Professional dancers, live music, food, and drinks! Bands & Bellies began as benefits for the LA portion of the 2009 World March For Peace and Non Violence. Alec Marken and Sarah Baxter co-organized the main event in downtown LA when the world marchers arrived.

The last piece I wrote on this subject asked many questions and offered few answers, but sparked a good deal of conversation. Because of this, I am continuing on with this topic, but from the personal point of view. As a bellydancer who has grappled with the more challenging aspects inherent in an ever-evolving and [...]

Capitalism has gotten a bit of a bad reputation lately; competition, supply and demand etc… it’s all a bit cutthroat. Of course, there are entrepreneurs and moguls who benefit monetarily from capitalism and are quite content with the current system, but many artists are unsure how to respond when a financial-political system puts pressure on [...]

Ask any dancer whether or not she has training in more than one style and you will mostly likely get a resounding “Of COURSE!”. To succeed as a commercial or performance artist, dancers have to bring more than just devotion to their particular dance form to the community and the stage. Ask any BELLY dancer [...]