Interview with Laura

April 28, 2009 10:05 AM

Name: Laura

What is your role within the Sahara Dance community? Hula and belly dance teacher

Childhood ambition: Architect or Fashion Designer. I have always known, since I was a little girl, that I wanted to build, design, and create. I loved art, drawing, and painting. I remember from a very young age stealing my dad’s graph paper and sketching out my dream houses. I remember getting my first tool box for Christmas when I was 5. I remember my sister and I spending hours upon hours creating unique houses for our Barbie Dolls. I remember spending summer vacation sewing Barbie clothes with my mom and sister. Ah, the good ol’ days… that I never did fully outgrow… only now the designs are on a larger scale. ;)

First job: Hummm… I guess my first income would have been selling my first drawing when I was 16 years old… but that wasn’t really a job… does that count?

What’s playing on your iPod or CD player? “Rock-a-hula-baby!” by ELVIS! I love Elvis! (yes, I have even been to Graceland!) I am SO excited to choreograph a hula fusion piece to this song for the Summer Student Caravan!

Indulgence: Dunkin’ Donuts; spoiling my kitty, Henrietta; deep tissue massages; purses and shoes

What’s your favorite belly dance moment or experience? The day Chiaki invited me to join RCE! :-)

Current inspirations: Hula Hoops! Believe it or not, I get a lot of questions asking if my Hula-Fusion class involves a hula hoop. To be clear, my Hula fusion class does NOT involve hoops of any kind! :) But it did get me thinking of how fun (funny) it would be to break out a few hula hoop tricks at a friend’s picnic or BBQ this summer. Hum… does anyone know where I might buy a hula hoop?

What is your dance background? Outside of dancing with my mom in the living room as a kid, nothing. In fact, I absolutely hated dancing in public… I would NOT even dance at weddings or out with friends at clubs! I started taking belly dance classes to help overcome this fear of dancing. After a year of lessons and working hard to overcome this fear I decided to join Elysa’s B2 performance class. The class was great but with it being my first performance ever, I got terribly stage fright; I was so nervous I couldn’t even smile. I cried for a week after the performance and decided to quit dance all together; I swore to my family and friends that I would never perform ever again! After 3 months of not taking classes I missed the weekly escape and challenge so I went back to Sahara Dance classes with the mindset that I would not perform.

After another year of classes I decided I needed to give performing another try. I signed up for LI performance classes with Elysa and Chiaki. This time I did not have stage fright! I had a great time and was far more comfortable dancing in my body. Now I’ll dance anywhere… anytime. ;) My family still teases me by reminding me how after my first performance I swore I would never perform again!

How did you get interested in belly dance? I was at Marrakesh Restaurant here in DC. I saw the dancer and instantly fell in love with the moves and what the dancer could do with her belly… I also completely fell in love with the exquisite costume! That night I told myself I wanted to be able to do that with my belly someday! But I faced one little challenge… remember I was afraid to dance! So, after some research I was excited to learn that I could take belly dance classes at my own pace in a comfortable environment with women only. I gave it a try and was hooked as soon as I put on my first hip scarf!

Finally, what do you love most about Sahara Dance (other than Hip Talk, of course!)? The pretty pink studio!… a great mental and physical escape…

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