🫀 6 Habits of a BOLD Bellydancer
What would your life and dance look like if you were to embrace the bold bellydancer identity within you, unleash it, fully expressed, and start creating and sharing courageously?
Take a moment to imagine yourself in your most empowered and creative form. Are you a respected performer? A studio owner? A freelance teacher? Something else that excites you?
Whatever shape your dream takes, harness that image and visualize reaching that goal.
Now what’s stopping you from obtaining it? If you’re like me, your answer is probably fear-based, and you might be thinking something like “I’m not good enough. I don’t have the time. My peers won’t approve. I don’t look a certain way. I’ll make too many mistakes.”
The list could go on.
If you’re ready to step outside those doubts and become a Brilliant Bellydancer, check out this very short pep talk I gave attendees of the Cohesion Camp 2022, then read on:
I believe it’s important to normalize sharing that we are all afraid, as fear is a part of the creative process regardless of where you are in your dance journey. Here are my other suggestions to becoming the Brilliant and Bold Bellydancer you want to be:
1. You are not alone:
We all have fears and doubts, regardless of what is shown in public or on social media. As we discussed in a previous blog, comparison is the thief of joy and we never get to know what another person struggled with up to the short clip posted online. Speak your fears aloud and get to the truth of what’s really behind them. On that note…
2. Fear comes in many flavors:
Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of making a mistake, fear of doing it wrong. Take a moment to sit with what’s *really* stopping you from achieving the goal you pictured earlier, and then remove those limiting beliefs! In case you haven’t heard it lately, allow me:
You are good enough.
You are strong enough.
You are capable enough.
YOU ARE ENOUGH.
3. The thing we fear most is the key to unlocking our potential:
Tired of talking about fear yet? It really is this important, and this bullet point is at the heart of it. If we’re comfortable, we’re not growing. Living with the discomfort of not being the best or [insert limiting belief] and doing the work bit-by-bit will build confidence over time. Unfortunately there’s no silver bullet, and the only way forward is through. Trust yourself and trust the process laid out within The Cohesion Collective, and you’ll find that you might be open to more opportunities, you’ll be creating more, and/or you’ll connect more with other people and help more people.
4. Release old patterns of permission-seeking, validation seeking, and/or abdicating your choices to a “higher authority”:
So often we give our power to others—a mentor, a well-known professional, someone of “rockstar” status, et al. We seek their approval and thumbs-up to validate our choices and that we’re doing a good job. But why? Often it’s to make ourselves feel better or like our choices were okay. Don’t get me wrong, it feels good to be told we did a good job, and oftentimes I like to hear that from my loved ones that they enjoyed my performance or that they see my hard work. However, I’ve found that by asking myself “what am I hoping they will tell me?” and then work to achieve that AND THEN TELL IT TO MYSELF is a healthier approach to getting the validation I seek. At the end of the day, I’m only trying to prove myself to the person I want to be tomorrow.
5. Embrace and develop your unique approach to dance:
For this, I encourage removing a binary way of thinking–meaning the either/or mentality. As I’ve said before, there’s no silver bullet style to success or fulfillment in dance. Not allowing yourself to explore anything that interests you ultimately costs you creativity, education, expansion, greater expression, and the FUN you want. All experience is good experience, and you never know when you’ll be able to draw on it to fuel a choreography idea, sharpen your technique, or drive innovation in the art form!
6. Trust yourself:
Design your own style that plays to your strengths and uniqueness by trusting your intuitive intelligence to mix and match different ideas and apply them to your dance. It’s like learning how to cook: you may have the basic skills, all the ingredients, and a recipe to follow, but it might not turn out EXACTLY like the picture, or taste great to you. Maybe you thought it needed another spice not listed in the recipe? Perhaps more time in the oven? Having that kind of self-confidence to put your own twist on tried and true strategies and infuse your creativity into the traditional format will help you know when to trust the process, and when to break the rules to become a bold and respectful innovator.
So with that, I encourage you to create courageously and become a Bold & Brilliant Bellydancer in 2023!
Amber, a member of The Cohesion Collective, struggled with their confidence as well:
“I used to think: who am I to pursue teaching? This has been a huge growth for me and I am excited for my future growth. I overcame fear and discomfort and the reward just keeps on giving because I am stronger, more brave, and more confident in my abilities.”
-Amber
I truly value the vulnerability of the members of The Cohesion Collective around professional and personal growth within bellydance, and if you find yourself needing a little extra encouragement, I invite you to Apply TODAY to join us inside The Cohesion Collective!
There’s no obligation to join and when you apply you’ll get access to my advanced private training where I explain exactly how I train people to become brilliant bellydancers!
Warmly,
April Rose and The Cohesion Collective Team 🌹
Become a Brilliant Bellydancer
Apply to join us inside The Cohesion Collective and get your free invite to watch my advanced private training on how to become a brilliant bellydancer using the 3-part Cohesion Framework: