2007 has been by far the very best year of my life! With successful classes and workshops all over Vancouver Island, a massive cross Canada Summer Workshop Tour with over 20 Venues and 300 participants, awesome performances and gigs, and our first ever Bellyfit Instructor Initiation and Training Course, I couldn't ask for more!
I would be lying if I said it's all been easy - it hasn't. Anyone who is their own boss, knows that you eat, sleep and breathe your business if you want to be successful, and sometimes, it's hard!! But I can honestly say that even though it is incredibly challenging and even downright scary at times, there is nothing I would rather be doing with my life as Alice on Planet Earth! The rewards far outweigh the set backs and the fear is only a little reminder that failure is just a thought away, so I guard my thoughts with a will of steel and when the demons of doubt try and get me, I quickly turn my thoughts to gratitude and love. I am grateful for the people who support my vision and who believe that Bellyfit truly has the power to make a positive difference in this world. Of course Rowan is at the top of this list of supportive people, quickly followed by my family and all of the incredible women who have become the Bellyfit CREW! I think true happiness comes when we find our own unique way of serving humanity and the salvation of this ball of rock we call home. We may not all have a "vision" or a "dream", but we can find ways every day to make this planet a better place. This I know!
I do have a vision however, and these days, it is all about the vision! At the moment I am working on expanding the Bellyfit system to include Bollywood, Bhangra and African Dance! This is a bit of a gutsy move at this point in the game as we have created a strong affiliation with Belly Dance, but I am confident that it is the right move! All of these incredibly powerful Cultural Dances have common roots and I look forward to blending them in what I call Cultural Dance Fusion. Each one of them has a unique emphasis and together they will give participants a complete experience that will access and energize every part of their body and hopefully every part of their being! Sensuality, fun, celebration, and power! Oh ya!
Speaking of accessing every part of the being, our BFIIT Course in November was a tremendous success with over 25 of the most wonderful women I have ever met! Hailing from New York, The Netherlands, San Francisco and all over Western Canada, the energy all weekend was incredibly powerful and everyone there was experiencing and learning exactly what they needed to! Since then, many of the participants have been practicing with friends and family and will soon be ready to start offering regular Bellyfit classes in their community! I am so proud of how far so many of these women have come in such a short time as many of them had never taught a class in their lives! I look forward to seeing them all blossom in their own way, and expand the Bellyfit vision!!
Over the next couple of months I will be working with some of the best choreographers on the West Coast to tone up the Bellyfit system and in March, April and May we will hold the first of our BFIIT Courses of 2008! The March training is already starting to fill up and I am so looking forward to meeting the next wave of Bellyfit Babes!
Rowan continues to be my ultimate dream come true, and is working tirelessly to bring the web site up to speed to reflect the evolution of Bellyfit. Not to mention the meals he cooks me and the support and love he gives to Shalom! Goddess knows where we would be without him! Shalom is of course my ultimate inspiration and all I do is for her and her grandchildren. As war rages on in the Middle East, conspiracy theories and threats of global warming loom, I refuse to focus on the negative and vow to increase the positive vibrations! What else can I do?
2008 is the year we come together! 2008 is the year we let go of fear and doubt and know that we are all in this game together and the more we work together, the more we have the power to heal the world. Begin within, create community, think globally and never give up! It is all worth it. All of it!
Ubuntu! alice
"Bliss cannot be disturbed by gain or loss." Tea Bag Yogi
