Karen Barbee interviews me about my dance life!
One hour, two friends, 30 years of dance. Following the breadcrumbs through the forest.
Last month Facebook showed me a memory from last spring, a post shared by my friend Karen Barbee which linked to the podcast she recorded with me in April 2021. It was an interview with me that she did for her Baby Boomer Belly Dancer podcast, which we did in person because I was visiting San Antonio.
Since Karen and I have been friends for nearly as long as I have been dancing, and have a lot of shared history, memories and reference points, I did nothing to prepare for this other than to get dressed, come in, sit in the chair, and let her guide the conversation. Although of course my dance life formed the main framework, Karen brought in a lot of other things about my education and professional life as well as the dance milestones.
She tagged me when she originally posted it on Facebook, but I was too self-conscious to share it on my own timeline. I listened to it, and thought it was interesting, but other than a few friends who mentioned it to me I let it drift out of my mind. When that same post came up in my memories this year, I took the opportunity to listen again, a year later. The second time around I was struck by how much detail about my life and some of its key turning points there actually was, and I decided to share it myself. And I’m sharing it here as well, if you have an hour of your life to spare and are interested in knowing more about me and my dance path up to the present. Thank you again to Karen for inviting me on and for eliciting so much detail during our conversation.
In Dallas for the Shareen El Safy workshop, 2001.
Belly Dance and Friendship | Interview with Debbie Smith
Podcast by: Baby Boomer Belly Dancer
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