By Ishtar Dance on Thursday, January, 26th, 2023 in Dance Entrepreneur, 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 Monday, July, 18th, 2022 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body 2 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 Sunday, May, 22nd, 2022 in Dance Coaching, Dance Entrepreneur, Dance Inspiration, Learning No 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 Monday, October, 18th, 2021 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body 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 Friday, October, 1st, 2021 in Learning, Your Dance Body 2 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 Wednesday, January, 27th, 2021 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body No 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 Friday, October, 2nd, 2020 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning No 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, July, 10th, 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 Thursday, June, 4th, 2020 in Dance Coaching, Dance Inspiration, Learning 1 Comment
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 Wednesday, May, 13th, 2020 in Dance Inspiration, Learning, Your Dance Body No Comments
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 […]
