Category: Belly Dance

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Eat Your Water! Top 3 Foods for Hydration

Not a huge fan of drinking 8 glasses of water a day? Then do I have the solution for you! Eat your water. And here are my top 3 choices with a bonus of course that I personally can’t eat because of food sensitivities and allergies but if you can, go for it.

1. CUCUMBERS! Cucumbers are 96% water and only 16 calories. A cucumber is actually more hydrating than a glass of water so perfect to replenish after dance class or a workout. You will also get 4% of your daily requirement of potassium, 3% of your fiber, and 4% of your vitamin C. That means cucumbers are also filling and can help with your weight loss goals.

2. SPINACH! Spinach is also 92% water and only 7 calories for one cup of raw spinach. Spinach is loaded with vitamin A, giving you 56% of your daily requirement.

3. WATERMELON! Watermelon is 92% water and only 85 calories per serving. You also get 8% of your daily requirement of potassium, 4% of your fiber, and 3% protein.

4. STRAWBERRIES! Strawberries are 92% water and only 4 calories per strawberry. High in vitamin C giving you 11% of your daily requirement

And there you have it! Adding these foods to your diet, will keep you full and help meet your daily hydration needs.

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Top 3 Foods to Prevent Hormonal Headaches

From the moment I turned 30, I started experiencing debilitating headaches right before my menstrual cycle. My gynecologist suggested I stop having periods. 🙄 That seemed weird and somehow not the best solution. So I began a search for the reason and a better method of preventing them. The reason for the headaches is the sudden drop of the hormones estrogen and progesterone right before menstruating. So the better option for me? Loading up on estrogen rich foods seemed like a better strategy. When I get busy with life and forget to do that, I am immediately reminded why estrogen rich foods are so important in my diet.

Here are my top 3 choices and a bonus for those who can.

1. FLAXSEED these seeds are a superfood often referred to as the richest source of phytoestrogens and just 2-3 tablespoons capable of keeping healthy normal estrogen levels

2. NUTS Pistachios, Walnuts and Peanuts are your best choices. They are rich in Phytoestrogens and also rich in heart healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and proteins

3. MOONG BEAN SPROUTS Not only high in phytoestrogens, but also high in iron, folate, vitamin-B complex and fiber

4.BONUS SOY PRODUCTS. I include these as a bonus because I cannot personally eat soy but if you can, they are packed with phytoestrogens and can be easily added to your diet. Soy milk, tofu, and soy nuts

Photography Robert Swinson

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Top 3 Skin Aging Foods to Avoid

You are what you eat. And your skin suffers along with your waistline when you give it these top three villains of the anti aging cause.

1. SUGAR – first on our list is sugar. That seemingly innocent and delightful sweetener we all love is actually damaging your collagen. Whaaat?! You say. How? You say. We all know how important collagen is to keeping our skin firm, lifted and tight. Well when you eat sugar, it binds to the collagen proteins in your skin. This binding creates molecules called advanced glycation endproducts, or, AGEs. These AGEs damage collagen.

2. PROCESSED MEATS – Bacon, cured meats, and pepperoni are loaded with sodium. And sodium leads to water retention which show up as under eye bags and carrying excess weight.

3. ALCOHOL – All alcohol is super dehydrating which means your skin will look less plump and fresh. It also generates free radicals which contributes to the aging of skin.

There you have it! My top three enemies of collagen and beautiful, youthful skin!!! Avoiding these foods will make your skin look great, your waistline trim and your heart healthier.

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South Florida Senior Living Entertainment

As performers, nothing brings the same joy as an appreciative excited audience. And none more appreciative than the residents of the senior living communities. The Independent Living, Assisted Living, Nursing Home and Memory Care residents are always so happy to see us and to participate to the best of their abilities. They love the music, the costumes, and the smiles on our faces as we perform our shows.

We perform several different shows for Senior Living communities. From Belly Dance, Polynesian, Latin Samba, Great Gatsby Flapper shows and working on a new Christmas Rockettes show.

My dancers love the opportunity to give back to our seniors and agree, these are the best shows we do!

If you are a performer and would like more information on performing in shows with us, or an Activities Director and would like us to perform at your facility, contact me at 561-358-8132

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3 Top Belly Dance Moves for a Tiny Waist!

South Florida Belly Dancer
  1. Shoulder Slide
  2. Shoulder Slant
  3. Side Waist Contraction
  • Tone and tighten your obliques with these great Belly Dance moves!
  • How to do them!
  • Put on your favorite music.
  • Shoulder Slide – Stand with your legs shoulder width apart and your knees. Slide your shoulders and rib cage side to side. Arms reaching out to the sides. Imagine someone is playing tug of war with you and you are the center
  • Shoulder Slant – Begin standing with legs shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. Side bend to the right with arms overhead in Temple Pose (backs of wrists together and arms framing your face) and then back up to center Repeat 8 times and then do the same thing on the left side
  • Side Waist Contraction (the Hip Drop) – Begin standing with your legs under your hip bones and knees slightly bent. Deepen the bend of your right knee lifting your heel off of the floor. Using your Obliques (the side waist muscles) lift your right hip straight up and drop. Do this in time to the music you have chosen 8 times on each side
  • And there you have it! My three favorite waist cinching Belly Dance moves!!
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Turkish Oryantal and Roman Havasi

This weekend we were fortunate enough to have Ozgen, famous Turkish choreographer here in Miami. Saturday he taught a Turkish Oryantal choreography and Sunday Roman dance technique and choreography. Both days focusing on the Turkish 9/8 rhythm. He debunked a few myths most notably that Karshilama and Roman Havasi are not the same dance. When I first began belly dancing in NYC in 1999, and taught the Turkish 9/8, it was taught as a Karshilama with the disclaimer that the basic was what the NYC dancers interpreted from what they saw and felt with the rhythm. Mr Ozgen cleared that up by explaining that Karshilama is a male folk dance.

If you are looking for some great Roman Havasi music, there are the classics Rompi Rompi and Mastika. But also new pieces available such as Romantica from the album Didem and many selections from Kibariye. A favorite being Yanayim

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3 Best Stretches for Splits

Ah the illusive split. Looks so awesome sliding down to the floor with a sword balanced perfectly on your head. So how do you get them? Well in high school I had to have both my right and left splits flat for Dancerettes. So these are my top favorite stretches I did the most to get them.

1. The Straddle stretch! Seated with legs open as wide as you comfortably can. Then alternate reaches. In Pilates it’s called the Saw. After each set of 25, I open my legs a little wider. Working up to 100

2. Then it’s  nose to knee and hold for 30 seconds. 30 seconds allows the muscle spindles to relax and you can safely push past your natural flexibility increasing your range of motion. Repeat on the other leg

3. Then walk your hands forward in the center with a flat back. Think about bringing your chest to the floor, not your head. Bringing your nose closer and closer to the floor until you can lie down flat.

Remember it takes two weeks of daily stretching to see results show don’t give up! You will have those coveted flat splits in no time!

Dawn Rhys, South Florida Belly Dancer