ZAGHAREET
Publish This!  Segment 8
Publisher:  Sharina
http://www.zaghareet.com/ zaghareetmagazine@earthlink.net
North Carolina, USA

 
July 2010

When did you begin publishing your magazine/newsletter?

I acquired Zaghareet Magazine and became Publisher/Editor with the March/April 2000 issue … so I’ve just completed 10 years of publishing!

Why do you do it?

I’m the kind of person that when I have an interest in something (or a passion!!), I have to read everything I can about it.  This, of course, includes buying as many books as I can find and subscribing to all of the available magazines, which I read cover to cover. 

When I heard that Zaghareet would become available, I decided that maybe I should do it!  Writing has always come easy for me and I was getting close to retiring from my “day job”, so I took the plunge and acquired the magazine.

I feel it’s beneficial to have a resource where more experienced dancers can submit articles to share their expertise with others.

It’s also important for beginning dancers to have an information source where they can learn from others as well as share their own knowledge.  Our Teacher and Event listings are free … I consider that a service to our readers.  After all, many new dancers subscribe to a magazine to find a teacher or a workshop, and we want to help them do that!

What do you feel is the criteria for a publisher in our business and what are your own credentials?

To be a publisher, you have to have:  a love of dance, a way with words, ability to multi-task, tenacity and a good sense of humor!

I worked as a Research Analyst for 30 years, writing a myriad of reports, reviews and articles.  I’m therefore experienced at accumulating, assembling, and editing information in a clear and concise way.

I love to write, and since I was editor of my high school yearbook as well as copy editor of our newspaper, I started out as a Journalism major in college.  I ended up with a B.S. in Sociology and an M.A. in Criminal Justice, so I’ve had a lot of experience with people and how they interact in different situations.  I have 9 publications on file in the State of Massachusetts archives.

I’ve been dancing since I was 5 years old … ballet for most of my life, then turning to Middle Eastern Dance in the more recent years.

Sharina

Why do you continue year after year – or in other words, what is it that motivates you to continue?

Sometimes I wonder that myself! Hahaha! 

Sure, at times it seems like it’s just too hard, or it’s just not fun anymore.  But then I’ll hear from the readers about how much they enjoy the magazine and how much they learn from it and that just makes me want to continue.

And besides, what would I do with all of that free time?

What do you want to achieve with Zaghareet?

I would like to keep Zaghareet the kind of magazine that I would want to subscribe to, full of informative and entertaining articles, and available to all dance enthusiasts.

Are you a Local Publication?  Regional?  National?  International?

Zaghareet has an international subscription base.

Were you a dancer prior to your publication?  How long and what was/is your involvement in ME Dance Arts?

I’ve been dancing since I was 5 years old, but most of my life has been dedicated to ballet.  I turned to ME Dance in the mid-90’s, working mainly with videos, and started taking classroom instruction in 1998.  To supplement the classes, I’ve taken as many workshops as possible.

At the beginning of 2000, I took over as Director of World Tribe, a troupe that performed all styles of belly dance, particularly at art shows and open air festivals in Virginia and North Carolina.  In 2001 we took a Tribal Synergy workshop with Paulette Rees-Denis & Kajira Djoumahna, and tribal rapidly became our favorite style of dance.  We continued performing until 2006. 

I acquired Zaghareet Magazine in March 2000. 

Did you have previous publishing experience before your publication?

I was editor of our high school yearbook and copy editor of our newspaper.  I have 9 articles that were published for the State of Massachusetts archives.  I also had experience working as a marketing analyst for a publishing company, surveying the needs of the market and writing reports and recommendations of my findings. 

How do you pick your staff writers?

It’s important to me to have articles from dancers/ instructors/ musicians with a long range of experience, so they can share first-hand stories with our readers of what dance was like when it first became popular in this country, as well as those who were able to experience dance abroad.  It’s so fortunate for Zaghareet that these dancers are willing to contribute their experiences to the magazine!

I try to cover all forms of dance, from cabaret to tribal, and the many different facets in-between, so I look for dancers from diverse backgrounds as well.

I also welcome contributions from new dancers who share how dance has taken over their lives.  Didn’t that happen to all of us at some point?

While I have staff writers who provide regular columns or features in each issue, we also have articles from contributing writers on an issue-by-issue basis. 

What do you feel is the “highlight” of your publication?

That it appeals to dancers of all levels!  After all, Zaghareet is about all of the dancers, musicians, students and readers out there … it’s not about me!

What special features do you offer in your magazine?

Aside from the cover story on a featured dancer, we always have interviews/articles about other dancers and some special interest articles on dance styles or “how-to” articles.  Each issue has columns on Tribal style dance, tips for teachers, advice for beginners, costume advice, core awareness for dancers, insights & inspirations, plus exploring spirituality & dance.  We also provide a travel article, and reviews of workshops, DVDs and music.

Have you always been in print?  Do you offer the same information online?  Have you considered going to online?

Zaghareet has always been a print magazine; there are no plans to go online.

What is the cost for your publication’s subscription and how many issues do you print throughout the year?  Do you have specialty issues?

Subscriptions are $30/year ($40 Canada; $60 outside US) for 6 issues, published every 2 months.  We don’t have specialty issues; each issue has its own diverse combination of articles.

If you are published outside of the US, what language/s do you publish in?

Zaghareet is an international magazine, but is only published in English.  The articles that we receive from non-native speakers in other countries are translated into English for the magazine.

Is there anything else you would like to add that hasn’t been covered - - anything else that you feel is relevant?

Zaghareet would not exist without the support of the readers (both new students and seasoned dancers), contributors and advertisers, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone out there who has contributed to the magazine.  We couldn’t do it without you!

Publisher’s Bio

Sharina

The Fabulous Sharina (in her own words).  I grew up in the Midwest, so when at age 17 my family moved to Puerto Rico, it was quite a culture shock, but also a real growing experience.  Four years later, having earned my BA in Sociology from the University of Puerto Rico and with a new fluency in Spanish, I relocated back to the United States and settled in Boston.  There I got my MS in Criminal Justice and worked for several years doing criminal justice research in a university, in the private sector, and for the Department of Correction where I authored 9 publications. 

I retired in 2002 after 20 years at my “day job” as a management analyst for the federal government in Virginia, and my husband and I have opened a bait & tackle store where we live in North Carolina called BassAckward Lures.  I used to spend so much time in Virginia that I felt like I lived there, but there was nothing like returning to "God's Country" at the end of the day.

World Tribe

After years of ballet and aerobics, I was looking for 'something different' as a way to keep physically fit and as an outlet to relieve the stress of work, and I turned to belly dance in the mid-90’s.  While dancing does all that I had hoped for physically and mentally, I wasn't prepared for the way it completely took over my life!  I often found myself running through routines in my head on the way to work, waking up to internal music in the middle of the night, and looking at items in stores thinking, "could I make a costume out of that?"  And no matter how stressful my day was, I'd go dragging off to class or troupe rehearsal, and was always rewarded with a feeling of accomplishment and inner peace as the problems of the day were replaced by an overall sense of well being.

I became Publisher/Editor of Zaghareet magazine with the March/April issue in 2000.  I had been a subscriber, and then when I heard it would soon be available … I decided to go for it!  After all, I really enjoyed the magazine, and what if the new publisher made it read like a textbook or only catered to the big stars?

At the same time, I became Director of World Tribe, a troupe who performed at many of the arts shows and open-air festivals around Hampton Roads, Virginia.  We performed all styles of belly dance, but then got turned on to American Tribal Style in 2001.  We still performed different styles, but tribal was our true calling.  

Being part of a troupe elevates that feeling to an even higher level.  We all came from different backgrounds and circumstances, with various likes and dislikes, as well as different strengths and weaknesses.  But dancing together, we became ONE; for that short time, we're all working together for a common goal and the energy generated amongst us while we dance made us part of a whole entity.  We were aware of each other's feelings and abilities, and with an unspoken communication, tried to work together for the good of the group, not as individual dancers, but as one dancer with many parts.  There's nothing like the feeling you get when you’re working on something together and it really clicks into place.  And we cheered each other on when we soloed as well, giving each other advice on costumes and colors, and working through the bad times, too, because well, we were a troupe!  World Tribe performed until 2006.

I've played piano since I was 10 years old, and I'm trying to channel some of that ability into learning to play a doumbek and riq.  I think it would be really great to perform somewhere and when I've finished dancing to move to the side, pick up my drum, and accompany someone else.  Unfortunately, there's just not enough time to do everything, but now that I've retired from my "day job", I'm hoping be able to devote a lot more time to music and dance (in-between magazine deadlines!).

World Tribe

I try to attend every workshop I can that's in my local area (which I guess extends from Greensboro, NC to Richmond, VA!) and my troupe has traveled to workshops in Ohio and Florida as well.  I believe that if you have an interest in something, you should take advantage of everything that's available to you.  I know I can't do it all, but by going to workshops I pick up a lot of new ideas and it also gives me a chance to meet people from other areas.  And how could I pass up a chance to take classes with instructors like Mahmoud Reda, Mesmera, Nadia Hamdi and Suhaila Salimpour?

My husband, Doug, has been very supportive of my dancing and came to all of our performances to cheer us on and to videotape for us.  In fact, we referred to him as the Official World Tribe Roadie because he always seemed to be the answer to those questions such as "who's going to go out and get the baskets we left on stage?", "who's going to go pick up ________?" and "how are we going to get all this stuff back to our cars?"  And, most important, whether it’s dancing or working on the magazine, when I say, "I just don't think I can", he always says, "why can't you?"