You know, it’s funny… When hearing the litany of teachers many dancers would list upon mention of their training (when I was a total, newbie beebee dancer), I said to myself “I could never remember all of those names!  How do these people remember every, single, person that they ever learned from???”  

..And now as I look back on my years of being enchanted by this dance, I realize that I can indeed remember aaaalllmost all of mine. :)

First there was Amira of Roanoke, who taught 1hr intros courses at conventions in VA.
Then there was Bambi of NoVA, who also taught me in similar fashion at a 1hr class or two at local cons.
Next came the one a teacher at Starwood 2004, who taught me another intro hour course.
And then I visited MD, where the lovely Latifa taught me yet another 1hr intro class- but this one had a wonderful bit of beginning choreography. :D
Years later, I eventually developed the nards to take a REAL bellydance class, & ended up taking 2 or 3 from the incomparable Galena of MD. :)
And while I was still living up in NoVA, I took one Intro to Tribal class from Belladonna.  (Whom I got to learn from again; a few years later, only a few months ago, and looong after moving here.  Sadly it wasn’t a full course, but thankfully I was lucky enough to be able to take one more class from Bella; a sword workshop! :D  I helped Radford University’s Middle Eastern Dance Club attend, and as I was working w/them at the time, I got to go, too. ^_^  *happy shimmies*  And today, I wish I could have the chance to learn from them all again. :)

It’s strange.. in the grand scheme of things, you wouldn’t think people would remember the names of folks they encountered from so many years back- and often so briefly…  (Especially in comparison with all the other crap in daily life I regularly forget. ;))  In some small, quiet way, I’m still a little surprised now and then that so many of us remember our “dance lineages,” so to speak.. you know?  (And if you study for a while, that’s a lot to remember! *lol*)  ..But we do, and once in a while, I still think of all my teachers too.  
-Especially now that I’ve begun to get more serious about the dance. 

I guess our teachers leave more of an impression on us than most might surmise.  ..Maybe because we’re so open mentally, emotionally & personally when we dance.  Maybe because they’re all distinctive and wonderful people who teach us a variety of new things in many different ways. 
And maybe it’s both. :)  

But clearly, our teachers leave an impression on us- one that goes way beyond the ability to recollect a few “simple” dance moves.

So to all you beautiful teachers out there, I guess all I have to say is “thank you for being wonderful.”

♥♥♥
Ylluria