I often get asked how you best control a knee or Egyptian Shimmy – and being one of those moves that require strength as well as relaxation to work, the simple question is really: practise. But that doesn’t necessarily mean plough on and do lots of drills, as it’s also very important to take the […]
By Ishtar Dance on Monday, October, 18th, 2021 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body No Comments
Whether your hips are tight from a lot of dancing, other exercise or even just sitting down, stretching the outer hip can be tricky without adding to much strain on other joints especially the knee. So today I want to share one of my favourite gentle outer hip stretches, which can be a great alternative […]
By Ishtar Dance on Friday, October, 1st, 2021 in Learning, Your Dance Body 2 Comments
Every week in class I give my students the option of homework, but I know all to well that most won’t be able to set aside large chunks of time to work on their technique or polish their performance. So how do you manage to get your training fitted in between work, family, friends, housework […]
By Ishtar Dance on Wednesday, January, 27th, 2021 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body No Comments
As I’m writing this my Christmas and New Year plans are still uncertain – but then I guess that was the theme for the year now nearly gone. One thing is for certain, dance is what has kept me going throughout 2020, even if the majority of it has been online. And as things stand […]
By Ishtar Dance on Monday, December, 14th, 2020 in Dance Inspiration 2 Comments
What a crazy year 2020 has proven to be! Just as I was hoping to return to teaching physical classes and workshops in some of my regular venues, obstacles seem to come in the way and the return, that I think so many are impatiently waiting for, has been delayed. But life goes on, so […]
By Ishtar Dance on Friday, October, 2nd, 2020 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning No Comments
I’m very excited to be launching my brand new series of pre-recorded courses on my website. You may know that I’ve previously taught online courses with both pre-recorded and live elements to experienced students, but this is the first time I’ll be opening this up to beginners too – first with a Belly Dance Basics […]
By Ishtar Dance on Friday, July, 10th, 2020 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning No Comments
As a dancer I have from an early age been encouraged to eat foods that will support and nurture my body and I have previously written about a dancer’s diet. In the last few months I’ve rediscovered my passion for cooking, baking and not least finding healthy recipes for food I love. I hope some […]
By Ishtar Dance on Tuesday, June, 16th, 2020 in In the Dance Kitchen, Your Dance Body No Comments
Fusion music and dance isn’t a new concept. Egyptian star dancer Samia Gamal was heavily influenced by Russian ballet and composer Mohammed Abdul Wahab experimented with western rhythms and orchestrations. But it’s not only the West influencing the East – the exchange has also gone the other way with Shakira dancing to Um Kalthoum and […]
By Ishtar Dance on Thursday, June, 4th, 2020 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning 1 Comment
Here in the UK the Government has announced the the lockdown will continue for the foreseeable future, even if some restrictions, such as only being able to leave the house once a day to exercise locally, has been lifted [at time of writing this at least that was the case]. But even though we can […]
By Ishtar Dance on Wednesday, May, 13th, 2020 in Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body No Comments
Expert advice on how best to cope with the lock-down as a result of the global Corona pandemic, has not been scarce, but most agree that keeping a healthy routine of exercise, something to help you destress and of course a good diet is essential. I have taken the last few weeks out to engross […]
By Ishtar Dance on Wednesday, April, 22nd, 2020 in Dance Inspiration, Your Dance Body No Comments
