I love dance!!!

I do a lot of activities in my life, and sometimes, I think to study psychology is a hobby too! But, one of my favorites ones is the dance.

I went to my first lessons when I was 14 years old, at the school. My maths teacher was Arabian descendant and she danced very good, and she gave lessons a full year and I lost just one class because I was sick. In this time, I fell in love with this dance and I worked very hard, because it was difficult, but I thought that all elements in this discipline were beautiful and I needed to learn. I learned basics steps and movements, and then, I began to use the veil.

After this year, I couldn´t take lessons until university, but I never gave up the practice.

Then, when I was studying psychology, I went to flamenco lessons, and then I discovered the tribal bellydance style and I began to practice this new kind of dance too. This style is a mix of different elements of bellydance, flamenco, Indian dances, hip hop, and other dances, and has a more ethnic and tribal esthetics. I have danced this style 4 years, going to intensive seminaries and regular lessons; I have learnt to use veil, sword and finger cymbals.

Today, I´m a tribal bellydance instructor at the university, teaching this style to students in the science faculty workshops. I participate too in “Raks Gothique”, a gothic tribal bellydance company during 3 years. I´m very happy with this activities, but the present year I have to do my professional practice and I will have not enough time!!! I´m very worried about it… I can´t imagine my life without dance!!!

(a video of my last performance)

I want to be artist!

All the time at the university, I always thought I was not in the correct career. It has been terrible! I like to study psychology but I think it isn´t my vocation, I have vocation for the arts.

My hobbies (dance and jewelry) are related with arts and I have several skills in manual activities. I love to create new things, and to learn new technics to improve my creations. In fact, I was in “orfebrería” lessons (work with metals) at arts faculty in our campus and I really loved it! When I finish my actual career, I want to take more lessons in this area.

I would have liked to study arts at Universidad de Chile, because arts faculty is an important arts school in our country, and lot of famous artists studied here. I have some artist friends and I really like the activities that they do. One friend is sculptress, and she works in big sculpture projects and competitions; I have two friends who studied arts and now they are dancers too.

I didn´t study arts because I was very young and I didn´t know what I really want. Finally, I decided to study psychology because it is a traditional career, more accepted and my parents were agree with it. However, I have never gave up my arts skills, I keep on my bellydance training and when I have time I work in my jewelry projetcs.

My ecological practices

I think I m not very green, but in the last time, I try to incorporate some practices to reduce my garbage production. For example, I don´t drink sodas, because they are very dangerous with our body (sugar, sweetener, and a lot of chemical products) and you gain a plastic bottle difficult to recycle. In the same idea, I try to buy wholesale hygiene and clean products, or in a big bottle (it means just one bottle, not 3 or 4). At home in Algarrobo, we have a compost hole in the garden, to recycle our organic waste, and we cultivate tomatoes, pumpkins, watermelons, and other kind of medicine and cook plants using this compost.

I began to approach at this issue because I m vegetarian, and I m really worry about animals, and I try to use just “cruelty free” products. In general, there is a very strong relationship between animal cruelty and the use of dangerous chemicals products in the cosmetic production. I think is very important to be aware about the origin of the products we use every day, it is the first step to change our practices.

I don´t support to any eco-organization, but I have a lot of vegetarian friends and I know people really interested about environmental. In Santiago, I go with some friends to “gratiferia” , it is like a fair or a street market but all things you can find there are totally free. It is a very fun way to meet people and give useless things because somebody could need it.