Blog

    This Is It   Valentines flowers and chocolates are languishing in the bargain bin, but I’m all consumed with the LOVE you’re lavishing upon yourself.  It’s incredible; we started working with the Transformation Plan in January, and NOW we…   Are seeing what happens after six weeks of small but mighty changes.   I’m really proud of Eva in Eureka. She has consistently been training with the videos to get her heart rate Read more…

  A Look Back At 2018   Wow what a year it’s been! If I had to describe 2018 in 1 word, it was the year of change. With your support and our fabulous team, in 2018 we: Produced Shimmy Shake Socialize 2018 in Philadelphia   Presented at Cabaret Dance Camp in Texas.   Welcomed in 22 new SharQui Group Leaders to our team.   We now have Instructors in 25 U.S States and 6 Read more…

  She Said Yes! – Rachel’s Story   I still clearly remember the first time I encountered bellydance. I remember she was beautiful, and the precision she had over her movements was absolutely amazing. I wanted to be able to dance like that. But even then I knew we did not have extra money for me to take any kind of lessons. So I tried to put it out of my mind. Over the years, Read more…

SharQui From A Bellydancer’s Perspective – Shakila’s Story   We all know that “Raqs Sharqi” means “eastern dance” in Arabic, but what is the SharQuí® workout?  I found out at Rakkasah West this year when I took Oreet’s workshop, “Drills and Skills, SharQuí – The bellydance workout .”  At first thought, I was hesitant to sign up – the words “workout” brought back flashbacks of the endless jumping in place I experienced in my 20’s at my Read more…

  Pause and Exhale   How stressed out are you? Do you feel like you’re always scrambling, like you’re chasing a runaway train?   I know women who are still agonizing over their incomplete resolutions and the year’s almost over! It’s madness.   Let me share a little secret with you…(read more)   When you take a chance to savor your victories, even small ones, hell, especially small ones, you tend to have more success. Read more…

  You Don’t Know   I met a woman yesterday in Stabucks who spent 30 minutes telling me how she loves Zumba and that she’s the fittest she’s ever been at age 50. (I’m thinking…totally cool and way to go sista!)   I quickly suggested (before she could start talking again for another 30) that she might benefit from changing things up a bit. With SharQui. I mean, she’d be working her body in a Read more…

  What I’ve Learned In My 20 Years Of Teaching SharQui   These are gentle reminders of how I want to live my life and some days are better than others. But I never stop trying. I hope these will help those who are currently on their journey and for those who want to start.   Never stop learning, never stop growing and take it one step at a time.   Truth Smack #1: It’s Read more…

  Get Out And Dance   Can I remind you how important it is to be with people? Almost 90% of our interactions these days are non-verbal? This worries me because human connection is absolutely vital to our survival.   There’s a lot coming out these days about how electronic devices are making people unmotivated. In facet, the other day my kids told me that they didn’t want to play outside. Not because of the Read more…

Oh Exercise…   how we love to hate you.   We’d feel so accomplished if sitting was considered exercise, right? To tell you the truth, because I run my dance business myself, I also have to be a pro when it comes to sitting at the laptop for hours on end. So I know that my body needs what SharQui gives it.   We all know we should move more – some find the time Read more…

  Getting Uncomfortable   Hey there Beauty Shaker,   I’m super stoked to tell you about an amazing event I produced in my hometown of Philly. It was called Shimmy, Shake & Socialize 2018, the first-ever bellydance fitness of it’s kind. There were 3 types of bellydance fitness formats – barre, dance fusion and cardio – so that everyone had a variety to choose from.   My mission was to educate the Philly area about Read more…

    What Happens Backstage   The other night I went to see a contemporary dance company in Philadelphia. I’ve been a fan of this company for years when I was a contemporary dancer in NYC, and this was my 1st time watching them live, on stage. What a thrill!   I was inspired by every single dancer that stepped onto that stage. They put their mind, body, and spirit into every move. But I Read more…

  Strange Things Are Happening   The weather is strange. Leaders are doing and saying bizarre things. Teens are doing emotional and dangerous things. It’s a weird time in this world. I’m sure you know what I mean.   As a result, we’re stressed, overwhelmed and have feelings that we can’t handle sometimes.   So tell me…if you didn’t have dance, fitness or another outlet to help you deal with these things, can you imagine Read more…

  Who Me? – Sandra’s Story   In 1986 I started bellydance lessons at my local community center in Sunnyvale, CA.   Flash forward to 2006, two daughters occupy my life and bellydance has fallen by the wayside and my weight is slowly creeping up about 10 pounds per year over the previous 4 years.  My loving man caught me dancing in the kitchen and insisted I get back to dancing. I made the commitment to Read more…

      Do YOU   I want to share a story with you. It was a response to a bellydance documentary I was interviewed on over 10 years ago. This documentary had multiple interviews of bellydance teachers and choreographers from the East coast, West coast, and in between, talking about the rise of bellydance in America. Well apparently the producers liked what I had to say as I was highlighted a little more than Read more…

    So Tell Me…   How often do you say things to yourself that questions your ability?   How often do you compare yourself to others and believe you’re less than in some way?   How often do you criticize yourself without fully realizing it?   Do you know the impact this negative self-talk has on you?   Well I want you to start paying closer attention to how you to talk to yourself. Read more…

    Dancing At Any Age: Belly Dancing For Seniors              Jennie Niles, one of the Ailey Extension’s more senior students, shares her story of how she and her friend, Lorraine Lunceford, came to be regular SharQui® belly dance class takers at the Ailey Extension. Learn why, when it comes to dance, age is just a number.   For months, Jennie Niles, a midtown West resident, would often walk past the Ailey Studios on West 55th Street Read more…

  Who Will You Be?   My amazing student and friend, Annette, asked me one day…”Oreet, did you always have confidence? What triggered you to start on your own? Did you intend SharQui to be bigger than yourself or did it evolve on it’s own? When did you know you had something?”   Her questions got me thinking and planted the seed for this post. (Short story now. Long story later)   If someone had Read more…

      Life Is Like A Bellydance Competition   I LOVE Bellydance Competitions – loved being a competitor and still love being a spectator as well as a judge. I appreciate the beauty and the hard work that goes into it from both the competitor and the producer, yet when it comes to choosing the winner, it’s TOTALLY subjective. You can put a different set of judges every time and get a different result. Read more…

        Holy Shift   I’m not going to lie…   One of the most emotionally challenging mindset shifts I’ve had to make personally in my biz is stepping into a CEO role. And to top it off, I didn’t have any mentors to help me navigate this wild journey (although now I have some kick ass coaches, finally).    It’s been one hell of a ride.   Yet these past few months I’ve Read more…