Strictly Come Belly Dancing

Back in August I had the absolute pleasure of filming with Fresh One Productions (Jamie Oliver's TV production company). I was invited to feature on Len and Ainsley's Big Food Adventure. Here we are 3 months later and the final product is out. Strictly Come Dancing Len Goodman was taken to Edgware Road by his guide chef Ainsley Harriot. I make an appearance at the end of their Lebanese meal in Edgware Road's Al Dar restaurant. The programme was aired on 18/11/2015 on BBC One. You can watch the programme on BBC iPlayer (only available for 29 days).

Watch the show here: ​http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06qbbjf/len-and-ainsleys-big-food-adventure-3-central-london

Belly Dancing on Edgware Road

Belly Dancing with Len Goodman and Ainsley Harriot

Headlining a Belly Dance Show in London Nov 2015

Hello,

I will be headlining at the Belly Dance show (Hafla), Silk Route, on Sunday 22nd November 2015 in Balham, London.

Come along watch me and my students perform as well as other belly dancers for a great night of belly dance entertainment in London. The theme is one I'm really excited about, it's Turkish with a twist....ooooooo. I won't give away what I'll be performing but it will display both my Turkish roots and western theatricality. Don't miss out as this is my only public appearance this Autumn.

For more details, visit the Silk Route's website: www.silkrouteshow.com

I look forward to seeing you there.

Shimmy hugs,
Tevec

Turkish Belly Dancers - looking back: Nesrin Topkapi

During my recent trip to Istanbul, I had the absolute pleasure of learning from Nesrin Topkapi, one of my all time favourite dancers from not just belly dance but all types of dance.
A graceful, charismatic and inspirational dancer. Nesrin Topkapi was the first belly dancer to appear on Turkish television dancing on New Years eve shows in the early 1980s. 

Today she trains and choreographs for theatre show dancers getting them ready for stage. Nesrin Topkapi has stood the test of time and is self taught like most dancers of her generation. She is a very clever dancer with a natural eye on the little details. Her approach and delivery when teaching is superb, it's lovely to see that she hasn't lost her energy and passion for the dance.

I am a true fan of this wonderful artist. Watch the video of Nesrin Topkapi below.

Shimmy hugs,
Tevec

Turkish Belly Dancers - looking back: Sema Yildiz

After my recent trip to Istanbul, I felt I should post about the teachers I've been learning with.
The first is Sema Yildiz, a belly dancer and artist in the truest sense of the word. As the Daughter of a farmer, she began dancing at a very young age and with her Turkish Romany origins now has a strong Romany Gypsy student following.

Over the years, Sema Yildiz has influenced and trained many of the dancers in Istanbul today including Didem. Sema dances like a lady with a youthful charm and has a great wealth of knowledge. After I had spent time with her she was off to teach workshops and perform in Canada which proves that she has an ever growing international following from all over the world. This Summer you can take workshops with her in Greece.

Here is a rare piece of footage of Sema Yildiz dancing in 1976. You have to remember this is a era before YouTube, dance congresses and weekly classes so much of what you see is self taught. Enjoy! :)

Shimmy hugs,

Tevec

Celebrating Femininity - Interview with Belly Dancing Mother and Daughter

Hello lovely readers,

This week is a special week for women. Last week we had International Women's Day and this Sunday is Mothers Day in the UK.

What a wonderful week for women to celebrate and express their femininity. As women we are strong and soft at the same time and have the extraordinary gift to give birth to life.

To celebrate here is an interview with Marian and Claire, Mother and Daughter who have been coming to my belly dance classes since September 2013. They live in the borough of Enfield and are both Mothers. They encourage and dedicate 1 hour per week to belly dance and to each other. How lovely is that?! 

I really admire their dedication to coming to class together every week, it's lovely to see Mother and Daughter enjoying an activity as a unit and taking time away from everyone else in order to indulge in a skill they now share in common. With Mothers Day coming up, I thought who better than to interview Marian and Claire. Their answers are fantastic!

Marian and Claire

1. How would you describe each other?
   Marian: Claire is steady, pragmatic, reliable, funny loyal and my best friend.
   Claire: My mum is mad, funny, entertaining and surprisingly sensitive.
    
2. What made you want to try belly dance?
   Marian: Claire talked me into it lol.
   Claire: Sounded fun, and a bit of exercise.
    
3. How do you travel to class?
   Marian: By car.
   Claire: Mum normally picks me up.
    
4. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
   Marian: Social worker.
   Claire: I wanted to be a school teacher or work with little children until I did work experience at a primary school!
    
5. What’s your favourite belly dance move?
   Marian: Mya's and basic egyptian step.
   Claire: I like chest lifts, probably because I can actually do them and you can see the movement clearly.
    
6. What do you enjoy most about the classes?
   Marian: Its a form of exercise that is fun.
   Claire: I love doing the routines, especially at the end when we have perfected the whole thing.
    
7. If you had to choose a personal theme tune, what would it be?
   Marian: 'Happy' by Pharrel.
   Claire: 'She's got that vibe' by R Kelly always make s me get up and dance and reminds me of fun times clubbing with my mates.
    
8. What would you do if you were Prime Minister for a day?
   Marian: Make Wednesday a good news day. Only positive themes on the news throughout business celebrating successes . Bigging up teenagers and minority groups, a bit like a pride of Britain day. Positivity breads positivity, you've hit on a fave subject of mine.
   Then I'd call all in all the money share it out evenly and when I'd spent mine I'd do it again lol
   Claire: Make all public transport free.
    
9. What will you be doing for mother’s day?
   Marian:  Hopefully spending it with my children.
   Claire: Either lunch out or at mine with my mum and family.
   
   

Littlewoods Christmas Campaign

In my travels last month I was hired to travel to Birmingham and Liverpool for the Littlewoods Christmas Bazaar campaign. You may have seen the adverts with Mylene Klass on TV in the lead up to Christmas. If not, you watch the advert below.

Their theme was an Aladdin inspired Christmas Bazaar with the biggest magic lamp I've ever seen. We got to wear Littlewoods costumes which were beautiful indulgent and thick fabrics.


If you had 3 wishes, what would you wish for?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy New Year message

Happy new year to all!

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas and New Year festive period, and that you got a chance to catch up with family, friends and rest.

Last year flew past so quickly and here we are safely landing in 2015.

How many of you have made New Years resolutions? If so, have you kept to it?

Change is all about priorities. Sometimes the intention is there but it can be a struggle to prioritise that change as it may be out of our comfort zone or we're not use to the routine yet. If you don't make your goal a priority, then it won't work out.

For the past few years I haven't made New Years resolutions, instead if I want to change something I'll act upon it anytime of year and work to stick to it. It is tough but discipline and the desire to succeed will help you through, which is why you have to really want it. Once it becomes routine after a couple of weeks you be on auto-pilot and it will be a breeze. The first couple of weeks are always the hardest whatever your want to change.

Don't give up, stick with it. As I always say anything worth having it's always hard.

I wish you all a happy, healthy and memorable 2015. Let's make it a great one!!

Shimmy hugs,
Tevec