I recently had the opportunity to present on a topic that I care deeply about: Bellydance and its direct ties to health and wellness. When I first came across the event, the WCU Summer Institute for Administrative Professionals, which was to be themed “Rolling out the Red Carpet,” they were seeking individuals who could present on the topics of mental health and wellbeing to round out the conference. I immediately knew I wanted to teach a Bellydance class drawing inspiration from Golden Era dancers who were featured in Egyptian films in the 1930s-1960s, to match the “red carpet” theme, and decided to add in a presentational element in the beginning to showcase how Bellydancing fulfills multiple aspects of health and wellness.

Attendance for my class was relatively small, with only four students. However, I found that this allowed me to be more personal with the attendees which created a fun and exciting energy in the room. Additionally, I’ll note that the small number of attendees was not too much of a surprise to me, as Bellydance is a somewhat niche interest. There are a small percentage of people in the world, especially in the United States, who have had any exposure to Bellydance, so it does often feel like a very small market. The positive side of this is that the people who are interested are usually very committed, loyal, and excited to be in a class. Ultimately, I was very happy with the four students I had, and I was left with the impression that they wanted more and would be using the handouts that I gave them with a discount for my Scarab Studios membership.

Overall, I’m very satisfied with my class and my presentation, and I hope I get more opportunities to present on this topic again in the future.