For my first blog of 2023 I’d like to talk about one of the amazing things about being a human - infinite adaptability!

I have one client that has told me how much more valuable it is to work with me than have a gym membership - despite the latter being cheaper, the accountability she gets from working with me is worth its weight in gold.

Picture this…
First thing in the morning, your alarm goes off and you jump out of bed eagerly and ease straight into your movement practice.

Dance Conversation with Samantha Emanuel

A simple idea to help you in your journey with your regular movement practice and with any other habit that you want to incorporate into your life.

Dance Conversation with Betty Harsma - Dance, Movement, Mindfulness and instructor on Violet Kind’s online Fly Fusion studio. We talk about finding balance in your practice, persistence, longevity in dance and life - all the good stuff!

I love sharing with you some of the cool and awesome experiences my clients tell me about… Today’s story includes some tips for sparking creativity when you are stuck in a creative block.

Last week I had the pleasure of an online live “Dance Conversation” with the amazing Sureya. I started taking classes with her as I wanted to learn more about the Turkish style of Raqs Sharqi and was overjoyed to discover that she includes a strong conditioning sequence at the start of each class too!

One of the biggest barriers to creating a regular practice for my clients is time management… Have you ever planned to do a practice and when the time comes, you think “maybe I should finish these emails”…?

They said to me that if they carried on with the movement practice as it was they were going to prioritise the movement and the studies wouldn’t get done!

Today I wanted to share a story with you from one of my clients… something different happened when she started to tell me about a trip she had planned before Christmas.

When I started taking belly dance classes I was looking for a way to keep fit without going to the gym.

I had an interesting conversation with a client before Christmas that really illustrated why it’s so important to have a solid foundation of strength in our bodies in order to dance safely and injury-free.

When I talk about “Happy Hips” it's a catchy way of talking about the pelvic alignment. The pelvis is centrally located in the body and when it moves, other areas have to adjust to accommodate it.

Developing a personal movement practice is no mean feat! We think it should be something easy to do - because it’s something we want.

In this video we are going to continue last week’s theme of “owning” your movement through breath - and applying it to dance.

Harness the principle of contraction and release for bigger, juicier hip work for dance. Plus a great tip to relieve low back tension when you shimmy!

I’m excited to share with you some of my favourite ways to warm up for hip work and shimmies in dance.

…and what to do if you don’t want to!

This technique takes a little practice but is a game-changer for developing effortless liquidity!