Somewhere along the line, I got a bee in the bonnet about sensuality. Actually, soon after I began belly dancing I went on a big hunt for videos that taught “slow moves”. The sensuality bug was reinforced when I happened to see a video clip of Blanca.

There are many words that come to mind when you see Blanca dancing. Graceful, natural, feminine, beautiful, spellbinding. But perhaps the word people associate most with her is sensual. She dances with everything she’s got - her eyes, her hair, a tilt of the head, a twirl of the wrist. She also dances with enjoyment and emotion putting all of herself into her dancing.

Blanca told me her teacher had two instructional videos coming up: They were to be a set called Sacred Bellydance. I got them as soon as they were out. I soon saw that sensual dancing was not just about isolations and tried to work with the mesmerizing Jehan’s instruction. She taught me about the wholeness of belly dancing.

Blanca’s own instructional video, Sensual Bellydance, came much later and I dropped everything else I was doing. This was what I’d wanted all along; someone to give me something tangible to do that would set me off in the right direction.

Blanca’s beautiful video ended up being a huge hit with belly dancers — beginners right through to advanced. I loved learning her Venus choreography. I danced it for family and friends who have marveled at how graceful it was, so I must be in the right direction. Learning with Blanca’s video made a difference to all my dancing.

What came next in my dance journey is an “age of drills”. That has by no means ended. I loved many of the videos I bought and had no end of fun working with them. But what I really focused on is drills. Ariellah, Michelle Joyce, Asharah and Sadie have in differing measures helped condition my body for belly dancing.

Areillah’s Contemporary Bellydance and Yoga Conditioning was the first serious drills video I worked with. Most dancers I know are very fond of Aziza’s Practice Companion, but I didn’t quite manage to get into that one. That, I think was just a matter of personal preference in styles of instruction or just the way the video is structured. I “outgrew” Ariellah’s video and moved on to Asharah’s 3-hour workout, which is what I stick with right now. I also took up yoga and a smattering of pilates, which helped strengthen the core and back no end.

I worked fully or partially with many other videos. I loved Sadie’s Sultry and Slow Moves. I really enjoyed learning and informally performing Jenna’s Celebration of Rhythm, and had a total blast with Jillina’s drum solo.

I’ve spent so much time on drills that there’s sometimes been very little time left for dancing.