking of retiring to the couch for winter! The show
featured the beautiful Yasmina, Shamira from Adelaide, Amera from Sydney, many Melbourne dancers and the crowd favourite; Yasmina’s 10 year old son as the MC who managed to charm us all!

Yasmina’s style is Egyptian Oriental with her own individual flavor. I enjoyed her dances as well as her unique and colorful costumes. My favourite routine of the night was Yasmina’s funky Shaabi piece with a lot of cheeky attitude. To reflect the street-style of the dance, Yasmina wore fitted denim jeans and a
denim bellydance bra, both covered in sequins, hearts and crystals!!
 
I participated in 3 of the workshops over the weekend; Cairo Technique, Egyptian Film Session and Shaabi. I found Yasimina to be an excellent workshop teacher, taking time to explain the various techniques and how they fit to the music. I believe the workshops sold out, which is understandable considering the quality of the tuition.

I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from Yasmina of Cairo and would like to thank Barbara and all the ladies at Bellydance Kizmet for their hardwork organising it all.

The Bendir is a frame drum commonly used in traditional Moroccan music. It is used to play the rhythms and the distinguishing feature of this drum is the snare strings which give the drum it's unique buzzing sound.

I am a belly dancer and darabuka player. I have recently been learning to play the Bendir, and although challenging to begin with, I love everything about this drum. I love how it feels, plays and sounds!

I've been learning the upright style of playing this drum, which is holding it in your left hand, thumb in the hole. You play with both left and right fingers. Initially I found it difficult holding the drum and playing at the same time, however with practice over the last 6 months, I discovered the right balance and playing got easier and sounded better!

I'm very excited to have just recieved my Belly dancing Fan Veils. I am happy with their quality and am putting together a routine using these colorful fans for an upcoming show.

I bought 2 sets of fans, one for practice the other for performance. I have found that over time the pins holding the fans together have becoming loose.

To make it more secure I have removed the original pin and replaced it with a stronger bolt and flat nut. The bolt is the exact length so it doesn't stick into my hand and I have secured the nut with super glue. In the picture below the right fan has the new bolt, the left the original.

I have made the fans tighter than when they arrived and I find this makes them easier to use. I have also labelled the fans right & left for easy use. If your fans were not right and left when you bought them, you can remove the bolt and swap the wooden ribs over.   

More recently I performed a fan veil dance at the Prepare to be Charmed concert, 10 December 2010 in Melbourne: