Community Policies
Updated 9/23/2026
RachelBellyDance.com is committed to creating a welcoming, respectful, and culturally responsible dance community. All classes, workshops, performances, educational programs, and community events are intended to provide opportunities for people to learn, create, perform, and connect through Belly Dance while respecting the cultures and communities from which the art form originates.
Inclusivity & Belonging
RachelBellyDance.com welcomes students, dancers, artists, musicians, and community members of different backgrounds, identities, experiences, abilities, and levels of dance experience.
Everyone participating in RachelBellyDance.com classes, workshops, rehearsals, performances, and events is expected to treat others with dignity, professionalism, and respect. Discrimination, harassment, bullying, intimidation, retaliation, and behavior that creates an unnecessarily hostile or disruptive environment are not acceptable.
RachelBellyDance.com values a community where people can learn, ask questions, make mistakes, develop their artistry, and participate without fear of ridicule or exclusion.
Cultural Responsibility & Decolonization
Belly Dance and related dance and music traditions have deep roots in Southwest Asia and North Africa, Mediterranean (SWANAM) and have also developed through migration, cultural exchange, entertainment industries, and communities around the world.
These traditions have sometimes been presented in Western contexts without sufficient acknowledgment of their cultural origins, histories, people, or social context. Colonialism, Orientalism, commercialization, and cultural appropriation have also influenced how Belly Dance has been represented and understood.
RachelBellyDance.com approach (in alignment with the Salimpour School) to decolonization is an ongoing practice of education, acknowledgment, cultural responsibility, and meaningful engagement with source and heritage communities. It does not mean excluding people from participating in the art form. Rather, it encourages us to understand where the material comes from, recognize the people and cultures connected to it, give appropriate credit, and remain open to continued learning.
We support respectful cross-cultural participation while working to ensure that SWANA voices, cultural context, artistic lineages, and the origins of these traditions are recognized and represented.
Cultural & Artistic Stewardship
We believe that participating in a culturally rooted art form carries a responsibility to learn more than movement alone.
Whenever possible, my education includes information about music, rhythm, language, history, regional differences, cultural context, movement vocabulary, artistic lineage, and performance practices.
Teachers, choreographers, musicians, artists, cultural practitioners, and communities whose work contributes to the material being studied or presented should be appropriately acknowledged.
We seek to avoid representations that unnecessarily stereotype, exoticize, demean, or misrepresent the people or cultures associated with Belly Dance and related traditions.
Cultural traditions are also living and evolving. Respecting cultural knowledge does not mean treating an art form as static; it means approaching its continued development with knowledge, curiosity, respect, and appropriate acknowledgment.
Salimpour Lineage & Educational Stewardship
Much of the training offered through RachelBellyDance.com is rooted in the Salimpour tradition and educational methodology, because I am a licensed Salimpour School instructor and practitioner.
We are committed to maintaining appropriate attribution to Jamila Salimpour, Suhaila Salimpour, the Salimpour School, and the artists, musicians, teachers, and cultural influences that have contributed to this body of work.
We encourage students to understand artistic lineage as part of their education—recognizing where movement vocabulary, choreography, teaching methodologies, musical knowledge, and other identifiable material originate.
Stewardship of this material means preserving its history and educational integrity while continuing to learn about the broader cultures, communities, music, and dance traditions with which it intersects.
Respectful Community Conduct
We expect students, instructors, performers, collaborators, and guests participating in RachelBellyDance.com activities to contribute to a supportive learning and artistic environment.
Constructive feedback, questions, thoughtful disagreement, and respectful conversations about culture, history, representation, technique, and artistic practice are welcome. Personal attacks, public shaming, bullying, intimidation, discriminatory behavior, harassment, and retaliation are not.
Concerns should be addressed directly and respectfully whenever appropriate, with the goal of education, accountability, communication, and resolution.
Commitment
We believe that cultural respect, artistic freedom, inclusion, education, stewardship, and cross-cultural exchange can coexist.
We recognize that Belly Dance is part of living artistic traditions with histories extending far beyond any individual dancer, teacher, school, or organization. I am committed to continued learning, giving credit, supporting and listening to source-culture voices, respecting artistic lineage, and creating an environment where dancers can develop both their artistry and their understanding of the cultures connected to the art form.
Our goal is to build a community where people can experience the joy of Belly Dance while approaching the art with curiosity, integrity, humility, responsibility, and respect.
CODE OF ETHICS
INTEGRITY: Being honest, truthful, and acting with integrity in all dance-related activities. Conduct oneself with honesty, courtesy, and respect. Express consideration for one’s fellow dancers, educators, and competitors. To be a person who leads by example and honors commitments. To be a person other people can count on.
RESPECT: Showing respect for fellow dancers, teachers, parents, and the dance environment.
RESPONSIBILITY: Taking responsibility for one’s actions, commitments, and the well-being of others; Willingness to be a team player for the good of all.
CHARACTER: To be a person who represents high levels of personal integrity, leadership, and responsibility for oneself and others. Be a person who has the courage and willingness to face issues and concerns with maturity and dignity. To avoid gossip, criticism, or denigrating comments for any member of the dance community, or peers.
LEADERSHIP: To guide, direct and influence people in achieving their highest goals and ideals. Set an example through one’s actions and speech. To inspire and serve the people of your class, team, or community through full participation in all dance related activities.
PROFESSIONALISM: Maintaining professional and positive attitudes, including punctuality, reliability, and keeping the learning environment free from secondary and student feedback. Respect the dance profession and uphold our values and standards of conduct. Support and encourage one another. To voice opinions and initiate change that will elevate the dance community. To recognize oneself as a role model at all times.
SAFETY: Prioritizing the safety and well-being of oneself and others in all dance activities, including physical and emotional respect & safety.
INCLUSIVITY & RESPECT: Creating an inclusive environment where all dancers feel supported and respected, regardless of skill level or background.
CONDUCT: Maintaining appropriate, respectful boundaries, language, and avoiding any form of harassment or abuse, negative talk or negative morale. Being mindful of personal space and avoiding disruptive behaviors in the dance studio
SAFETY: Adhering to safety guidelines, including proper warm-up, cool-down, and injury prevention techniques.
FEEDBACK: Be open to feedback and constructive criticism from teachers. Accept feedback without negative retaliation or excuses. Students DO NOT give feedback.