Real Belly Dancers DON'T Look Like This

I’m sure this blog post will land me on the National Registry of Belly Dance Haters. I’m sure I’ll anger the Correctness Police. Perhaps, I should send my boyfriend out to the Army/Navy Store to buy me a flak jacket to wear to my gigs.

But I think it’s time for the Cheesy Belly Dance Show to die.

We’ve all seen the James Bond movies and the Monkees music videos, with the dancers (in bad-ass vintage bedlah!) playing the femmes fatales. We’ve all been to bad Middle Eastern restaurants and touristy dinner-and-a-show attractions, seen some sort of circus-inspired spectacle with fire and snakes and acrobatics and wondered what on earth we just saw. Some of us have even been to birthday parties where the belly dancer had the brilliant idea to jump out of a birthday cake.

Don’t get me wrong. A little “ham and cheese” can be fun from a historian’s perspective. As for cheesy shenanigans that go on in today’s belly dance world? The 1970′s called. They want their Harem Scarum’ schtick back.

I know what you’re thinking: a little harmless kitsch won’t hurt anyone. Oh, wait – it does hurt people. Other dancers’ corny antics hurt the more traditional Middle Eastern artists like myself, who fight an uphill battle to explain that we DON’T wear face veils, or feed grapes to the Birthday Boy, or force audience members to get up and shake a tail feather to The Electric Slide. Sleaze and schtick also hurt Middle Eastern people, who face bellydance burnout after seeing a few too many bad, inauthentic performances – or a few too many random go-go dancers in pseudo-bellydance attire performing at “Arabian Nights” parties in nightclubs. And when your local Arab community gets burned out, you know this is the last straw: young Arabs will often decide against hiring a belly dancer for their wedding because they think it’s corny, old-fashioned and passe.

Dancers, do yourselves and your future audiences a favor. Say NO to cheesy, sleazy gigs.

While it’s true that some of us make a living as full-time entertainers, and while it’s also true that some of us may have to take reliable but unglamorous regular gigs to supplement our income, it pays to remember this: every gig is a PR opportunity, for yourself, for the dance, and for Middle Eastern culture. Sometimes, when one door opens, 100 others close. Seize the wrong opportunities and you may find yourself at a loss for the right opportunities further down the line.

I’m not trying to be the Fun Police. I’m just being real.

As for my “civilian” readers? I apologize on behalf of ALL belly dancers for everything sketchy and scandalous that’s come out of our arts community since Little Egypt brought belly dance to American soil at the Chicago World Fair in 1893. I apologize for every time a belly dancer has forced you to get up and dance on a table at a Greek restaurant in front of your boss (this happened to my dad – sorry, Dad). I apologize for every time you’ve seen a belly dancer at a wedding and felt like you were at a bachelor party. Most of us aren’t here to titillate and you won’t have to worry about us stealing your husband or draining your bar. Most of us just want to put on a good show.

As for those over-the-top Turn Uncle Bob Into a Sultan requests? I don’t do ‘em. Many bad things from the 70′s have died, like the leisure suit, the Pet Rock, and disco. Let’s let the cheesy belly dance show die, too.

Carrara Nour, Belly Dancer in Orlando

About Carrara: Carrara is a professional belly dancer based in Orlando, FL. Carrara proudly specializes in “cheese-free” wedding and party entertainment, and her “lactose” intolerance knows no limits. To hire an Orlando belly dancer for your show, please check out her Booking page. For party-planning tips and to stay on top of her adventures, “like” her Fan Page!

A Pre-Show Snapshot: Waiting Patiently to Surprise the Birthday Boy (Sanford, FL)

Without a doubt, the one type of gig I do the most are birthday parties. The most popular request?

“Help me keep this all a surprise!”

We’ll talk about that later. But first, a recap of last night’s adventures:

Last night’s Top Secret mission sent me to the gorgeous Heathrow neighborhood of Sanford last night, where I helped Maria pull off a perfectly timed surprise for her husband Greg. This wasn’t a typical “sneak in through the side door and hide in the powder room” surprise, but a rather crafty one , timed and executed with military precision. I was absolutely wowed by the amount of thought and care she put into surprising her husband on his special day.

It was 9:30. I had just arrived at Maria’s house while she was out to dinner with Greg and their friends. That was the plan. Nobody was there except the bartender Chelsea and the housekeeper, and while I initially felt a little bit intrusive about just letting myself in (even with Maria’s permission!), I had ample time to get set up in a spare bedroom, get situated in the rest of my costume, make some chitchat with the bartender, and get ready to go.

At 10:00, after the group had arrived, Maria sent everyone out to get their favorite cocktail from the bartender, quickly gave me the heads-up that my show was about to start, and at record speed, had everyone seated and ready. The bartender gave me the “OK” and my music started. At Maria’s request, my costume was blue (Greg’s favorite color) and the show was simple, elegant and interactive with no props, because she felt that all the swords and fire detract from the dance. The crowd was small and intimate, but not afraid to join in on the dancing, from my veil dance (the ladies grabbed their scarves and copied my veil moves), through my drum solo, through BOTH of my audience participation tracks.

The Birthday Boy was thrilled, and best of all – nobody saw this coming! SUCCESS. Greg told me he was amazed that Maria fooled him twice: once into thinking that they were going out for a quiet dinner for two, and then into thinking that the group was just heading back to their place for a little bit of wine and dessert.

So what can we learn from last night’s success story? A few quick things:

• It’s all about teamwork. Shoot me your ideas, and I’ll let you know if it works or how we can tweak and improve upon it. Maria had initially wanted my music to start as soon as they opened the door, but I suggested that she try to quickly sit everyone down in the same spot, and THEN give me the signal. By working together, we “choreographed” the perfect surprise.
• Be Prepared. Like the Boy Scouts motto: in Bellydance Scouts, we make as many arrangements as we can, well ahead of time, so there’s less of a hassle at the last minute. Maria left the gate guard my info so there would be no problems getting in. We also agreed to use her sound system since it would be totally familiar to her and easy to use – I got her my music the day before, and she later told me that she sat in the bathroom transferring my playlist to her iPod so Greg wouldn’t know what was going on! No last-minute fiddling with someone else’s boom box = “I’m just about to play some tunes. Nothing to see here. Move along.”
• Keep it on the DL: Communicate discretely so nobody will find you out. Make phone calls when the Birthday Boy (or Girl!) is out of town. Make calls at work during your lunch break. Or make arrangements via e-mail if the Guest of Honor is within earshot. And whatever you do, don’t say ANYTHING on Facebook! ;)
• Keep it Discrete: I tell all my clients to set aside an area for me to get changed and store my belongings, and I also recommend that you designate a discrete entrance, be it a side door or back door, somewhere off the beaten path from where people will be hanging out. I can also arrive in “civilian” attire and get changed at your location, if you request.
• Sit Back and Enjoy the Show! If you made it through all these steps, congratulations! You’re well on your way to a surprise belly dance show that your “special somebody” will never forget!

I’d like to give a big thank you to Maria for making me part of Greg’s top secret birthday surprise, and a high five for a job well done!

Thinking of surprising somebody special with a belly dance show in Orlando or Brevard County? What are you waiting for? Let’s get down to business :) For even more tips on surprising somebody special, check out my friend Central Coast (CA) belly dancer Mary’s blog post on the same subject.

Carrara Nour, Belly Dancer in Orlando

About Carrara: Carrara is a professional belly dancer based in Orlando, FL. Her classic style of belly dance and lively, interactive shows make for a fun and classy surprise for your special somebody! When Carrara retires from belly dance, she plans to become a secret agent or a Bond Girl. To hire an Orlando belly dancer for your show, please check out her Booking page. For party-planning tips and to stay on top of her adventures, “like” her Fan Page!

But as a multi-cultural entertainer, I find that a lot of my most memorable and meaningful work takes place when I pair up with a client who has a vision above and beyond just a beautiful show. After all, a good belly dance show can offer so much more than just an opportunity to put the Guest of Honor in the hot seat and dazzle the crowd with tricks. If done right, a belly dance performance can also be an enlightening experience that brings people of different cultural groups together!

On December 30th, I brought some Florida sunshine to a Brazilian and Persian family gathering at the Hotel Delamar in Greenwich, CT. Belly dance, samba dancers, and a Persian DJ spinning non-stop Iranian music, all at one of Fairfield County’s most elegant little boutique hotels….does it get any cooler than that? Oh, yes, and did I mention this was for a lucky little 2-year-old girl’s birthday party?

Cris C. from Stamford, CT is one of the coolest, most creative clients I worked with in 2011. We met by accident (I still rank very high on Google searches for Connecticut), and as luck would have it, I was planning on staying with my family in CT for the Holidays during that time, anyway. With a bit of tweaking to my travel plans, I was able to stick around an extra day and help Cris make her adorable daughter Zary’s birthday party sparkle.

What I loved about working with Cris was her enthusiasm and her creative input. We bounced a lot of ideas back and forth and had a great time planning the creative details of my show. Every time I got off the phone with her, I had a silly grin on my face! She really gave her all to honor her little girl’s diverse cultural background in a way that the children and adults in the crowd would love. Let’s be real: we all know what it’s like to awkwardly sit through Dora the Explorer parties for family and friends with small kids. Entertaining the adults is just as nice as keeping the kiddos happy! And judging by the number of people cutting loose on the dance floor, I know she achieved this goal and much, much more.

The Details:

• My Show: Think: pretty Lebanese-flavored cabaret belly dance with a tropical twist and (TSA-approved) belly dance props for added excitement. We went with a lively entrance with zills, a veil dance with rainbow-colored silk, a candle dance, a samba-flavored drum solo, and some Persian pop music for fun. I wore a rainbow-colored sequin costume previously owned by Lebanese movie star Nadia Gamal, with hair flowers and tons of multi-colored rhinestone jewelry. Gorgeous samba dancers even joined me for my final song!
• Samba! The sequins! The feathers! The high heels! Those hot Brazilian dance moves! What can I say? I love watching samba dancers, and the ladies at Tropicalia Entertainment of NYC brought the Rio heat in such a fun, classy way. Adults and kids loved their show! I had a blast bonding with them before and after my show!
• The Music: DJ Farshid (Mikhake Noghrehei) of NYC spun a perfect mix of American Top 40 and Iranian classic and pop party standards, and kept the party going all night. I loved his smooth, classy emceeing style.
• The Venue: The Hotel Delamar on the picturesque Greenwich Harbor was the perfect venue for an elegant birthday party. It’s no surprise that so many celebrities stay there: the service is top-notch and the ambiance is relaxed, Old-World European elegance, all the way. The banquet hall was lovely, and bonus! The property is dog-friendly. One of the prettiest Connecticut wedding venues I’ve danced at.
• The Catering: This party, like many events at Delamar, was catered by L’Escale, an independently owned restaurant on the hotel property. While I couldn’t stick around long enough to have a bite to eat this time, L’Escale has been one of my favorite restaurants in lower Fairfield County for years. Their risotto is the stuff dreams are made of, and you could sit on their patio in the summer and daydream while gorgeous yachts sail by. I have many fond memories associated with that place! Chan is the catering manager of L’Escale and he was totally accommodating, helpful and wonderful to work with. (He even helped me track down my MIA finger cymbals, with a smile!)

It was an honor to end my 2011 dance year in my home state, and with a “bang.” Cris and her family know how to celebrate life, and let’s just say, if little Zary grows up with an incurable addiction to sparkle and dance, then this was the defining moment that started it all!

Orlando belly dancer Carrara Nour

About Carrara: Carrara is a professional belly dancer offering elegant, authentic entertainment for weddings and social events in Orlando and beyond. Multi-cultural weddings and events are her specialty! To learn more, check out her Booking or Weddings page, or follow her on Facebook.

Learning is Fun-damental! At Joumana's in Palm Bay

A change in latitude brings a change in attitude. What happens when you leave the diverse, multi-cultural belly dance scene  of the New York metro area and find yourself in a smaller, younger, more fusion-based market without a teacher and without many opportunities to take workshops in the more classic and folkloric styles?

You save your money, honey. (So you can travel for workshops). And in the mean time, you get creative, set goals, and use your time wisely.

For better or worse, I’ve accepted that from this point forward, I will have to find ways to thrive and grow between workshops as a “self-taught” dancer. No, scratch that. A self-starting dancer. I hate the term “self-taught,” because it implies that I wasn’t really educated in the first place. That is far from the truth. My first dance-moms taught me very well!

Self-study sometimes gets a bad rap in the belly dance community, because we’re too intimately familiar with its Worst Case Scenario: the dancer who watches a couple of YouTube clips, says “I can do that!” and starts marketing herself for weddings. Truth is, many respectable dancers have had to turn to self-study, to varying degrees, and for various reasons. Money is tight for a lot of us. (See: Bhuz discussions on low attendance to Mahmoud Reda’s US tour). Some dancers have spouses in the military and frequently relocate, sometimes to desolate places. And in many markets, there aren’t enough instructors equipped to teach advanced concepts to pro-level students, which leads dancers to create their own path – for better and for worse.

When you go your own way, you can either stagnate, innovate or go deeper within the culture of the dance. I choose to go deeper. At the end of the day, I think it’s easier to say, “I’ve learned everything I can, so now I’m going to mix in a bunch of different things and create something new” than it is to say, “Something tells me I’ve barely scratched the surface. Let’s see what we can find.” I started with a pretty solid pan-Arabic repertoire of Egyptian, Lebanese, Turkish, Greek and American Cabaret styles. Now, I’m getting more folkloric and learning more about the music and social context of these dances.

The world is your classroom if you see it that way. Some of the best learning experiences are the ones that don’t cost a thing. This requires childlike curiosity, an open mind and a great deal of humility. Recently, I’ve opened my mind to observing how non-professional Arabs dance in social situations, both on YouTube and, better yet, at my own gigs. I devote hours of time each day to listening to classic Arabic music and learning about different genres and composers. I’ve started asking lots of questions. (Honest to God, this doesn’t make you look dumb. It shows that you’re sincere). This past Friday at one of my restaurant gigs, I befriended a cool Saudi dude named Faisal, who borrowed my sword and did some traditional Saudi stuff with it between my sets. I asked him to explain what I just saw and walked away with some fresh new insight, straight from the source. I learned more from talking to my new buddy in 5 minutes than I did in some workshops on the subject.

There’s nothing wrong with going straight to the source and keeping it real. Before belly dance became the competitive sport that many see it as today, it was a fun-loving, down-home folk dance passed along through generations. Movements were created, shared, refined, embellished and treasured in the home and in celebrations long before they were dissected in a classroom and choreographed for the stage. While paths have diverged, you can never get too earthy or too funky if you perform at social events and fancy yourself to be an authentic dancer.

Now, before I get a letter from the Belly Dance Police (which tends to happen when I blog about things other than my new costumes or what I ate for breakfast), the purpose of this post was not to trivialize the role of teachers or encourage anarchy in the belly dance community. If you have access to a great teacher, keep up your studies! If you have lots of great teachers and workshops in your backyard, treasure it! But if you don’t, then this is not the kiss of death. Even if you have a regular teacher and lots of workshop opportunities in your town, there’s always something you can learn outside the classroom.

Learning experiences are yours for the taking. You just have to ask.

About Carrara: Carrara is a professional belly dancer offering elegant, authentic entertainment for weddings and social events in Orlando and beyond. Multi-cultural weddings and events are her specialty! To learn more, check out her Booking or Weddings page, or follow her on Facebook.

This past Saturday was no exception! I did not one, but two fabulous 40th birthday parties, and each was totally fun and unique in its own right. A quick recap of the weekend’s events, to hopefully inspire your next milestone birthday celebration:

Rolanda’s Surprise 40th Birthday at City Tropics Bistro in Indialantic:

This crew had such a bad case of Booty Shake Fever, it’s a good thing they were “quarantined” in the wine cellar room! All joking aside, these guys were my dream audience – fun, crazy, classy and totally interactive throughout every minute of my show. A belly dance show can be the perfect gift for someone who loves to dance, and you’ve gotta hand it to a great guy like Jeff G. for being a thoughtful hubby and arranging a lovely surprise for his beautiful wife Rolanda! Her eyes lit up like a pinball machine from the moment I entered the room, and she barely sat still throughout the show. I didn’t have to twist her arm to join me in a shimmy at the end of the show, and when I gave her a hip scarf as a gift, she rocked it proudly! Her girlfriends, mother, and even some of the guys weren’t shy either!

This gig posed a few unique logistical challenges, as the venue’s restrictions prohibited me from dancing with swords and candles (two all-American crowd pleasers), and space was too tight to use Isis wings elegantly. But I really didn’t sweat it, because 1. you’ve gotta play by the rules, and 2. you don’t have to be a circus to be entertaining. Plus, I quite enjoy the occasional test of showmanship. With finger cymbals a-blazin’, a short veil dance to an upbeat version of Misirlou (a Greek classic every American crowd knows, from Pulp Fiction and Black-Eyed Peas!), a samba-flavored drum solo, a healthy dose of humor, and a whole lot of audience participation, we kicked it old school and hit the ball out of the park!

Devinder’s Punjabi Party at Tabla Bar & Grill in Orlando

It’s a good thing I had two hours to rest up and conserve energy while I got from Indialantic to Orlando, because if I’ve learned anything from my huge Indian following, I’ve learned that they LOVE to dance. In fact, I tend to structure my shows around this, and allow for lots of open social dancing whenever I perform for an Indian group! What can I say? I can always count on an Indian party to be lots and lots of fun.

Devinder’s family came in from Boston, Chicago and Fort Lauderdale to celebrate his 40th birthday party at Tabla Bar & Grill, a gorgeous Indian restaurant in Orlando with its own on-site banquet facilities. Even late at night, this place was bustling with activity – a Sweet 16 was going on at the same time as the birthday party! Guests came and went in glamorous designer sarees. I never would have expected this from a restaurant tucked inside a strip mall in a back road off Universal.

My performance immediately followed a bhangra routine performed by some of the boys (I’m bummed that I had to miss it!) I wore shimmery blues to match the blue decor and uplighting. My belly dance show featured a lively entrance with finger cymbals, a sword dance per the family’s request, a drum solo, and LOTS of audience participation to Bollywood classics to engage the entire crowd. By the end of the show, everyone was elbow-to-elbow on the dance floor, the guys were showing off their flashy moves (watch out, Sharukh Khan!), and the girls even taught me a few new Punjabi moves!

This party was made possible by a dream team of vendors, including DJ Mohit and Tabla Bar & Grill, who were a true pleasure to work with!

Carrara Nour, Belly Dancer in Orlando

About Carrara: Carrara is a professional belly dancer offering elegant, authentic entertainment for weddings and social events in Orlando and beyond. Multi-cultural weddings and events are her specialty! To learn more, check out her Booking or Weddings page, or follow her on Facebook.

Carrara performs belly dance at a Turkish-American wedding in Orlando

Florida is often referred to as the New York of the South, for good reason: in the Metropolitan areas, you will find a melting pot of people. Having recently transplanted from the Greater NY area, I especially find this to be true. In the past 6 months, I’ve entertained Egyptian, Moroccan, Turkish, Indian and mixed Arab crowds, as well as American groups. This diverse multi-cultural mix makes me feel very much at home! Personally, I’m from a mixed background and my own absence of a true cultural identity has made me especially fascinated by other families’ customs.

This past year, wedding bloggers have cited multi-cultural entertainment as one of the biggest up-and-coming special event trends. After all, the world is getting smaller, and many Orlando brides and party planners love to personalize their events with a “slice of life” from their own cultural background, or a country they love from their own personal travels. Or if you’re newly engaged and you or your fiance/e are Middle Eastern, a belly dance show can be a touching way to honor your family or your new spouse’s family’s traditions.

Multi-cultural entertainment brings back memories of home, piques the imagination, and in many cases, builds bridges between different and disparate cultures. This goes both ways. My audiences get something more out of my shows than good dancing, and I get something much deeper out of my audiences than applause and appreciation. Beyond sheer entertainment value, belly dance can provide an enlightening cultural experience that brings people together.

In September, I had the privilege of performing at a Moroccan dinner party hosted by a Zak, a doctor in Orlando. He belongs to a charity group that donates to the arts, and as a raffle prize, he gave the winner a lavish, home-cooked Moroccan dinner in his Orlando home. The guests were all well-traveled American businesspeople and artists, most of whom had been to the Middle East and loved the culture. To my surprise, I was asked to perform two sets to live music by the musical duo from the Moroccan pavillion at EPCOT! I performed outdoors in a cozy tent, with Oriental rugs underfoot, palm trees swaying, and the sounds of the oud, qanun, and darbuka filling the night sky. The Moroccan guests sang along, the Americans tapped their feet in time with the music, and for a moment, I forgot where I was and felt like I was among family. The guests were thrilled by the whole experience.

After I had finished dancing that night, Zak and his family treated me to a homemade Moroccan feast. (They refused to have it catered because they wanted it to be totally authentic!) I had bastila, Moroccan-style beets and carrots, slow-cooked lamb so soft it practically melted, and couscous with roasted chicken and vegetables. In between my sets and after my show, Zak’s family taught me everything I needed to know about Moroccan cooking and social customs, and a few simple words and phrases in Arabic.

The next day, I actually felt depressed that it was all over! I fell in love with Moroccan hospitality that night, and I know all the guests did, too.

I have had many other enriching cultural multi-experiences and could write The World’s Longest Blog if I had the time. But you probably understand what I’m getting at right now. Multi-cultural entertainment is more than just a show. Even if you’re not Middle Eastern, you can have an enlightening cultural experience at your Orlando wedding or party. If your guests are cultured, well-traveled or simply adventurous and love to try new things, an authentic belly dance show will give them something to remember for years to come.

Carrara Nour, Belly Dancer in Orlando

About Carrara: Carrara is a professional belly dancer offering elegant, authentic entertainment for weddings and social events in Orlando and beyond. Multi-cultural weddings are her specialty! To learn more, check out her Booking or Weddings page, or follow her on Facebook.

It’s a conversation I wish I could realistically have with some brides who call. After all, the belly dancer herself is free. As for everything else? Let’s see how this hypothetical scenario plays out.

Bride: I’d like to hire a belly dancer for my wedding. How much will that cost?
Me: The belly dancer is free.

Bride: Excellent! What next?
Me: Hang on, let me go get my boyfriend to grab his iPhone. Then, I will start dancing and he will videotape me. I will text you the video when we’re done. Hope you don’t mind I’m in my PJ’s right now. Oh, and my kitchen is a disaster area because we’re re-modeling…

Bride: Wait a minute. You mean, you don’t come to my location the day of my wedding?
Me: Well, I can, but that will cost money.

Bride: Well, that makes sense. Gas prices just keep going up, and there are so many tolls in Orlando.
Me: OK, so I’ll just drop by your reception venue after class and start dancing. I will be wearing yoga pants, but hopefully there will be time to powder my nose and swipe on some lip gloss.

Bride: You’re not coming on costume? I thought all belly dancers wore some sort of costumes.
Me: I have a closet full of professional costumes, most of which cost around $800 and up. But just like cars, they incur quite a bit of wear and tear through regular use, and sometimes require repairs or replacement. That costs a lot of money.

Bride: I understand. You can’t have a belly dancer without the bling! But why can’t you just wear cheaper costumes? Or just buy one costume and wear it to all your gigs?
Me: Let me ask you this: what are your bridal colors?

Bride: We’re going for a peacock theme – blues, greens, purples and golds.
Me: Lucky for you, I have at least 3 costumes in those color schemes for you to choose from! I try to keep my wardrobe collection pretty diverse, color-wise, so I can coordinate with pretty much any palette.

Bride: Wow, that IS pretty cool. Do you dance with any sort of props?
Me: I can perform with all the traditional props, like veil, sword, cane and shamadan, and I do many of the newer fusion props, too, like fanveils, Isis wings and fire tray. I also play finger cymbals. I own a full collection of these props and can incorporate any of them into my show. Everything is customized just for you. So tell me a little bit more about what type of show you have in mind.

Bride: Well, I’m Italian and Irish and my fiance is Egyptian. We’d like to surprise our guests with a belly dance performance as a nice tribute to his heritage, and to show my side of the family something cool and unique from his culture. We also want you to get everyone out on the dance floor, having a great time.
Me: So basically, you’re looking for a belly dancer who has done enough Egyptian gigs to know what style of dancing will really resonate with her audience, what the Egyptian wedding traditions are, and which songs will get both the older AND younger guests out of their seats and dancing. You will also need an experienced entertainer who has performed plenty of private events and knows how to “read the room” and interact with the crowd. Lucky for you, I’ve invested in my own training and I’ve done tons of weddings and parties for American and Middle Eastern crowds, and I think I can put together a show that will really make your fiance’s family happy. And your family will love it, too.

Bride: Great! I think my fiance wanted me to ask you something about this thing called a zeffa?
Me: Yes! That would be a great choice. It’s a traditional wedding procession, led by a belly dancer balancing a candelabra called a shamadan to symbolically light the way for the newlyweds. If you want a belly dancer who knows what a zeffa is, what drumbeat it’s done to, and how to pull off all the logistical details, then just ANY belly dancer won’t do. They don’t always teach a whole lot about the juicy cultural stuff in regular weekly classes. You will have to find somebody who’s continued their education through special advanced workshops. And in belly dance, as with any other field, specialized expertise costs more.

Bride: Yikes. Well, I guess that’s my only choice. So I’m getting married the second Saturday of November…
Me: Well, since your date is on a Saturday during Orlando’s peak wedding season, I’m afraid there won’t be any flexibility in my price. Now, were you getting married on a Tuesday in July, I might have been able to help you out a little bit. But I’m sure you probably heard this spiel from the venue staff, the DJ and the photographer, so I’ll spare you.

Bride: OK, I think I’m gonna bite the bullet and hire you. Now, you ARE the dancer who will perform at my event, right? You’re not going to send some student out in your place? And you actually WILL show up and do exactly what you’re told, right?
Me: If you hire an inexperienced student dancer, there’s a good chance that they might flake on you if a better opportunity comes along, like a date with a cute guy. If you want a dancer who takes this seriously, you must pay professional rates. I never work without a contract, for your protection as well as mine. And no, I don’t think it’s cool to use weddings as “on the job training” for eager students. The only surprises you’ll get when you work with me are pleasant ones!

Bride: I never knew a belly dancer would cost so much!
Me: The belly dancer herself is free. You’re paying for quality, custom preparation, and expertise.

Bride: OK, let’s do this! I want to hire a professional belly dancer.
Me: A professional belly dancer in Orlando will do your wedding for $200 or more. Do you want an experienced professional belly dancer who specializes in multi-cultural weddings? That costs even more!

Bride: MORE than $200? That’s way more than I’d like to spend. I think I’ll just find someone who will do it for free.
Me: I only know one person who does this, and that person is a fictitious belly dancing cat named Couscous. I can pass you her information if you’d like.

Aren’t you glad you asked?

Carrara Nour, Belly Dancer in Orlando

About Carrara Nour: Carrara is a professional belly dancer offering elegant, authentic entertainment for weddings and social events in Orlando, Central Florida and beyond. To book Carrara for your wedding or party, check out her Booking page, and don’t forget to follow her on Twitter @CarraraNour and Facebook.

When I first got the chance to chat with Lindsey on the phone, the first thing she told me was that she wanted to do something fun and interesting for her cousin Becky’s bachelorette party. The girls had reached a unanimous decision that they HAD to try a belly dance class! Since Becky was flying in from New York and I wanted to help Becky make the party extra special, I offered up the option to host the party at one of my new favorite venues, Diamond Ballroom & Dance.

Diamond was the perfect venue for a bachelorette party, and everyone instantly LOVED the classy ambiance and decor. The champagne-colored curtains, crystal chandeliers, gorgeous lighting and shiny oak floors just ooze elegance, and everybody loved the spacious dressing rooms with vintage-style strip lights around the mirrors. (Another perfect reason to host a bachelorette party or bridal shower at Diamond: after you’re finished dancing, you can comfortably freshen up for a night on the town!)

I did my most popular option for bachelorette parties, which was a 10-minute fully-costumed mini performance, followed by a full-length belly dance workshop where everybody learns some moves and combinations. As an added treat, photographer Heather Fore was there to capture the memories. She worked so quietly and efficiently, I’m pretty sure she must also be a ninja. (Heather, Diamond called….you left your nunchucks there!) But in all seriousness, you get some real magic when a photographer puts people’s minds at ease and gets the right shots, all while letting the party happen naturally.

Here are a few of my personal faves:

“Yay!”

Veil tricks – this one’s my favorite!

What a dedicated group of students. It looks like they led their own warm-up session while I changed into teaching attire! Ha ha…

Strike a pose!

Working the room with a Basic Egyptian traveling step!

There were way too many great photos from this party, but you can view the rest of the series on Flickr.

Does this look like a fun day or what? I couldn’t have asked for a better group of girls to teach! We had lots of laughs and they brought some serious energy and moves. They even helped me improve my many food-related teaching analogies. I’ll now refer to the wrist circle as scooping the brownie batter out of the bowl, because it really DOES sound better than scooping the peanut butter out of the jar ;) Becky is lucky to have such a great group of girlfriends, and I wish her the happiest Ever After when she gets married back in NY this September!

Interested in hosting YOUR bachelorette party (or bridal shower or rehearsal luncheon/dinner) at Diamond Ballroom & Dance? Please contact me or Bonny Bailey with The D-Tales to discuss packages, options and rates! Looking for something a little more low-key? I can come to your home, too. Looking for classy reception entertainment? I can help you with that, too.

Cheers!

Carrara Nour, Belly Dancer for Weddings in Orlando

About Carrara Nour: Carrara is a professional belly dancer offering elegant, authentic entertainment for weddings, corporate functions and social events in Orlando. Wedding entertainment is Carrara’s specialty! Learn more about Carrara and don’t forget to follow her on Twitter @CarraraNour or “like” her on Facebook!