Storytime: I Almost Ruined My Belly Dancing Competition Experience

Last February I went to a friends performance of "So you think you can Belly Dance?". I don't think I had ever seen authentic belly dancing at that point-not in person anyway. It was one of those things you see in the movies. I thought of it as flirtatious and provocative, kind of like burlesque or exotic dancing. It was DEFINITELY not something I ever saw myself doing in public! I had played around a little with the YOUTUBE videos during lock down, but it was in the comfort of my own living room. I was immediately surprised when I saw the opening scene at the competition that night. There were participants of all ages, body types and walks of life. The dances were flirtacious and fun and entertaining. The dancers inspired the audience to move and let go. Although there were some sensual moves, it wasn't risque or "seedy". My friend came out and not only rocked it, she won! (Yay Nina). It was then that she said something CRAZY-Alisha you should do the next one! I said "yeah right girl, you will NOT be seeing me up there!" The lie detector test determined that was a lie because 7 months later, there I was! 

I signed up randomly one night without thinking about it. I was bored and needed a little razzle dazzle in my life. The first person I told about this new adventure made fun of me so I didn't tell many more. I started to regret signing up and even went to the first meeting thinking I would just meet with the owner and back out. I got there and couldn't back out. Samantha (also known as Belly Diva Samantha, look her up). was so excited for the event and having so many poeple sign up. I knew I was going to get on that stage come hell or high water! 

Wouldn't you know it, both hell AND high water came. First I had a death in the family. The timing of the funeral meant I had to miss the major promotional video-one of the MUSTS in the contract. Not only that, but I was not prepared for the emotional impact of that death. I missed the video shoot, and although I made it to the formal rehearsals, I wasn't practicing on my off time as I should. I was also training for my first marathon during that time and has bad luck would have it, I injured my back while attempting a home improvement project (which is still incomplete by the way). 

I was a MESS. I got back on track, then my costume was lost in customs. I lived in denial that it would make it for so long that it was too late to order a replacement. After  a few YouTube tutorials and Google searches, I decided I was just going to make my own costume. Looking back WHAT WAS I THINKING?! Once again I was living with the delusion that I can do any- and everything. I legit combed through fabric stores, learned how to use wire, glued crystals, transformed an old bra, sewed beads and hoped for the best. MANY lessons were learned during this process, but that's a whole other blog post (stay tuned). 

I started to get excited about the performance-despite the fact that I didn't really feel anyone was "rooting" for me to succeed. I have learned many times in life that sometimes you have to be your OWN cheerleader. The day of the performance I got halfway to the venue to discover I had grabbed the wrong bag. My costume, accessories etc. were all left at home. I cried all the way back to my house and considered just calling it quits, but I didn't. I drove my little Yaris like a mad woman, ran inside to exchange bags and zoomed to the venue. I was late, missed some of the fun bonding things and realized that I had STILL not grabbed the accessories bag! I felt so defeated. I was frustrated, sad, angry and upset. I was backstage feeling sorry for myself when I realized that due to my attitude, I was missing all the fun! 

My fellow contestants were amazing. They offered me jewelry and sparkles and safety pins and words of encouragement and I got myself together, relaxed and had fun. I enjoyed seeing everyone's routines and costumes and hearing the stories of how everything came together. When they announced the winners I was laughing because I forgot this was even supposed to be a compeition! No, I did NOT win. I was ok with that. All of the ladies were amazing and although the winners were excited, I don't think anyone was really focusing on that part. The fellowship, the confidence, 

the energy and and teamwork were so much more valuable. I cannot believe I almost missed ALL of the good of the moment focusing on what was going wrong. 

The mandatory positive is two fold. One, things came  together in time to get the most of the experience. Two, I got to be the one to tell a friend "You should do the next one!"

 Khalia, I'll see you on stage in April! 

You know EVERYTHING is on video now days (🎥: Joe Padilla)! You can view my performance here: My Belly Dancing Performance

If you're ever inspired to make your own costume, visit my Amazon Storefront for some materials: Amazon Storefront

Get tickets for the next show (or sign up for a class): So You Think You Can Belly Dance Spring 2025

Backstage in my Intro Outfit (found on Ali Express)