🫀 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, 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 many of the dancers I work with, 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.
I want to help you shift your mindset because I know it is CRUCIAL to your success!
Read on and jump straight to the podcast episode below! 🎙️
➡️ This 15 minute pep-talk is for dancers who are struggling.
Struggling to find their voice, to muster the confidence to share their work, questioning their role in the scene where they operate...
If any of that resonates with you, give it a listen (or watch the video for visuals, too!).
😔 Do you ever think to yourself: “It’s useless, there’s no one out there who is interested in learning what I have to teach.”
I used to think that! But the reality is there ARE people who are lit up by the same practices and ideas that you are lit up by!
❤️🔥 Once you get good at identifying the activities that actually bring you joy, and once you start sharing your genuine enthusiasm, amazing like-minded people start coming out of the woodwork to join you!
It can be scary because old ways of being and old relationships start to fall away when you begin to laser focus on your true passions instead of trying to be everything to everyone.
🩵 If you are feeling that fear now, my advice is: TRUST.
Trust yourself. Trust that aligned relationships will come your way.
It’s so worth it!!!
I LOVE combining frame drum, bellydance movement, and cued group improvisation. And guess what?! Other people love it too!
Yes, it takes a lot of focused practice, but it turns out that people like being present with their bodies and the rhythm just as much as I love it! I’m so grateful for everyone inside The Cohesion Collective I get to work with on the stuff that excites me the most!
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 a few of my suggestions for becoming the bold bellydancer you want to be:
1. You're not the only one:
We all have fears and doubts, regardless of what is shown in public or on social media. 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.
If you’re ready to step outside your doubts and step into your life as a bold professional bellydancer, I am here to support you inside The Cohesion Collective!
➡️ Get all the details and apply here today!
Warmly,
April Rose & The Cohesion Team 🌹
Read what dancers are saying about The Cohesion Collective...
Amber overcame her limiting beliefs and discovered her teaching talents:
“I immediately had this feeling of fear following signing up for the Teacher Training. I had never put myself outside of my comfort zone like that. Who am *I* to pursue teaching? Am I in over my head? The imposter syndrome hit hard. Well let me tell you, it was one of the most inspiring, exciting, educational, and mind-blowing experiences of my life. The Cohesion program is so thoughtful, methodical, fun and approachable. I am truly invigorated by the material and I am HUMBLED, HONORED, AND FREAKIN’ STOKED to be able to say that I am a Stage 1 Trained Teacher in the Dance Cohesion format. 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.”
Become a brilliant & booked bellydancer
(without burning out!)
inside The Cohesion Collective
Join the most comprehensive
performer & teacher training program
for current and aspiring professional bellydancers
⭐️ Check out the page to see all about the program! ⭐️
Inside The Cohesion Collective we teach you *everything* you need to grow a successful bellydance career fueled by a high level of technical skill, historical knowledge, improvisation, choreographic composition, rhythm, effective teaching, and entrepreneurial know-how.
The program includes all of three Stages of the Dance Cohesion courses and Teacher Trainings, a high level of support - plus soooo much more!
🔑 YOUR ALL ACCESS PASS TO EVERYTHING I KNOW
I am teaching you *everything I know* in The Cohesion Collective.
It’s everything I know: not only about how to become a super skilled bellydancer, finger cymbalist, and frame drummer but also about making it work as a professional bellydancer (gigging, touring, teaching, producing, directing) from 20+ years experience.
With everything in The Cohesion Collective, you can build your bellydance career as simple or sophisticated as you like. These strategies are designed to grow and evolve with you, just like they have served me for my entire career.
🚨 APPLY TODAY TO WATCH MY ADVANCED PRIVATE TRAINING ON WHAT'S WORKING FOR PROFESSIONAL BELLYDANCERS NOW
In my masterclass I share:
My 3-part framework (plus secret sauce!) for crafting a thriving bellydance career that you can easefully maintain (and actually enjoy!)
The step-by-step process to build your unique bellydance brilliance
A layered approach to earning bellydance income
I also talk about The Cohesion Collective and answer your questions about how it works, how I support my students, their success, and what you can expect when you work with me to achieve your bellydance dreams.
You'll see in the training exactly how I support my students in going pro - my approach is like nothing else out there!
This workshop and enrollment is only available to accepted applicants! So apply today to get your invite!
Become a Brilliant & Booked Bellydancer
Apply to join us inside The Cohesion Collective and get your free invite to watch my advanced private training on what’s working for professional bellydancers now: