Discover   March is Women’s History Month and it has come a long way since it was established in 1981. It’s not only a month of recognizing the great women before us that paved the path toward gender equality – but a month of celebrating feminine power.   In light of Women’s History month, I […]

    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.   […]

  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 […]

  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 […]

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 […]

  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 […]

  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 […]

  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. […]

  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. […]

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 […]

  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 […]

    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 […]

  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 […]

  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 […]

      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 […]

    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 […]

    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. […]

  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 […]

      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 […]

        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 […]

    The Bellydance Pro vs. The Fitness Pro   I am both a teacher of dance AND fitness, and I am deeply appreciative and honored for being here. As both a teacher and a leader, I have a strong investment in finding out what motivates people to improve their practice, whether it is someone […]

  Thanks To SharQui – Joanne’s Story   My name is Joanne Domenici, and I have been involved in the Belly Dance world since 1974, although I did not start teaching until 2006. My classes were always well attended, but I couldn’t help but think there was a better way to teach the classes I so […]

You Are Enough   I’ll never forget chatting with one of my students in the studio after teaching class when my 2 kids were young and I took them to class with me. My little guys were 4 and 2 at the time, and running around the studio, through my legs and pulling on me. […]

  Wow! You’re Like…   “Wow, so cool! You’re like…famous!! Just realized from Googling you.”  [This was an actual statement from another mom on a playdate as I almost spit up my coffee.]   It’s always a fun conversation when my work-life and my mom-life collide. Famous??  Umm…no.  But I  absolutely love what I do […]

    What does Shake your Beauty mean to you?   One weekend I was alone without my husband and kids, enjoying my morning coffee (this was a rare occasion for me and I enjoyed every friggin minute!) Being in a quiet home got me thinking about my biz, SharQui. What the heck does Shake […]

  Give It A Try   For most people, hitting a dance fitness class to get into shape can be intimidating – but take my word for it, it’s not as overwhelming as you think! I absolutely LOVE showing people that they CAN do it and that they are AMAZING doing it (while burning calories, bonus!) – […]

      Life Lessons From My Dog, Jojo   I wanted to share with you that my amazing French Bulldog, Jojo, passed peacefully on January 11, 2017 at 12.5 years old. I knew it was coming but still so hard to deal with.   I got her in the summer of 2004, at 8 […]

    Why Injuries Can Be Awesome 4 Truth Smacks when I suffered from Sciatica   Would love to share this story with you…   One late summer day I was helping my husband put in a concrete, outdoor deck for our BBQ to live on. It took us 2 weekends digging dirt, leveling the […]

What’s Your Manifesto?   What gets you out of bed every morning? What do you passionately believe in? What makes you tick? (or tock)   It’s taken me a long time to figure out why I truly do what I do and how I want to feel going forward in my life. I’ve worked hard […]

    Are You Being Watched?   Do you think people are watching you? Do you knowingly inspire others? I think most people would say, “Nah”, “I don’t know” or “Maybe?”….but I have a great experience to tell you about, and it’s all because someone was watching.    Personally I do feel I have inspired […]

Confidence Is The New Beautiful   Hello Beauty Shakers! So I met this fabulous woman a little over a year ago in August 2015.  I was at the Jewels of the Orient Bellydance Conference in Delaware and she was vending her gorgeous apparel.  I was not only drawn to her shiny and sparkly tanks, but I […]

    Fall into You   Hey there! I want to personally thank you for welcoming me into your inbox and I want to welcome you to my community as well. Now, a little over 2 weeks ago I sent you my very first blog post. Not a newsletter, not an upcoming product or an event – […]

  Hi, it’s me, Oreet…   …and welcome to my very first blog post. To be completely transparent, I’m a little nervous. This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. The seed of this blog has been germinating for over 2 years and it’s finally time. One reason it took […]