We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Launa Dixon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Launa, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I love everything I do as it pertains to performance art and art in general. I make enough to get by, but at times I am concerned about not being able to save enough or my future. I do my best and save what I can, but I regularly worry if it is enough. On the other hand, I have experienced regular jobs and they often left me feeling miserable and unfulfilled. It’s definitely not the life that I prefer.

Launa, 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?

I grew up watching a lot of MTV and Fashion Television and have been enamored with the arts all my life. This includes visual and performing arts. I began dancing at the age of 5. I later attended art school for my 4 years of high school where I took up visual arts with a concentration in sculpture. High school was where I saw my first belly dance performance performed by a classmate. I bounced around a lot in college, taking up dance, visual arts and apparel design. This is around the time I met another belly dancer and learned where to take lessons. I then worked as a makeup artist for a while in department stores, among having other jobs that were considered “regular jobs.” I studied belly dance for about 6 years before considering the option to teach. I took the plunge after receiving numerous requests to teach. Classes took off from there and not only do I teach and continue to perform, but I continue to grow as a performer and teacher and learn things from my students. The most rewarding thing about it will always be watching the students grow as performers. In 2011, my student Patti and I decided to embark on a new journey to create a belly dance festival in MD and thus “Art of the Belly” was born. We invite all performers with diverse backgrounds, styles, skill levels, physical attributes and more to participate and teach at our yearly events.
Within the past 2 years, I have also added burlesque to my performance art repertoire and have not turned back. I took my first class with Essential Tease at Creative Alliance in April 2023. It has been a life-changing ride.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is the impact the art makes on members of the audience and the community even if it’s just one person who was affected by the art.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson I had to unlearn many years ago is that no one is going to hand you all the confidence to succeed. You have to find it on your own and the best way to do that is to learn all that you can about the art and practicing as much as possible, so that you have confidence in what you are doing and presenting.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://naimahdances.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naimahdances/?igsh=YXBhdXZuaGNhNHc4#
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/naimah.dances/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@naimahdances

Image Credits

Stereo Vision Photography
Self Portrait