From a Live to a Virtual World
Savanah Radaelli

From the moment I entered this life, I have been apart of the world of Belly Dancing. I have tagged along to gigs, workshops, and my mom’s studio for as long as I can remember. I am the daughter of Belly Dance instructor, Leyla Najma, and have been surrounded by belly dancing since birth. My mother’s live classes have also been a constant in my life, so it was a noticeable change when my parents began shifting to internet classes and instructional videos. This is the story of how my Belly Dance world became “virtual”.  

My Mother, Leyla Najma and me

The internet is huge right now, especially for learning purposes; college classes, cooking classes, drawing, building, and basically anything under the sun, so why not belly dancing? Many Belly Dancers are turning to online classes, after all with gas prices roaring and the convenience of the classes being right there on the computer, it is a suitable alternative to live classes. My parents noticed pretty quickly that this was happening, and that’s why we now own over three websites all tied around belly dancing and my mother’s curriculum, advice, and expertise.

I have always been raised with the idea that my mother is a Belly Dance instructor, but for the first fourteen years of my life, she did all live classes. Things started to change with a website, then an instructional video, and before I knew it my family was creating what seemed like a small virtual Belly Dance world filled with online classes, advice, and the becoming of a community.   

About seven years down the line since that first instructional video, my mother has now done over 30 instructional videos, half a dozen interviews, and with much more on the way. The most likely reason that the websites seem like a little virtual world is because the name of the main website is Belly Dance Village, and with the membership site it really is a small community. I am so proud of what my mom and my dad have accomplished, and I am glad that I help out with the websites more now, but I will admit to being a little unenthusiastic about it at first.

I thought that my mom making instructional videos was great, but I wasn’t as excited to help out at first. I took one look at the dashboard of Word Press and my little tween brain was reeling at what just looked like a lot of buttons and words. Editing the videos wasn’t exactly a piece of cake either, and during the beginning stages I wasn’t very helpful. It took a little while for me to get over my frustration at the technology and just learn how to use the different programs.

It took a lot of practice, mess-ups, and trial/error to get a decent understanding of what to do for the websites and editing. A couple times I knew my computer had to be messing with me, especially when I would ask my dad for help (he’s the computer wiz of the family) and he would do the exact same thing I had just tried-but of course it worked when he did it.

Then of course there is the matter of the camera. On some of our road trips I have been in charge of handling the camera-which often means standing in one place for a very long time and praying that no one steps in front of the lens (this has happened to me on a few occasions and I every time I just think of all the editing hours that will go into fixing it). The thing with recording a major event is that often there is only one chance to get it right. After all, if the camera is knocked sideways during a show, it’s not like I can go up to a troop or solo dancer on stage and ask them to do that last combination over again. It can be fun though, if only because having a camera normally means I get I sit up front.

I love the fact that my mom teaches women from other countries like Africa, Australia, and Europe. It makes the virtual Belly Dance world so ethnic and filled with culture. It gives a whole new feel to being a Belly Dancer, as if you are apart of a something huge, glamorous, and free. Well, this is how I feel about it at least.

Online classes have opened the doorway for a lot more traveling opportunities for us. You meet a lot of people over the internet, and this can mean going to a workshop or a show they are putting on. I like it when my mom teaches in workshops because I get to meet lots of new people and all different kinds of dancers. Some of my favorite trips we have gone on are to Abilene, Texas and New York City, both having their own unique dance community. Normally these are the kind of trips where I’m put on camera recording duty, but its worth as long as I get to tag along.

                   Leyla Najma and Savanah

It is an interesting bonding experience though, working with my parents. Like how my mom and I play around with the special effects on interviews and learning a new skill on the computer from my dad. And it is pretty cool when I successfully figure out how to do something new on the computer, even if I feel like throttling the computer at times. And whenever I watch my mom’s instructional videos, to make sure they don’t have any glitches, I can’t help dancing along with her. I love belly dancing, and I love her teaching, so watching her videos isn’t really work.         

Seeing people comment on our videos has also been a new experience for me. While live students will give their opinion, some people seem to really give their opinion over the internet. It is interesting now to see what people think of the videos since I’ve helped edit some of them. Compassion is one thing I hope the Belly Dance world will never lose, virtual or not, because dancers need the support of their community so much to keep them enthusiastic and inspired.   

This is my Belly Dance virtual world, one that my family has brought to life. Though there have been some rocky times, I love this world as much as I love my previous one. I can’t wait to see what else awaits me with belly dancing, and I hope it is apart of my life forever.