Anthea Poole is belly dance instructor in Fredericksburg.
Anthea Poole is belly dance instructor in Fredericksburg.
Date published: 8/9/2006
Anthea Poole
A belly dancing instructor and performer for the past 18 years. She teaches private and group lessons in Fredericksburg and also dances at Marrakesh, a Moroccan restaurant in Washington.
EDUCATION: High school.
CAREER HISTORY: I started studying belly dance in 1985. Then after a short mentorship with my teacher Bedia (Sandy Koskoff), I began performing and teaching professionally in 1988.
HOW DID YOU END UP TEACHING BELLY DANCE? A couple of my friends asked me to show them how to do it. When my teacher heard about it, she offered to train me to teach. Shortly after that, I started teaching "for real" and I've been doing it ever since.
WHAT ASPECT OF YOUR BUSINESS IS CHANGING THE MOST? Before the Internet, people might have only seen a dancer at a restaurant or maybe knew someone who had taken a class somewhere. But the Internet has brought the world to our fingertips, and it's easy to get instructional DVDs and even costumes. So now more people are coming to class who've tried to learn at home with DVDs, and we usually have to clean up their basic technique or catch them up on cultural background--basically fill in the gaps rather than start from scratch. Also, belly dance movements are being sprinkled into other dance forms like contemporary, hip-hop and pop so I think people may be confused about what belly dance actually is.
WHAT WAS YOUR MOST DIFFICULT SITUATION FACED ON THE JOB? Sometimes I'm hired to entertain as a surprise for the guest of honor. Only once did I have someone who was such a bad sport that he made everyone at the party uncomfortable. I was never so glad to be done and out of there.
WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WOULD CHANGE ABOUT YOUR JOB? I wish audiences understood belly dance so they could enjoy it better. Most Americans still aren't sure what to make of it.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOUR JOB NOW? Dealing with so many new people all the time has helped me become more outgoing, plus I'm fortunate in that I love my job.
Date published: 8/9/2006
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