Why I’m Returning to Figure Skating
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
2y ago
Don’t worry! I’m not leaving belly dance! Hearing the Call Maybe it was COVID. With more time at home, and with fewer outside obligations, my mind began to quiet. I started feeling more like myself. I began reconnecting with things that brought me joy when I was younger but abandoned because I had to go be an “adult.” Part of that autoarchaeology was allowing myself to follow some of my favorite Olympic level skaters on social media. I’m partial to the misfits and lefties (those who land on their left leg and spin clockwise) like Ashley Wagner and Johnny Weir. Ashley Wagner started a class in ..read more
Visit website
Why Belly Dance is Not a Folk Dance
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
2y ago
I’ve been pretty quiet over here in blog land for various reasons. I’ve been teaching Dance Appreciation college course (sometimes 100+ students), my Mills College dance history course, in addition to bumping up my own teaching business and acting as a Peer Leader in the Suhaila Salimpour Institute of Online Education. Basically, I’ve been keeping my eyes on my own paper… and all the final papers that my college students have written.  Spending most of my mental time in an academic and educational space has given me much to think about. So much so that I am creating a new survey course fo ..read more
Visit website
A letter to those who say, “Keep politics out of dance.”
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
4y ago
Dear Karen, I have heard you say over and over again that you want to keep politics out of dance. That you’re upset that dancers you’ve admired speak up against racism, against discrimination, against a system that continually attacks and subjugates black and brown bodies. I’ve heard you ask, “Why do you have to make it political?” I’ve heard you say, “Dance is dance, and politics is politics.” I’ve heard you say that your favorite performers should just “shut up and dance.” But I am here to tell you that you are wrong. Dance is political. For centuries, for millennia, dance has been politica ..read more
Visit website
12 Things I’ve Learned About Teaching Live Online Dance Classes
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
4y ago
It’s been over 50 days since the San Francisco Bay Area counties issued their stay-at-home order. At the start, I was preparing to teach out of my tiny little practice room/office/cat sunroom/workspace. I did it that very first night of the shelter-in-place, and, honestly, it wasn’t great. Since then, I’ve been able to teach out of a proper dance studio. Thankfully, the studio where I teach in-person classes has remained open for us instructors, and I’ve been able to run classes from there. I’ve tried very hard to keep my online classes as similar as possible to my in-person classes. This mean ..read more
Visit website
8 Ways to Support Your Freelance Creative Friends During the Coronavirus Outbreak
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
4y ago
I admit. I’m a bit of a pro at social isolation. It’s my default and (truth be told) preferred state. I looooooove being at home. That doesn’t mean that I don’t also love spending time with friends and colleagues. I do. But my social “battery,” so to speak, is never really charged all that well. I’m a textbook introvert. On top of that, I already work at home. In addition to being a dance instructor and performer, I’m a freelance writer. Home is my sanctuary, and I’m happy to be here. But because dance instruction and performance bring in a significant chunk of my income, times ..read more
Visit website
Dancers: Don’t Do These Things with Arabic
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
4y ago
In my previous posts about the Arabic language, I’ve some of the basics of its history, grammar, and letters, as well as why there are so many spellings of popular words and songs, like “Enta Omri.” All of that was really leading up to this post… My Arabic pet peeves. Now, I don’t expect newer dancers to understand these rules and distinctions right away. But if you’ve been dancing a while, it’s good practice to make sure that we don’t make these mistakes. And it’s up to those of us who have been around longer to educate our students, and ensure that we at least understand the basic ..read more
Visit website
A Brief Guide to Arabic Transliteration
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
4y ago
Is it “Enta Omri” or “Inta Omri”? “Habibi” or “Habiby”? “Baladi,” “Balady,” “Beledi,” “Beledy,” or “Belady,” or “Beladi”? What about “Laylat Hob”? Or is it “Laylat Hobb,” “Lailet Hob,” “Laylet Hob,” or “Lailat Hobb”? If you don’t read or write Arabic, it can be incredibly frustrating to try to find an Arabic song that you love, or maybe YouTube video of a singer performing that song you just discovered and need to hear right now. If you read and write the language, you can type it into the search bar in Arabic and voila! There’s that song you’re obsessed with. But if you have to ..read more
Visit website
12 Life Lessons I Learned from Neil Peart
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
4y ago
I’m not one to idolize celebrities. Unlike many teenage girls, I didn’t really have celebrity crushes in high school, and as I grew older, the passing of even the most influential and famous people never really affected me on a deep emotional level. Not the deaths of Princess Di, Kurt Cobain, Carrie Fisher, David Bowie, Prince, Anthony Bourdain, or even Robin Williams. Of course, losing them saddened me, but I wasn’t moved to tears. But the news of drummer and writer Neil Peart’s passing last week of brain cancer shook me to my very core. It was a shock for his fans, as he kept his illness ..read more
Visit website
What All First-Time Adult Belly Dance Students Need to Know
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
4y ago
It’s the beginning of the year, and many of us are trying new activities, resolving to integrate more movement into our lives. Some of you might be returning to dance after a break. If you’re new to being a belly dance student (or a dance student in general) here are some helpful tips to make sure that your first classes are a success! 1. Show up early. And, by early, I mean arrive 5-10 minutes before the class start time. If you’re new to a particular studio or instructor, you’ll very likely have to fill out a waiver or intake form. In addition, you’ll want time to get the lay of the ..read more
Visit website
Who’s Afraid of The Badass Belly Dancer?
A. Keyes Dance
by Abigail Keyes
4y ago
Over the years, I’ve noticed a strange phenomenon amongst the belly dance scene. Many belly dancers are afraid of other dancers with high skill levels. And not just afraid. Confused. Threatened. But shouldn’t we be inspired by other dancers in our field who exude excellence? Aren’t we, as a scene, always complaining about how “no one takes us seriously,” and “we just want to be be seen as legitimate”? We can’t be afraid of excellence and expect a seat at the High Art table. Am I Scary? Since 2005, I have been a serious student of the Salimpour School. And the Salimpour Sc ..read more
Visit website

Follow A. Keyes Dance on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR