Category Dance | Layla Isis - Boundless Belly Dance NYC

January 9, 2015 by laylaisisdancer

LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD

So last month I finally got around to launching my website, a task which took nearly ten years to accomplish and written about in depth here. Some years I was just too busy with other more interesting endeavors, while others yes, I procrastinated and frittered away ample time to move forward with it. If I’m honest though, I’d say it was also in part, a fear of success.

This has brought me to explore the question: what does “success” mean? I’m considering this more than ever these days as the pressure to feel like I’m making my mark in the world is fierce. And I know many ask themselves this question at the start of a new year.

LAUNCHING LAYLA ISIS.COM:

MY TEN YEAR JOURNEY

Yes, you read that right. It has taken me ten years to make this website a reality. So, just for a moment, imagine me running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum with the Rocky theme song playing in the background and you’ll understand the magnitude of this moment for me.

I am what you might call a hermit showgirl. Having been born with the gifts and the passion for a life in the performing arts and yet wholly deterred by our modern society’s construct of what today’s artists must do to survive in this digital age of immediacy and relentless self-promotion.

It’s clear to me how important a job it is to bring the arts into the world. And there’s plenty of audience to go around for all who truly feel this calling. Yet these days, legitimacy is not won unless you have built an empire around your name that is measured in social media followers, a high google ranking, and a cutting edge online portfolio. But a lacking in technical savviness has not been the only thing holding me back.