Majickal Bellydance

I believe there's a metaphysical reason for everything. When I downsized to an apartment seven years ago, I knew my dance would be effected. But I'm a belly dancer, trained to sashay between tables and shimmy up a storm without taking a step. Moving into my mid-forties seemed like a good time to focus on jumping around less, and focussing on the introverted power of stationary movements—and spinning. After seven years of spinning, it's now a strength of mine. I even attended a two-day workshop with a Whirling Dervish, activating the spiritual power of spinning. I knew that spinning could raise energy, or diminish it; depending on the direction (which is different for different dancers). Another advantage of spinning, is that you have to find your centre to keep your balance. At this stage of my life, I realise that I can't avoid life's challenges. I can only learn to adapt to them, without losing my balance. Spinning is a moving meditation that initiates this wisdom...

I'm delighted to announce that Majickal Bellydance classes will be running from the Healesville Living & Learning Centre from term 2, 2021. 7pm Thursdays 8-week term, from term 3, 2021. Dates to be announced. $133 Healesville Living & Learning Centre 1 Badger Creek Road, Healesville, 3777 Bookings: 03 5962 5982 It's great to be back at Healesville again.  See you in class X.

Majickal Bellydance Classes, Autumn 2021 Book Online Now Ph: 1300 835 235 6:30pm Wednesdays,  28th April - 23rd June 2021  $160.00 for a 9-week term. (note: online booking displays start date as 21st, but we are starting on the 28th.) Whether you are new to belly dance or have attended classes before, Majickal Bellydance can help you become more mindful of your movements, your energies and your ability to improvise to music from a place of individuality and creativity.  You will learn the basic movements of belly dance, as well as the empowerment to discover more for yourself at home. Discover how the circles, shakes and undulations of belly dance are innate movements that can be unlocked, once we believe we can dance.  Majickal Bellydance is spiritual, which means you will leave class feeling like you’ve been in meditation. We work with unseen energies that flow and pulse through the music, and through the dancer. We acknowledge elemental and cosmic energies via rit...

I'm pleased to announce that, so far, we're allowed back in studio for Term 4 by November. I'm hard at work visualising our new classes occurring in the warming evenings of spring's end. We will be enjoying daylight savings by then, the studio bright with the setting sun across the field next door. It's such a great place to dance. I absolutely can't wait to get back in there where there's space to twirl a veil and swoosh a skirt.  I'm going to dress up like someone who hasn't been allowed out for ages. I have thrown away my old germy makeup and replaced it with some new colours I need a reason to try out. I need to wear a coin belt! I had to dance without the noisy coin belts while teaching Zoom classes during lockdown. So I'm looking forward to making some noise with a proper hip scarf. We're going to start the term nice and gentle. Our lockdown muscles and joints will be gradually soothed out and moved into fluidity and form. I'll be g...

Majickal Bellydance can help you to: Exercise without leaving the house Strengthen core muscles Mobilise joints Relieve 'lockdown aches and pains' Improve mood Feel sexy Improve coordination and balance Improve brain function Increase mindfulness Balance your chakras Strengthen your energy field Help maintain good immune function ENROL HERE: 6 WEEK ZOOM CLASS PACK Or Phone: 1300 835 235 Last term our new Chirnside Park group suddenly faced the new challenge of adapting to online classes. I presented the classes in the usual style, squinting to see dimly lit, partially visible dancers while demonstrating and discussing dance techniques.  The outcome was average. The music chopped in and out as I spoke and neither were particularly audible. We all had an average time and were relieved when it was announced that by term three we would be allowed back in the studio together breathing the same air and dancing with the joy of reunion. But this wasn't to be as further lockdown res...

The restrictions are gradually being lifted and we are slowly filtering back out of isolation. This means dance classes will soon be back. The 'in the flesh' kind that you're used to. Online Zoom classes were great and kept us in the mood, but they're not quite the same as a real face-to-face class. The best thing I bring to belly dance is my connection with each dancer in the room, so I can adapt from moment to moment in a personalised way according to need. So I can't wait to get back to class again and do my thing. So join me for Winter Term Three at Chirnside Community Hub. When:  10 Weekly classes Wednesdays at 6:30pm From 15th July - 23rd September 2020 Note: No class 26th August Where: Chirnside Community Hub 33 Kimberley Drive Chrinside Park Victoria Prerequisites? This is a mixed level class. that means I teach to beginners as well as more advanced students. Beginners learn basic belly dance techniques and posture, while more advanced studen...

As a new term of dance reaches its conclusion we are becoming accustomed to using new muscles, making new movements and feeling new physical freedom. Since I'm returning after a long rest from bellydance, I'm feeling it too! I'm enjoying the sensation of awakening forgotten muscles deep in my chest and sacrum; muscles that can lack stimulation when our range of movement becomes limited. Settling into a new 'day job' has meant more hours in front of the computer, as well as more hours clutching a mobile phone typing SMS messages. These activities have left me with an increase in arm, shoulder and neck tension. The opportunity to return to teaching bellydance happened at the perfect time. I feel enriched and more balanced with the presence of the fluidic, creative realm of  Majickal Bellydance  back in my life. Without dance my life is too chair-bound, desk-hunched, and head-heavy. CIRE services  have invited me back to teach another term of dance at Chirnside Com...

Have you ever been to a dance workshop and forgotten it all by the time you got home? Me too! Even after becoming a dance teacher myself, I would attend workshops for my own professional development, only to find myself feeling like I had two left feet as I struggled to learn a bunch of new combinations in a short amount of time. Most workshops focussed on my weakest attribute - memory! Christine, Cindy & Leanne at Seville House I don't know about you, but I can't learn a choreography in two hours and leave the workshop with a new routine installed in my repertoire. My brain just doesn't work that way. I imagine it's because I didn't go to any dance classes until I was twenty-six years old; a late start for a dancer. I had never worn a tutu, twirled a baton or stood on-stage caked in mum's make-up to perform a cute routine for calisthenics. I was an absolute beginner. The closest I had come to performance was my miraculous inclusion with the 'cool...

Autumn 2019 Bellydance Discover this fun dance/exercise style you can enjoy all through the year in your own home! Bellydance Yarra Valley, Eastern Suburbs, Yarra Ranges, for women of all ages. Autumn Majickal Bellydance Workshop 2 Hours 1 pm, Sunday 7th April, 2019 Seville Community House 8 Railway Road, Seville $30 Easy, no memorisation, no choreography, no mirrors, dance solo.  Learn Ancient Egyptian bellydance. Pure shapes and movements that come from somewhere deep, raw, natural. Your body already knows these shapes. I can help you remember them so you can dance in your own home.  Learn how to find your centre, your inner Goddess, your core and your balance.  ENROL VIA FACEBOOK EVENT LINK Read More About the Style Here. If you would like to know more about me, check out the 'Leanne Margaret' tab at the top. P.S. You can enrol online, or find out more by visiting the Seville House website. 

Our class at Seville has been pretty lively as each dancer in this mixed level class finds their place. We are fitting 3 choreographies into our hour. One of the developing choreographies is a spiritual dance to invoke the alchemical power of the elements of nature. When harmonised, these energies promote balance and healing. Majickal Bellydance is a therapeutic style of bellydance. Each dancer's own unique abilities and strengths are considered. Choreographies are written with each dancer in mind, just enough to expand without overwhelming. It is based on Classical Egyptian Bellydance, infused with ancient wisdom. My interest in healing includes human consciousness; Specifically, how to effectively manage its dynamic and complex dance. Being able to manage our own energy state helps us to manage our lives more harmoniously, leading to increased self-mastery. I'm often hyper after dance class. Even when we finish with relaxation techniques, by the time I have packed up a...

Hi Dancers Term 2 flyer - Autumn 2018 The final class for term one is happening tonight. It has been a majickal term of spiritual bellydance. All dancers grew stronger, more controlled and more confident. By week six all dancers were perceiving themselves as the dancers they always were. Book your place by phoning  03 5964 3987. See us on facebook . If you would like to learn more about the model of multi-dimensional human consciousness on which this style is created, visit www.theloveoftheuniverse.com Dance for Joy Leanne Margaret X

Classes will be back in term 2, April 2018. Details posted soon... Or call Seville House on 03 5964 3987 for enquiries or bookings.

There's a reason I named my style of bellydance 'Majickal Bellydance.' Aside from the ceremonial and ritual aspects of Majickal Bellydance, it is also designed to be therapeutic, in ways both physical and energetic. Balance: Basic bellydance posture aligns the feet, hip width apart, with the knees soft or slightly bent. Keeping the knees soft allows us to more easily re-balance ourselves as we move in space. Stiff or rigid knees can increase the likelihood of stumbling or even toppling over. Keeping the knees fluid allows fluidity of the lower body, promoting a lower centre of gravity. As dancers begin taking steps into various directions of space, their bodies are more balanced and connected to the ground. Majickal Bellydancers practise dance drills involving stepping first into four directions of space and then expanding into eight directions. Being conscious of the direction and shape of each step we take increases our security in physical space.  Co-ordination:...

This week I met with a long time friend and bellydancer after a long absence. I think we were both amazed at how young the other was looking. Our children have grown to adulthood and neither of us has lived without difficulty. I was reminded of the power of bellydance on so many levels. It's an energy dance and once found, that energy radiates like a sunny mist. There seems to be a certain sense of agelessness among my bellydance and yoga practitioner friends. From experience I know that none of us are immune from the natural wear and tear of being alive, but the practitioner of therapies such as spiritual bellydance and yoga process these changes in a particular way. This article focuses on dance because Majickal Bellydance is my main practice. When a Dancer Hurts When dancers feels an ache, our first response is usually not to lay down on the couch and pop a pill. We know that living life to its fullest can sometimes create a little fatigue or stiffness. We are accustomed t...

Majickal Bellydance is a therapeutic style emphasising mobility, control and an understanding of living energy. I am really pleased to be sharing my Majickal Bellydance style at Seville House again next term. Last term we enjoyed a short 5 week introduction using metaphors from the elements of Earth, Air, Fire & Water. We mobilised our bodies from the ground up, spiralling, circling and rippling toward harmony, health and laughter. Earth energy helps us to anchor our feet into the ground with stability. Our knees provide the leverage for living energy to ascend and descend the spine. Water energy helps us to understand our emotional flow as we respond to the music and to our feelings and thoughts. Fire energy illuminates our confidence and fires up our shimmies. Fire motivates the will to get up and dance in the first place. Air carries our veils, symbolising the doors to spiritual realms. Air energy transmits the music to our inner world via the ears, lungs and heart. It ...

Earth Majickal Bellydancers at Seville Community House have danced through the elements of earth, water, fire and air. Sadly, we have only one class remaining this term. But a majickal class it will be, as we integrate four elements, four directions, four dimensions, entwined as they are, by spirit . Earth By earth, we found our balance on the ground, testing our limits, leaning into four directions of space. Upon reaching our limits in form, we gathered the energy into circles, defining our dance space. Water Water By water, we rippled within the parameters of our found physical space, nourished by the waters of our being and our feeling. Our feet began to flow across space, moving with currents of emotion and music. The centre of our being, the navel, rose and fell with the currents of the spirit of life, our animating breath. Fire Fire By fire, we shone. We danced our confidence, using the light of our awareness to dispel fears, dissolving the barriers dividi...