Karen Barbee is a belly dancer, instructor, teacher, speaker and lover of middle eastern culture. With over 35 years experience, Karen personifies the art and science of belly dance.

Learning a dance form from another culture is like learning a new language.  You must first learn the alphabet, the smallest component of the language.  In this dance, this equates to the most fundamental isolations.

Then you learn words (combined isolations – hip circles, figure 8’s, rib circles, etc.).  From there you learn phrases (dance combinations).

Usually, while learning a new language, you memorize paragraphs composed by other people and read stories/poems composed by other people to practice your ability to use your new language.  This would be akin to learning a formal choreography – prepared by your teacher.

Finally, after much of all of the above, you are able to form your own sentences, compose your own stories and carry on a conversation  (Improvisation).  Initially, that conversation will be quite simple.  Hopefully later, that conversation will be full of new vocabulary – in your new language – that is accessed at will!  For at least some time, you will speak your new language with an accent from your first language.  It may or may not go away.  That just becomes part of who you are and how you communicate.  (I have learned to make no apology for my American accent.) Read more about my teaching style and curriculum here.