"Bellydancer Forever" : Exclusive creations dedicated to oriental dancers

Meet “Bellydancer Forever”, a new brand created by BellydanceDiscount.com, presented and explained by Nathalie, the store’s founder.

How did you come up with the idea of developing this collection and how was "Bellydancer Forever" born?

This project was born during the health crisis that we are currently experiencing. As our activity depends on the organization of events and shows, we, just like the artists and dance teachers, have been hit hard by this brutal and unprecedented pandemic. These past few months, with our teams, we’ve observed with sadness and dismay the global consequences of the Covid-19 and in particular in the artistic world. Then very quickly, we moved into action!
First we implemented all possible means to cope "economically" with the crisis, and to make sure that we’d be there for our clients when everything started up again.
If Bellydance could no longer live on neither in the dance halls nor on stage, our role was make sure the flame wasn’t going to die out and therefore to continue more than ever to rekindle and maintain it.
While teachers stretched their imagination to provide Oriental dance distance classes by videoconferencing, we focused on continuing to offer new in-store products to spark fun and excitement, and bring oriental dancing to life through our Blog.
This critical period, 9 years after the birth of BellydanceDiscount.com, was particularly conducive to reflection, and led us to reposition ourselves and rethink our future projects in relation to current issues and especially the environmental and social concerns which have of course evolved since the store’s creation.
"Bellydancer Forever" is a collection designed to reflect our unwavering imprint in the oriental dance’s world in these difficult times, but not only. Its aim is to promote, enhance, and support this activity around the world as an art in its own right. It also stands out for its solidarity dimension since for each item sold, €1 will be donated to cancer research. Finally, by now marketing flasks, our company marks a first environmental step to reduce the use of plastic bottles in everyday life and especially in dance and sport halls where they are still very present.

Why did you choose cancer as a humanitarian cause for this collection’s marketing?

BellydanceDiscount.com has always been keen to get involved in several associations. Over the past few years, we have donated several times costumes to a disabled theater company and hospitalized children to brighten up their daily lives and add glitter to their lives. Every year, we also answer present to the Telethon call, a cause also very popular with oriental dancers who come together to go on stage.
Even though research is advancing rapidly, cancer in all its forms is still a real plague for which a lot still has to be done. And unfortunately, we all know someone who has or had cancer, male or female, young or old. The objective is to raise funds to advance research in this area which is familiar, despite our wish.
Choosing a cause is always difficult because all causes and their fight are legitimate. Over time, the idea would be to vary the causes to support and promote, in particular those brought in by oriental dancers.

What can we find in this collection?

This exclusive, united, and committed collection primarily evokes the passion for Bellydancing. This discipline which highlights women and allows them to feel beautiful and good in their body and mind, almost acts for some of them as a therapy and lifestyle. So we selected different types of items allowing them to associate oriental dance with their daily life. As mentioned previously, we have developed insulated flasks, an ultra practical and ecological accessory, and a must-have nowadays. The dancers will also now be able to start their day the right way with a mug or decorated cup, or write on a notebook with the effigy of oriental dance as soon as they have an idea whether it is linked (or not) to dance (music titles, choreography steps, dates of Bellydance workshops and festivals, project for an oriental dance costume…). Finally, stylish and very practical sports bags, as well as trendy and comfortable t-shirts ranging from S to XXL complete this unique collection.

What’s your background and what challenges are planned for BellydanceDiscount.com?

With a master's degree in business school, I created BellydanceDiscount.com after 4 years spent as a communication manager of a transport network, to meet the oriental dancers’ needs who were looking for diverse, varied, original costumes and accessories at a low price. At that time, we often found the same costumes on stage, at high prices, sometimes bought abroad in a "risky" way on unsecured platforms, without local customer service, with long delivery times and substantial customs fees upon receipt.
By concentrating our efforts on these axes, BellydanceDiscount.com was very quickly adopted by French and European dancers who followed our rise and then, to our greatest pleasure, have remained very loyal over the years.
Today, our main challenge is to continue to promote and reassert oriental dance after this covid-19 ordeal which has led to the permanent closure of some dance halls and oriental dance classes.
More than ever, we must support artists, teachers, and students when they start back their activity so that Bellydance remains, seduces and continues to bring dreams and happiness to both dancers and their audience.

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