At the heart of many dance forms is the celebration of the sacred feminine. From Indian temple dances to Bellydance, movement has always been a way for women to connect with their bodies as well as the divine, whilst also offering a way of self-expression that is healing, powerful and beautiful at the same time. […]
By developer@ishtar on Friday, April, 19th, 2024 in Belly Dance & Pregnancy, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body No Comments
Very few belly dancers have been elevated to national Egyptian treasures, but Samia Gamal, born Zaynab Khalil Ibrahim Mahfuz, was and probably still is one of Egypts most loved dancers. I’m sure you’ve already seen lots of video clips of her and if you’ve studied with me you’ll know that I adore her iconic moves and have […]
By Ishtar Dance on Saturday, February, 17th, 2024 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning No Comments
Dancing can become very addictive and an essential part of your identity, but not every dancer is the same. Read on to find out which dance identity is yours, and how you can use that knowledge to develop your dancing even further. To be fair, no one is rarely 100% one or the other. Often […]
By Ishtar Dance on Thursday, February, 1st, 2024 in Dance Coaching, Dance Entrepreneur, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Uncategorised, Your Dance Body No Comments
It’s nothing new that dancing is good for you on many different levels, and if you’re already a dancer, I’m sure you know that it works your muscles as well as your brain, not to mention raising your endorphin levels and helping release that feel good hormone that we all enjoy after dancing. But the […]
By Ishtar Dance on Wednesday, November, 29th, 2023 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Your Dance Body 2 Comments
Do you ever wonder why we dance? How we communicate through dance and how it challenges our brains as well as our bodies? Having worked with dance on many different levels including performing, teaching and in a health setting, I find all these questions highly interesting and I was delighted when I discovered some talks […]
By Ishtar Dance on Tuesday, March, 28th, 2023 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body No Comments
Being active has long been recognised to lower stress levels, but did you know that dancing can be one of the most effective stress therapies? Alongside my dancing I also work as personal development and transitions coach, and the main reasons people come to me is stress related. When we get stressed we often disconnect […]
By Ishtar Dance on Thursday, January, 26th, 2023 in Dance Entrepreneur, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body No Comments
Posture is the most important thing when dancing, yet many struggle to maintain it, not least when performing and the nerves or the pure joy of dancing starts kicking in! So how do you stay ‘zipped up’ as one dancer so appropriately called it. Well, it all starts with finding out and not least feeling […]
By Ishtar Dance on Monday, July, 18th, 2022 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body 2 Comments
Ever feel stuck when having to improvise and make stuff up on the spot? Always feel you resort to the same old combinations and moves? Then check out this essential improvisations tip that will help you develop exciting combinations, create completely new ones and not least take the fear (hopefully) out of having to dance […]
By Ishtar Dance on Sunday, May, 22nd, 2022 in Dance Coaching, Dance Entrepreneur, Dance Inspiration, Learning No Comments
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
