Here are some of my favorite moments of 2008....

1) Watching a dear friend get married and then having the honor of leading a zeffa procession and performing a shamadan dance (a lit candleabra on my head) at her reception...

2) Singing in Arabic for a massive American audience as the closing piece for the St. Louis Dance Showcase Festival....

3) Finding the old picture of my great grandma in front of the pyramids of Egypt

4) Buying a house with a kick-ass dance and music studio all for myself!

5) Re-plating the scimitar dance sword that my mentor Diana gave me as a teenager so it now shines again like brand-new...

6) Watching the Turkish male bellydancer Ozgen do a crazy sexy dance ending with his wrists tied together above his head by a rope for an awed Brit crowd...

7) Seeing Suhaila dance with her young daughter to a rock song and the two ending in a classic heavy metal pose....

8) Meeting Natacha Atlas and then watching her perform along with an amazing 15 piece middle eastern orchestra at the posh underground jazz supper club The Pigalle in London's Picadilly Circus....

9) Sitting in the studio with Hossam Ramzy while he was recording tracks for his new album and then sharing a lovely meal with Serena and seeing how much their beautiful boy Amir has grown in the past few years....

10) Getting accepted for a program to go to China in 2009! Chinese bellydancers?

11) Shooting a music video on the Thames in London with a bunch of people looking at me like I'm crazy!......

12) Teaching little kids to do Asaya cane dancing....

13) Dancing with Wings of Isis in unison with 50+ other dancers at Bozenka's workshop in Blackpool....

14) Going to the beach for Christmas!