Belly Dance Off ~ Waves of Change

Dear Community,

Last December we announced Teatro ZinZanni as the new home of Belly Dance Off in 2017. After six years of touring, this was a brilliant occurrence! The unique multidimensional configuration of this event had always made finding the right venue a challenge. The stars had aligned. The opportunity for dancers had never been greater – featured in Teatro ZinZanni’s prestigious venue with a live band, captured by professional photo and video, and receiving excellent feedback to accelerate one’s talent while building connections with new audiences.

We have been hard at work reconfiguring the new two-show format. The web pages are up-to-date and we are completely ready to accept 2017 performer applications. But the story has taken a turn.

In January of this year, the sale of the land that Teatro ZinZanni has called home for 10 years was finalized. We were hopeful this would not affect our 2017 Belly Dance Off show dates; unfortunately, it has. Teatro ZinZanni has been actively working to find a solution, putting in their own bid to purchase the land and subsequent negotiations to remain on the site during the new owner’s permitting process, But Teatro ZinZanni now finds itself searching for a new home.

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Teatro ZinZanni is the extraordinary entity it is today because it has persevered through such challenges before, and will do so again. Similarly, in the six years of Belly Dance Off, these challenges are nothing new. We exist today only because we’ve blazed through times exactly like these. Sometimes though, it’s time to surrender, look at the sky, and change course. Belly Dance Off will continue to manifest in some form, place, and time. Perhaps one big “Belly Dance Off Champion Hall of Fame” show later in 2017, featuring all champions…perhaps. And likely we’ll be back on track with the new competition format in 2018. We’re also exploring television distribution. Now hey, wouldn’t that be exciting!

Meanwhile, me and the S&F production team have been working hard on a new stage show, “Cinderella – A Global Story,” an original live music world dance theatre production exploring the many versions of the Cinderella story across the globe. We’ll be rolling out details very soon, and you’re all invited to our free show this summer! So be sure to stay connected with all that and the future of Belly Dance Off, and more, by joining the email list HERE. You can also follow planetsuzanna on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. The many epic, historic, and gorgeous moments of Belly Dance Off will continue to be posted on the Facebook page, as well as updates when they occur. Enjoy! And thank you again for your essential support.

– Suzanna Davis, Artistic Director, Host, and Founder

Suzanna hosting Belly Dance Off at Teatro ZinZanni - photo by Drumroll Studios