We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Colleen Pannell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Colleen, appreciate you joining us today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
When I began my Bellydance journey many many years ago I was not sure how I would feel about it. After a few classes and starting to meet with other dancers in the community I truly began to love the Art of Bellydance. I discovered that this dance is for any and everyone, it offers multiple forms and techniques and can be adjusted to fit your body and any disabilities or abilities you may have. As I continued to learn and take from different teachers I learned that as a Plus Size dancer I was somewhat unique and felt like it was important for me to let others know that if I could do it, so could they. So the name Bellydance 4 Everyone (BD4E) emerged and has grown from there. I now with the help of my good friend Donna Cunningham put on multiple workshops and events throughout the year and monthly shows in and around Central Texas.
Colleen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Bellydance 4 Everyone created by Colleen Pannell has been part of the Central Texas Bellydance Community for over 14 years. One of the main goals is to help promote Body Positivity and Love through dance. We are able to learn a lot about ourselves through dance in all its forms. I have created so far 3 Body Positivity pieces that have been performed at different events and I am very proud of these performances. They show people that is okay to Love who you are and be comfortable in the skin that you have. There is no perfect in our society and we should be comfortable and love who we are and the skin we are in. This is a hard step for a lot of people, but sometimes when they see it danced out on stage and they can relate to the person that is performing it helps them feel more comfortable to take that step or at least ask for the help they need.
I work very hard to put on community shows that involve multiple dancers with different levels of skill this way everyone gets the opportunity to feel the thrill of performing in front of a live audience.
I also work to bring a variety of workshops to the Central Texas area featuring a variety of Professional Performers/Dancers. I recently finished my Dance Passport series where every 3 months we would have a workshop that would focus on a different section of the world and its dance form. In August we have a large day of worskhops coming called Shimmy Sneak Peek.
I am very proud and very honored to be bringing all of this to the Central Texas Area and very thankful for all the amazing response that I have had.
Helping people learn how to express themselves through dance is something that makes every day special. Bellydance 4 Everyone promotes local and out of town performers by putting on monthly events and workshops.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As a Plus Size dancer I have had to fight to prove that I am a professional in what I do. I do not often get hired for wedding, birthday or in general party gigs but I am able to help other dancers and get them booked for these events. It sometimes does bother me that I am not invited to certain shows because I know that the owner does not want a large dancer or that I miss out on opportunities because of my size. What owners of venues need to realize is that if they let someone like me perform they would actually for the most part get a good response. There are a lot of women and men out there that look at me and are shocked yes at what I am doing but also are inspired but what I am doing. I have had many women come up to me and thank me for not being afraid to get out there and dance. And dancing traditionally as well as when called for mixing in Fusion.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Social Media has been one of two ways of advertising since I started. The other has been going out meeting with people and as is said “Hitting the Pavement”. With Social Media I set up two accounts on Facebook along with my instagram page and YouTube channel. I built up my friends list and then invited everyone I knew to like my page and went from there. At least 3 times a week I will post information on an event or workshop that is coming up and then share out to as many groups that I can. Making sure that I share to that certain cities Facebook page, for example in Bastrop we have a 365 Things to Do Bastrop page, other towns throughout Texas have these and I find it is important to put your event on these pages as well. If I am doing an event at a certain venue with multiple performers I am always sure to tag the venue and all the dancers, this gets out to more and more people. With Facebook and other pages you have to be very repetitive because so many things are posted you want to be sure that yours gets seen. Prime time to post is normally 6am in the morning that way it is on the feed when everyone wakes up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bellydance4everyone.com/
- Instagram: @bellydance4everyone
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057281656502
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRbdY_UMNVAF0dCgczdv0DA
Image Credits
Joe Spliter Donna Cunnigham