Life & Work with Beth And Sarah of Duluth

Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth And Sarah.

Hi Beth and Sarah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Banat Ahad was originally founded by Saroya of Atlanta, who has since moved on to new adventures in sunny Seville, Spain. Both Beth and Sarah began their belly dance journeys in graduate school, where they both found it a wonderful escape from the grind of graduate school study. Sarah has been dancing since she was four, training in various styles, and was introduced to Middle Eastern dance through a lab mate. She found belly dance a new and unique challenge. After she participated in a show she was invited to audition for and subsequently began dancing at various restaurants throughout the Atlanta area. During that time she was introduced to Saroya, a local dancer who had several classes which were then located at the Decatur School of Ballet. Saroya needed a substitute sometimes and Sarah began substituting, which led to her becoming a regular teacher, swapping months with Saroya.

A few years later Beth began taking belly dance classes with Kristina Koutsoudas while in grad school in Houston, Texas. She didn’t have much of a dance background, but absolutely loved everything about the dance form. After she moved back to Atlanta, her original home, she was looking around for a place to continue dancing and found Saroya’s classes. After a number of years studying with Saroya, as well as adding circus aerials (fabric, trapeze, and pole) to her dance repertoire, Saroya needed a new teacher and invited Beth to join the team.

Several years after that, Saroya retired and left the states, leaving Beth and Sarah a bit adrift. First they lost Saroya, then they lost their dance studio space when a change of ownership and an abrupt rate hike made the relationship untenable. They tried several locations without much success and then the pandemic shut everything down. As the world began to reopen, Sarah noticed a small dance studio, Catch the Beat, newly opened near her home. The owners were wonderfully supportive people who welcomed in Sarah and Beth and helped them rebuild their dance classes. Now they have a good client base and a lot of hope for the future!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We are far too small, independent teachers offering one class per week, to have our own studio and finding studio space we can afford is a constant struggle. Particularly after the pandemic, when we lost most of our client base, we really needed a studio that would work with us and encourage us while we rebuilt. We were very lucky to find Catch the Beat Dance Studio, whose owners were very understanding and patient while we endured the initial disheartening stream of one or two or sometimes zero students per week. Thanks to their support we have been able to start offering a second class!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We offer small personalized Middle Eastern dance classes. We try to showcase a variety of different styles within that and because we have a team taught class we are able to offer students different styles of both and teaching.

We love to see our students thrive and we try to have an especially welcoming environment for students of all abilities and backgrounds. Every class is tailored to the needs of the people in attendance rather than herding our students through a regimented leveled curriculum.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
We want to build a sense of community where everyone feels like they belong. Our dance space should be welcoming for all bodies and identities and everyone who dances with us should feel happy and loved. The people we’ve met along our dance journeys are some of the strongest and most supportive friends we’ve ever had and we want that for everyone who joins us.

Pricing:

• $15/class

Contact Info:

• Website: https://banatbellydance.com
• Instagram: banatahadbellydance
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BanatAhad