TheDancingSpirit.com

CHECK IN @ FOUR SQUARE http://4sq.com/caVoZG WHEN YOU TAKE CLASS

Cash, checks, credit cards . Cd's , dvd's , hip scarves, costume supplies

Students are encouraged to make and perform their own dances, styles and costumes when they are ready

Motto - Dance for 5 minutes a day - be happier, healthier , friendlier".

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Belly Dance 9:30 - 11				Belly Dance 9:30 - 11 AM	Belly Dance 10;30 – 12


	5:30 - 7 Pilates		5 - 6:30 Pilates	NEW 4;00-5:00 Princess Dancers 31/2 - 8yrs
6:30 - 8 Belly Dance	7 – 8; 30 PM Belly Dance	Belly Dance 6; 30 - 8 PM	CHI SONG 6:30-8 PM
6:30 - 8 Belly Dance	7 – 8; 30 PM Belly Dance	Belly Dance 6; 30 - 8 PM	CHI SONG 6:30-8 PM	Chi Song - Allison Messier www.allisonmessier.com l mezzo soprano, voice teacher. She mixes, stretching, breathing, softening, singing together in an organic way.

BELLY DANCE

Isolations, Steps, hip technique , Rhythm Education, Feminine, Proud, Confidence building ,

Creative , Funny, Dramatic ,Colorful , Fantasy, flirty surprising fun with attitude

VEIL - an America Belly Dance tradition of dancing with 3 yds of silk - tucks, lifts, drops, circles, swirls, turns, drama, FUN

Dancing Princesses - 31/2 - 8 yrs = Graceful steps, poses, rhythms ,dancing with small persian veils, skirts, costumes

Local to International - http://www.amanionline.com/fanclub/

On www.ooh.com , 1st RI listing, "Coolest things to do on the planet"

www. nationaldanceweek.com www. worldbellydanceday.com

Learn all about The Dance - www.shira.net , www.visionarydance.com

www.bakaratumountainretreat.com Barb in Bali - March 08 / skirt workshop and choreography

www.amanionline.com - Barb's writing in Lebanon

www.newsletter@goddesslife.com - Barb's favorite class music & " Walking Rhythms Article"

www.decotach.com - AWESOME designer of American Dance Costumes

Dance is rising above the worlds, tearing your heart into pieces, to give up your soul"-- Rumi

"Master technique so the body can express fully" -- Le Meri

"Dance your heart, dance like no one is watching, You might as well dance

WATCH Tiverton Four Corners Fest Fusion Show on VIMEO http://t.co/ZV8HqR4

–Group Intro studio Class = basic vocabulary – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDlojPEl2io =

Pawtucket Hafla - GROUP VEIL – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60G2ZvFYmDo –

Alicia/ Izzy = Egyptian solo , drum duet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-vwd1czhVI

DUET – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f88ztx4h4bg – v.

Teens /Four Corners - SUGAR & SPICE DUET http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsUTok3QXM4

Alicia/ Izzy - VEIL DUET – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cfyn4_ec8us

Teacher/ student duet http://www.vimeo.com/15911452

Rising Star – http://www.vimeo.com/15229919

–USA Shimmy Mob Leaders of World http://www.shimmymob.com/ack2011.html –

Shimmy Mob - http://vimeo.com/23350779

SKIRT MOB - http://vimeo.com/25988666

Tayyar's Folk Dance & Music Camp - May 2011

Family Parties, Weddings, Bachelorette Parties, Senior Center Celebrations

Motto - Dance for 5 minutes a day - be happier, healthier , friendlier".

I wanted to mention how beautiful your dancing is! I watched the entire video on your website and was so totally enchanted.

Trust me, I rarely watch such presentations in their entirety! Not because I don't enjoy them but because I see so many in the

course of a week. Yours, however, was compelling because your own modern and balletic backgrounds and training are so

totally evident! I especially loved the portion where only the drumming was your accompaniment. Those beautiful hands of

yours, the tremendous depth of your "feeling" The Dance........well, thank you for the performance, dear lady! If ever we do

a website page where we feature some of the events, I may be returning to ask you for the use of at least a portion (with

links to your site, of course). Beautiful, mesmerizing, magical.....your students are lucky to be taught by such a Master!

Dance expresses the inevitable, fundamental emotions and fully conscious moments of life

Belly Dance refers to many styles of Middle Eastern Dance. Known also as Oriental, Cabaret, Egyptian,Turkish, Lebanese,

Greek, American Tribal Style Belly Dance & Belly Dance fusion it is a dance shared by many countries and by people of all ages.

There are many different Belly dance Dance styles which are or can be influenced by Flamenco, Zambra , Indian, Rom /

Gypsy, Modern/ Jazz & Ballet. Beginning in the 50's American Dancers developed a style called American Belly Dance which

features beautiful veil techniques. American Belly Dancers of which I am one,LOVE to dance with the veil. Belly Dance is a

much loved but also still misunderstood dance form quickly evolving all over the U.S. and the world today. Learning to Belly

Dance is like learning a new body language. Classes introduce students to the music and to the colorful culture. One of the

first exercises students learn is walking and feeling the different rhythms. It is easy, hard and fun all at the same time.

If you can walk to the beat, you can dance to the beat.Many of the movements of Belly Dance are circular and have to

do with controlling subtle muscles in the torso and hips that are unfamiliar to many people. At first it is a challenge to move

in a circular, rhythmical way but once you loosen up it is lot's of fun! Every student and performer moves in their own

expressive way.Belly Dance has it's roots in folk and community dance. All ages, body types and levels of experience are

welcome. Beginners learn in a supportive, non competitive environment. Experienced dancers deepen their practice. Everyone

of all ages and levels can enjoy dance together. Barb's classes are fun, challenging, interesting and educational. She fuses

her lifetime of modern/ ballet/ pilates/ creative movement & Roth Dance with the language of Belly Dance.

Make the exotic familiar - An invitation to the Art of American Belly Dance in Tiverton with Barbara

Imagine you are a princess, swathed from head to toe in brightly colored flowing silks swirling around your legs with each step, waist or hips wrapped in

a scarf sewn with musical dancing gold and silver beads. Imagine you are a dancer of life, dressed in living costumes, moving through ages and civilizations.

Imagine moving proudly - head held high, chest open, energy running down through and up your spine, your very core held with grace, power, undulating with twisting

beauty. There is a treasure in Tiverton where these imaginings happen. I'll bet you, like I, walked or drove by every day for 3 years - past the tassled red scarves,

past the large, bright, blue and orange flag announcing " The Art of American Belly Dance, thinking "weird" , or " that is so not me" or " what kind of people do that?

" and " what exactly is that? "If you never take a class from Barbara, you really are missing Tiverton's best kept secret. In this room on Main Rd over looking the

Sakonnet River, barefoot on an oriental rug, with a group of neighbors of elementary school teacher, a nusery school teacher,an attorney, an antique shop owner -

we smile as we move, we laugh as we dance around the room. First we walk freely thru the space to rhythms while catching up. Then we focus on mastering the

techniques of the day.In addition to learning the proud, controlled isolations we also dance with beautiful 3 yr silk veils or learn the language of skirts or dance

the proud dance of the cane. It's new, it's work, it's fun. I have been a member of many gyms.I have perspired my way into aerobically fit heart toned muscles and

routines but I never noticed many smiling or happy faces in any of the classes. Barbara Donahue is the dancing spirit - fun, warm, whimsical, creative and encouraging

instructor. Under Barbara's watchful eye and instruction, I am learning the circular movements of the ages - feminine, undulating, powerful and vulnerable. I am

in touch with my core. Barbara encourages us all to lift our chins proudly and to smile while we are learning and dancing. Long after leaving the studio we all stand

taller, neck long, head up.We feel freer, lighter, stronger and more grounded

***************************************************************************************

I have been teaching and performing a dance I first learned 7 years ago from Delilah www.visionarydance.com . Over the years the dance bones have gotten

simpler, more complex and more meaningful. I teach the dance to students and for the audience to show the basic beginning bones of Belly Dance vocabulary

Moving Right - Dance with the right side of your brain, to the right side of your life, straight across with confidence and pride

Moving Left - Dance with the left side of your brain, to the other side of your life, with confidence and pride

Look and feel comfortable with both sides of yourself,Use every part of yourself as much as possible in every part of your life

Moving forward - Dance to the front of your life, going forward to whatever is coming your way, feeling ready to grow and accept with every experience -

Moving backwards - Don't forget where you come from, check in with your roots every day and grow your tree from there and then bask in the magic of it

The Four corners - We all have corners = Some secrets, special gifts, dark times, extra light times, mysteries, confusions

Face each corner straight ahead to see yourself and to share your best self with the world - Don't hide in the corners, Go to your corners, explore, see what is

Your turf - Your roots, your family,Your home, your town,your community, your country,Your pride,,your definite foot stamp ,strong leg, torso,shoulder,

Survey - Around you go, surveying the whole journey - - Around and around - Don't miss a second

One foot in place, the other pushing your around to journey and survey the whole view

Life is full of opposition - The one's we create, the one's we grow from and the one's we over come

Going Back to the beginning,Riding the waves, We ride the waves of your life,Over and over

" Hi Barbara, I was so glad that you were able to come and dance. Everyone had a great time! it was so good to see even

my mother ( 81) and mother in law( 84) up , dancing , having fun. It really made the party special. What a wonderful example

for Katie ( the graduate) to see mature women really enjoying themselves ( some brave men too) celebrating with dance

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

" Barb is a joy to behold when she is dancing. She exudes pure joy, dancing her lyrical modern style fused with

her passion for Middle Eastern Dance. Weather she is teaching, performing or showing her latest choreographic

ideas she is joy in motion, infectious and radiant. Her smile sends sparkles of joy in every direction.

Watching her dance everyone feels moved to smile and walks away feeling lighter, more alive and blessed to

have shared her deep, dancing soulful energy .........from East Booth Bay, Maine

Unlike formalized classroom and performance dance such as ballet, modern , jazz , tap etc this dance form is different because it's roots are

in Middle Eastern family celebrations where everyone dances together. In the Middle East musicians play a tabla or dumbek drum and most

people are familiar with the rhythms. When there is a wedding, engagements, births, graduations in the Middle East there is music and dancing.

The movements shared by everyone are the basic movements of this dance form. The dance has evolved over time into many different styles.

Today Belly Dance is being enjoyed , learned and shared all over the world thanks to the many dancers and teachers who fell in love

with Middle Eastern Dance. I am one of them. Come join the American Belly Dance club with me!!!!!!

Raqs Sharqi , Middle Eastern or Oriental Dance also known as Belly Dance is a joyous dance expression of emotions which\

interpret musical rhythms. It is the well known dance of the Middle East. Danced by women , men, children and

grandparents, from N Africa to N Turkey from Greece to Saudi Arabia. Raqs Sharqi is versatile, elastic -

a living art, continually evolving incorporating elements of other dance forms. This dance predates both Islam

and Christianity. Some of the dance movements have been connected with 5,000 yr old birth rituals. No one knows exactly

where it started or what its origins are though most scholars believe it originated in Egypt. The steps are mostly unnamed, yet

the dance has persisted and flourished through overwhelming odds. It was introduced to America at the World's Fair in 1893,

Raqs Sharqi was marketed as " belly dance" a most salacious version of the French " danse du ventre" or dance of the

stomach. This was the Victorian Era when women wore corsets and exposed ankles were risque. Imagine the uproar exposed

midriffs. The show was enclosed in a tent advertised as too shocking for women, only appropriate for men's viewing. The show

was a success but the dance's reputation was slandered. Fortunately this undeserved image is slowly changing

thanks to dancers, scholars and audiences world wide who cherish this beautiful and challenging dance art. The dance is

composed of isolations and articulations including circles, undulations, figure 8's & snake like motions using hands, arms,

shoulders, torso - back/ front, abdomen , hips and feet, shimmies of the shoulders and hips. Accents to

the music are magnified with various body parts throughout the dance. It is a dance of the people, expression and feeling

from" the inside out" rather than of high leg extensions or of high leaps across a stage. As the dance slowly transitioned

from living room and dance hall to the theatre stage it adopted techniques from other dance forms , flashy costumes, more

traveling steps and larger, grand movements that are not typically found in the home version where it began.

The dance is classically an abstract visual representation of the music, which includes its emotional timbre. Improvisation

and " feeling" for the music are highly valued. The dancer represents the musical ornaments and extended improvisations

of the musicians with his or her interpretation and personal expression. As the dancer listens to the musicians, the musicians

in turn watch and play to the movements of the dancer - reinterpreting and embellishing the dancers movement. The result

is a high level collaboration between the auditory, the visual and the emotional.

Like anything else in life - you get out of it what you put into it. Belly dancing is a good stress reducer, energy increaser, strength improver,

muscle toner, helps with coordination if practiced regularly. It has been said that it heals, strengthens and balances the body, mind

and spirit all at once. Belly dancing can also burn as many calories as walking or riding a bike and like those activities you will be in better

shape if you practice 2 or 3 times a week.Belly dance is a low impact aerobic exercise - plus it's fun , sensual and you

================================================================================

"Dear Barb, your dancing touches my heart and soul. It is a gift from your heart to everyone who has the privilege to see you perform. It is a gift to the universe....." Jane Sanford, Belfast, Maine

"Barb, You are an inspiration.To watch you dance makes a person realize they should pursue their passions.Thanks for being part of " Singing out against hunger", Evelyn's and being in our life". Jane Bitto,Portsmouth, RI

" Dear Barbara, Just a note to reiterate a good time had by all. Your performance was very well done. You give belly dancing a respectful and artful form.The audience now understands the time and discipline it takes to perform this dance. " Margerate Turpeck, Little Compton, RI

"Barbara, You're extraordinary and have always touched me deeply with your dance.I get teary when I see you shimmy". Brenda Brock, Portsmouth RI.

" Barb, This art form you have explored with such passion has expanded your heart and soul in such an incredible way. You are an incredible spirit who casts love and grace over everyone you touch." Lee forbes, Tiverton RI

" I love that you are in my life barb! I felt similarly at your estival in July. It was amazing!"Lara, Soul sister Dancer from Boston

By coming to visit my website - you have begun an adventure to a new and beautiful world of Belly Dance Never in my wildest day dreams could I have envisioned my dance life now. Never did I imagine being the exotic and magical dancing woman of the next event. Never did I imagine sharing pictures of myself dancing everywhere on a huge website like this one. And never did I imagine that I would be dancing, teaching and performing now more than ever . Belly dancers dance forever! One of my favorite students, Norma, is 68. She is amazing! She has followed me from class to class, location to location and she looks and moves better than ever I've stumbled into a dance world that I really never knew existed until 7 years ago and in this new dance world all the rules are completely different except for one - you have to work hard to be really good. My dance devotion was always Ballet and Modern dance and branches developed from those two dance forms. Ballet and modern dance are both about extensions out from the body, control, lightness, traveling through space and in general having not much direct contact or interaction with the audience. In belly dance the performer can be in avery small area of space, the dance is very internal ,following closely the curves and circles of the body and audience contact is warm , dramatic at times, friendly and very direct. Belly dance is a folk dance of the people - for the people - with the people. As I write these words this dance form is evolving very quickly ." Middle Eastern Dance" known as " Belly Dance" in this country is quickly becoming a new household word .Women are looking for a new way to feel about their bodies and want a new way to express themselves. This dance is ,healthy, sensual, colorful, transformational and educational . The benefits physically ( waking up your internal muscles) ,spiritually( belly dance is fun , makes you think & smile) and intellectually ( the reading & learning is amazing) are too many to count. The reading and research about this dance alone is incredible. There is much to be learned about the world through the discovery and study of Belly dance

Zahara of Warwick www.anatoliimports.com - knows everyone and everything about RI Belly dance