I grew up in Cheektowaga just a few blocks away from the Kaisertown area of Buffalo, NY. Back in the 90s, it was a very Polish neighborhood and I spent a lot of my childhood on it's streets. I belonged to a bowling league at Town Edge Bowling, I participated in community service events & sang in the youth choir at St. Casimir's church, and I had my very first latte as a young goth/grundge kid at a tiny coffee shop on Clinton called "Cup of Dreams" while falling in love with my first NIN song (it was Heresy, for those keeping track). Needless to say, Kaisertown had a big impact on my teen years and I always remembered it fondly. It felt like home.

I left that particular area for Amherst when I went to college. After that, I moved all around Erie County: Tonawanda, Holland, and Akron. After many years in different towns full of ups and downs, I found myself settling down in West Seneca, just a few minutes away from where I grew up.

In 2017, one of my dance friends told me about a dance studio available on Clinton Street and we should go look at it. On a cold November night, I arrived and saw the space. I couldn't believe it! A beautiful dance studio just waiting to be used. After a brief discussion, we decided to go for it!

My next visit was during the day, and I couldn't believe where I was:

I'm on Clinton and Weimar! Wait... I used to sing at the church right on the corner of this street! Hey, I used to bowl there! Hold on a minute, was that store front at the front of our building... no I don't think so... wait, I think it is... this must have been where Cup of Dreams was!

My life had come full circle. I truly felt that I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

We opened House of Hips for business in January of 2018 as a belly dance studio. During the pandemic, I became the sole owner and I re-branded in 2021 as a world dance studio.

During that time, I noticed a lot of changes in Kaisertown. It had grown & become so diverse! So many storefronts with different businesses and so many different types of people! Immigrants from all over living in the area. Kids playing basketball together in the streets. It was so lively! I really developed a sense of pride about how many different cultures were represented, just on our block! Where could you find a better place to have a world dance studio with so many different cultural dances styles?

Once again, I truly felt that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. It felt like home.

And that, my dear students, is what I hope you feel when you come through our doors.

I hope our studio feels like home.

And I hope that we continue to grow more diverse, welcoming more students, more instructors, and offering more dance styles. Because, (and it feels appropriate to say this on MLK day) I believe that diversity makes everything better.

Welcome to Kaisertown!

It's the Holidays!

For me, that means watching some of my most beloved movies - mostly because I know all the words by heart and I don’t have to actively watch the movie in order to enjoy it. I put the movie on so that I can quote and sing along while I decorate, write my holiday cards, and wrap gifts. Some of my traditional holiday movies include:

1. The Merry Widow - specifically the NYC Opera production from the 90s that aired on PBS.
2. White Dwarf - a 90s made-for-TV movie about life on an alien planet.
3. Monty Python’s Life of Brian - for obvious reasons.
4. Monty Python’s Holy Grail - for vague reasons.
5. Die Hard - yes, it’s a Christmas movie. Welcome to the party, pal.
6. Anastasia - the 90s cartoon… because snow, I guess?

Ok, so maybe none of these are actually holiday movies. But are you really surprised by that? Ok, yeah, I guess you might be. But just in case you read my last blog post and were like “I don't know, is Mandy REALLY a nerd?” - I present to you the above list as evidence. But I digress.

The last entry on this list is what I wanted to focus on today: Anastasia. Specifically, there is a song in the film called “Learn to Do It”.

If I can learn to do it,
You can learn to do it.
Pull yourself together,
And you’ll pull through it.
Tell yourself it’s easy, and it’s true!
You can learn to do it, too!

If you can learn to do it,
I can learn to do it.
Don’t know how you knew it.
I simply knew it.
Suddenly I feel like someone knew!

You can learn to do it, too!

I was once an individual who thought I couldn’t dance. I never thought that “a dancer” was something I could be. Yet, here I am. Teaching belly dance since 2009. Performing on stage at festivals and for private events. If you would have told me when I was 20 years old, I would have said you were crazy!

And now I get to witness that transformation firsthand in my students. Two of my favorite things about being a dance teacher are:

1. Watching a new student on their first day find a natural feeling of comfort with a dance move that took me years to master. I have learned that everyone has certain moves that just resonate within their body and it is different from person to person. Moves that are intuitive to one person will take months for another to learn, and vice versa.
2. Seeing a someone go from quiet student in the back, to performing on stage. Even after 15+ years of teaching, this never gets old! They come to class on the first day and say, “Sure I’ll take a class, but I’ll never perform on stage.” And then within one year, they’re performing! And then they’ll say, “Ok, I’ll perform, but I’ll never show my belly on stage.” And then within 2 years, they’re performing on stage with a free belly! It’s one of my proudest moments as an instructor, and one of the most powerful transformations that a student can achieve.

You see, it seems to me that this is a universal truth. That women are told to cover up - especially our bellies. Regardless of your race, religion, or culture - our bellies are something to be ashamed of and hidden away. Even if you weren’t explicitly told it, you learned to suck in your stomach for a photo, stop wearing that shirt that was getting too short on you, and put on “body shaping” undergarments.

But, my dear students, it’s not too late learn something new:

• You can learn to love your body just the way it is.
• You can learn to respect your body and all the muscles, skin, and “extras” that come with it.
• You can learn to be so proud of the movements that have taken you months or years to master, that you want to expose your belly to the world in order to show off all your hard work.

There’s nothing to it!
Tell yourself it’s easy, and it’s true.
You can learn to do it, too!

If I can learn to do it, you can learn to do it.

Suddenly you’ll feel like someone new.

You can learn to do it, too!

Guess who’s back?

It's me!

Back again - sitting at my computer, writing, and listening to a video game soundtrack. Heroes of Might and Magic IV, to be exact. That’s right - I hate to be the one to have to tell you this, but I’m a nerd. I’m a geek. I’m a weirdo, and proud of it! I’ve often been the misfit, the one who didn’t belong. The one who was laughed at and made fun of for the clothes I wore, the things I liked, and my general unwillingness to give up my ideals in order to “fit in”.

I learned to embrace it. I learned it was ok to not be what others expected of me. It was ok to not change who I was in order for others to like me better. And in that journey toward self-acceptance, I found more people like myself. I found other misfits and nerds and weirdos and whatevers! In college, my roommate and I made a sign for our dormroom door that said “only those on the fringe of society may enter”, and I think it worked! Our dorm became the hangout spot for so many unique individuals who I might not have otherwise met. And I've carried that mentality with me ever since.

That's how I like to view my studio as well. As a space for people who might not feel like they belong at a dance studio. People who feel like they’re the wrong body type, the wrong gender, the wrong age, the wrong ethnicity, the wrong culture, or the wrong skill-set for dance. This space is made for you!

Regardless of what you may have been told:

You are the right body type.
You are the right age.
You are the right gender, cultural, and ethnic identity.

You are right for dance and you belong at our dance studio.

And whether you consider yourself “on the fringe of society” or not, you may enter.

We can’t wait to see you!
Mandy

Hi, my name is Mandy and I'm the owner of House of Hips dance studio in Buffalo NY. I've been thinking about writing this blog for a long time now. I feel like other people could benefit from hearing my story about the healing powers of dance in their lives - especially as an adult beginner. Shout-out to my husband for encouraging me to write more. Apparently, it's in my star charts that writing can help me access my true potential - and who am I to ague with the universe?

So here it it, my first bit of "Mandytory" Information. Get it? It's mandatory... but my name is Mandy? See what I did there? Anyway......

In the fall of 2004, I went to see one of my good friends dance at her first belly dance performance. I was mesmerized! She looked so powerful and so graceful and so beautiful, and I decided that I wanted that for my life. So the next day I called and signed up for my first belly dance class - and I haven't looked back since.

I was in my mid-20s and had never taken a dance class before. I felt like the most awkward, ungraceful, anti-girl individual you could meet. I hid beneath oversized boy clothes, long hair, and glasses. I sought to distance myself from "girly" things because I was always told that girls were weak and unintelligent and that wasn't who I wanted to be. I struggled with severe depression and moderate anxiety. I had a very negative perception of my body and myself as a whole.

My first belly dance class was a struggle. My movements were stiff & jerky. I constantly compared myself to the other students and felt like I was far behind them. But I knew that I wanted to continue, because I could already feel some physical improvements. I had suffered from back issues since I was about 18 years old, mostly stemming from bad posture. As a tall girl, I often felt the need to literally shrink myself to make others feel more comfortable. But in belly dance class, there is a strong focus on good posture, and even in the first few weeks, I noticed a difference.

As I continued in my classes, I found muscles in my back that I didn't even know were there. The combination of constant reminders to stand up straight and increased strength in my back muscles and abs, led to a huge decrease in my back pain - to the eventual point of complete relief. I was amazed! I never expected anything like that to happen. But the physical improvements were just the gateway.

I learned that being graceful and being strong were not mutually exclusive.

I could be powerful and feminine.
I could be intelligent and playful.
I could be girly and be respected.

I started taking 2 to 3 belly dance classes each week. With each class, I gained more self-worth and more of a feeling of belonging. I felt like I was truly starting to become myself.

I learned as many different belly dance styles as I could from as many different teachers as I could. Each of them helped my dance journey, and therefore, my journey toward better physical and mental health.

And that, my dear students, is why I eventually decided to start teaching in 2009 and the request of many different friends and peers. I wanted other people to experience the real change that I did. The physical, mental, and emotional benefits of dancing. And as someone who was quite possibly the worst dancer ever when I started, I can say with confidence: "If I can do it, you can do it!".

It's never too late to start. All you need to do is to decide "I want that for my life" and I promise you can do it too!

Until next time - happy shimmies!
Mandy