New Session at the Westlake Rec Center starts June 21st!

Just a forewarning if you are interested in joining my class at the Westlake Rec Center the next session starts June 21st! Details are the same as before:
6 week course
(6/21 - 7/26) No class 5/31
$72 member/ $77 resident of Westlake/ $82 non res and non-member.
Combined price- $130 member/ $135 non-member/ $140 non-resident

Westlake Rec Center-
Monday nights-
Level one bellydance 7:15-8:15 pm
Level two bellydance 8:30-9:30 pm

Feel free to email me with any questions comments or concerns

Auditions For DDS 2010 Summer Show- "Soleil Carnivale: Beyond the Rhythm"

This year we are raising the bar and holding a professional audition for our summer show "Soleil Carnivale: Beyond the Rhythm". Upon arrival dancers will receive a packet listing choreorgaphies in the show with their rehearsal dates and costume requirements. This is an open audition and will be classroom style. We'll be watching to see what numbers each dancers fits best. Although parts can't be guaranteed we aim to find a part for everyone who auditions. We can use dancers with experience in bellydance, jazz, ballet and modern. The show is scheduled for Saturday August 28th, evening. We are exploring venues at this time. Dress rehearsal is mandatory for all group numbers and is Thursday August 26th 7-9:30 PM at L2D. Callbacks will be done via email. Dancers will be invited to perform parts that fit them best. Rehearsal times and costume requirements will be listed.

Sunday May 23rd L2D Studio- 12 noon-1:30 PM.
Please bring a recent full body photograph, a hip scarf or shawl and a veil.

Any questions contact admin@leyladances.com or love2dancestudio@gmail.com

Updated DDS Calendar!

May 1st- Leyla at Darna and Kan Zaman Restaurant. Darna show 8 pm. KZ 11:30 pm; 1 am

May 2nd- Mother/ Daughter Zumba. l2D Studio; 10-11 AM

May 3rd- Leyla's new classes at Westlake Rec Center start. 6 week session.

May 4th- Official start date- The Madonna Workout!! with Leyla. L2D; 7:30 PM

May 12th- Last Day to register for Mother's Day Workshop with Leyla and Babette!!

May 14th- Spring hafla featuring Gypsy Soul! L2D Studio. 7-10 PM

May 16th- Mother's Day event with Leyla and Babette. Love 2 Dance. 11 AM-1:30 PM

May 21st- Cardio Shimmython with Leyla. Love 2 Dance. 6 PM

May 23rd- auditions for "Soleil Carnivale: Beyond the Rhythm". L2D; 12 noon-1:30 PM

May 31st- NO CLASS at Westlake Rec Center!! Happy Memorial Day!!

June 5th- DDS performs at South River Vineyard. http://www.southrivervineyard.com/

June 11th- L2D recital DRESS REHEARSAL. All performers are required to attend

June 12th- Love 2 Dance Recital. Downtown Akron main library. http://www.akronlibrary.org/mainlib.html

June 14th- Last day of first session of bellydance with Leyla at Westlake Rec Center

June 18th- Private Event

June 20th- Cardio Shimmython and Dance Conditioning with Leyla. L2D; 10:30 AM-noon

June 22nd- Second Session bellydance with Leyla starts at Westlake Rec Center

June 24th- DDS at fundraiser- Tangier Restaurant, Akron, OH. 5-10 PM http://www.thetangier.com/

July 3rd- DDS returns to South River Vineyard. http://www.southrivervineyard.com/

July 18th- Cardio Shimmython and Dance Conditioning with Leyla. L2D; 10:30 AM- noon

July 26th- Last Day of second session bellydance with Leyla at Westlake Rec Center

August 2nd- Third session of bellydance with Leyla starts at Westlake Rec Center

August 26th- Dress Rehearsal for Soleil Carnivale: Beyond the Rhythm. L2D. 7-9:30 PM

August 28th- DDS 2010 summer show, Soleil Carnivale: Beyond the Rhythm. Akron main library

September 4th- DDS performs at the Berea Oktoberfest. http://clevelandoktoberfest.com/dancing.php

November 7th- Workshop and show featuring Leyla Soleil, Lancaster County, PA

How Young is Too Young? My Thoughts on Young Girls and Bellydance

Opinions vary widely throughout the world on how old a girl should be before taking up bellydance. In light of the huge story of the seven year old "Samba Queen" this year on CNN I thought I would offer my thoughts as the mother of an up and coming bellydance star. As always, these thoughts are only my opinions and I don't claim my opinions to be right for everyone.

Bellydance class in my experience is an excellent device for helping preteen and teen girls cultivate a healthy body image. At a time when girls are first developing curves it can help them learn to accept and like their bodies as they are. Many of the movements look as nice on a softer body as they do on a more muscular body and as a result the classroom environment is more accepting of different physiques. This type of atmosphere helps young girls to overcome the stereotypes of what beauty is and they begin to see real tangible beauty in themselves and the women around them. A good bellydance class taught by the right teacher can also help women and girls of all ages maintain a healthy body weight by burning calories not to mention helping them develop and maintain coordination, grace, muscle strength and flexibility.

At the youngest ages (say 3-7) girls are really just learning about dance class etiquette, spatial relationships and the basics of what their body can do. Before enrolling I would consider a little ones attention span and her interest level. There aren’t a lot of bellydance classes designed for very young girls so between the ages of 3 and 7 it might be a better idea to start her in ballet and let her revisit bellydance at a later age. That way when she does come back she’ll have some understanding of posture, frame and footwork. This is what I did with my daughter, Babette. She took ballet on her own and whenever I was lucky enough that she wanted to come with me to bellydance class I brought her as a drop in. Looking back I am so grateful to have had the gift of spending time in dance class with Babette. Dance is the cement in our relationship. It gives us something to talk about, laugh about and dream about together. Mostly it allows us to be together without focusing on the frustrations that go along with being a mother or a daughter and this is especially helpful now that she is 13. I would highly recommend the experience of taking your daughter to bellydance class with you if the circumstances allow.

Performing is a another thing. Besides Babette, I have had the pleasure of a couple of other young girls in my class who became graceful, beautiful dancers at a young age and wanted to perform. I don’t think bellydance movements are sexual any more than Latin ballroom, jazz and hip hop. However, because there are a lot of ignorant people out there who are uneducated about dance and performing arts in general I am very picky about the circumstances of my younger dancers performing. My opinion is young girls should only perform in theatrical shows where they are more removed from the audience and haflas and student shows where the audience is very supportive. I just don't like the idea of my girls circulating an audience where tipping might be done. I also don't particularly care for a "bra" on really young girls (to me it just looks a little strange) and in general I feel costumes should be a little more covered up. For all of these reasons I tend to enjoy them in the tribal style and folkloric dances but if your little dancer just happens to love Arabic music and sparkles like mine did cabaret can be done. Babette had one costume she wore a leotard underneath and another one that she wore her jazz pants under her skirt. Girls should only perform if and when they want to and parents or some other guardian should be there for all performances. As long as these types of protective measures are taken there is no reason why some younger girls can’t perform bellydance. It’s not for everyone but what a pleasure it is for us big girl dancers to watch them grow! And for anyone who disagrees they probably only know of the stereotypical sleazy bellydancer in some half lit tavern and have never seen an artistic bellydance show. Anyone who would have a problem with that probably dosen't allow themselves to dance at all.