DanceFit Biz Builders

Hosted by Real Strategies to Get More Students, Earn More, and Build a Thriving Biz

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Episodes

126

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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About the show

If you're a dance or fitness instructor who wants to grow your classes, increase your income, and turn your passion into a real business, you’re in the right place. Each week, I’ll break down the exact strategies, lessons, and behind-the-scenes truths I learned from building a thriving bellydance fitness brand. No fluff, no guessing, just real talk on instructor marketing tips, how to fill your classes, student retention, branding and class growth, so that you can build a profitable instructor career. Lace up those dance and fitness shoes — it’s time to build the business you deserve. Let’s do this Hit subscribe now and for kick-ass business success! #BellydanceBiz #BusinessMomentum #DanceEntrepreneurship #Podcast Links DanceFit Biz Builders group facebook.com/groups/bellydancebizbuilders SharQui Instructor Academy sharqui.kartra.com/page/sia My Dance Channel youtube.com/channel/UCHiBfVYhmOPhTYr948ShiEA SharQui Virtual Studio sharqui.kartra.com/page/online Facebook facebook.com/SharQuiworkout Instagram instagram.com/sharquiworkout TikTok tiktok.com/@sharquiworkout oreet.substack.com

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 14, 20261 hr 3 min

Your Class Is Fun. But Are Your Dance & Fitness Students Successful? | 127

What actually makes someone want to come back to your class? Is it the music? The energy? The community? The instructor? How you make people feel? My guests Barry and Shay Kostabi of FitCarma have built their work around creating intentional class experiences that keep people coming back. And you KNOW I had some thoughts about that. Because I believe you can create an amazing atmosphere, have a room full of smiling people, and be incredibly charismatic... and still not be a great teacher. So where does student success fit into the experience? In this episode, Barry, Shay, and I get into what actually makes a great class, why retention needs to be intentional, what the first-time student experiences that regulars may not, and whether our industry sometimes confuses charisma and energy with great teaching. We also talk about something studio owners and instructors don’t always want to hear: people rarely tell you when they felt lost or unsuccessful. They just don’t come back. So if we really want to create classes people want to return to, we need to look beyond whether they had fun. Did they feel successful? Did they feel capable? Did they feel like they belonged there? Now THAT’S an experience worth coming back for. To learn about or work with FitCarma, go to: https://www.fitcarma.com/ For more info on how to work with me, email me directly at email me at directly at oreet@sharqui.com or visit my website at www.sharqui.com for more info. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com

October 7, 20263 min

The Teaching Skills We Don’t Talk About Enough - Predictability | 126

Do your students seem to get it while they’re watching you... but the second they look away, everything falls apart? That might be telling you something about the way they’re learning. And one of the things that helps bridge that gap is something that doesn’t sound particularly exciting: Predictability. When students understand the structure of your class, recognize patterns, and begin to anticipate what’s coming next, they stop thinking so damn hard. And eventually, they don’t need to stare at you every second just to keep up. In this episode, I’m talking about why predictability creates confidence, the difference between students following you and actually learning from you. Predictability is part of great teaching. For more info on how to work with me, email me directly at email me at directly at oreet@sharqui.com or visit my website at www.sharqui.com for more info. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com

September 30, 20265 min

The Teaching Skills We Don’t Talk About Enough - Communication | 125

The industry spends a LOT of time teaching instructors what to teach. But what about how to actually teach another human being movement? Because knowing movement and knowing how to teach movement are two completely different skills. In this episode, I’m talking about the teaching skill that doesn’t get nearly enough attention in our industry: how to communicate clearly, how to know what information your students need and what can wait, how to cue before your students are already lost, and how to recognize when the problem isn’t the student. Sometimes they don’t need more practice. Sometimes we need to teach it differently. Because teaching isn’t about showing people what you can do. It’s about helping them discover what they can do. And I think it’s time our industry talked a whole lot more about that. For more info on how to work with me, email me directly at email me at directly at oreet@sharqui.com or visit my website at www.sharqui.com for more info. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com

September 23, 202653 min

The Brain Behind the Movement - What Every Dance & Fitness Instructor Should Know | 124

You can be an incredible dancer and still not know how to teach someone else to move. Because doing a movement and understanding what another person’s brain and body need in order to learn that movement are two very different skills. In this episode, I sit down with Deborah Vogel, a dance educator who has spent more than five decades studying movement through the lens of anatomy, biomechanics, and neuroscience. And we get into the stuff I absolutely geek out over. Why can a student do a movement perfectly until you add arms or change direction? How do you know when someone is ready for another layer? Can the words we use when cueing actually change how the body responds? And when a student isn’t getting something, how do we know whether they need more practice or whether we need to teach it differently? We also talk about what instructors really need to understand about anatomy, what applied neurology actually looks like in a class, and why simply saying, “Let’s do it again,” isn’t always the answer. This conversation gets right to the heart of something I’ve been talking about a lot lately: Being able to perform movement and being able to teach movement are not the same thing. If you’re a dance or fitness instructor who wants to understand your students better, not just learn more choreography, this is an episode you’ll want to hear. * For more info and to learn about her course go to - https://www.deborahvogel.com/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com

September 16, 202649 min

Your Body Changed. Your Movement Should Too | 123

I’m usually the one asking the questions. This time, I’m the one answering them. In this Podcast Flip episode, with Tirra Omilade of the The Soulful Goddess Living Podcast: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Women , I’m sharing a conversation where we get into something I think women don’t talk about enough: our bodies change, so why do we expect the way we exercise to stay the same? What felt good at 25 may not be what we need at 45, 55, or 65. That doesn’t mean we stop challenging ourselves or start treating our bodies like they’re fragile. It means we get smarter about how we move. We talk about how movement can shift through different stages of a woman’s life, why strength matters, what bellydance offers that I think is incredibly unique, and why I created SharQui to make dance feel accessible to women who may never have thought of themselves as dancers. And yes, we also get into why I still believe the best kind of movement isn’t necessarily the hardest or trendiest. It’s the one that makes you want to keep coming back. Because your body changed. Your movement should too. 🔹 Need a boost of joy, sweat, and community? Dance with us in the SharQui Virtual Studio! Get started at sharqui.com/online ( https://sharqui.com/online ) 🔹 Stop hustling and start filling your classes: sharqui.com/teach ( http://sharqui.com/teach ) 🔹 Email me at oreet@sharqui.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com

September 9, 202625 min

Why You Keep Chasing Validation for Dance and Fitness Instructors | 122

Have you ever walked away from a class feeling amazing because someone complimented you... only to question yourself the next week when nobody said anything? As dance and fitness instructors, we can become more dependent on validation than we realize. A full class. Applause. A compliment from a student. Likes on a post. Being asked to teach again. Getting recognized by someone we respect. And when those things happen inconsistently, we can find ourselves chasing the next little hit of approval. In this solo episode, Marisa Guastella explores intermittent reinforcement , why unpredictable validation can keep us hooked, and how that pattern can show up not only in our dance and teaching, but in our lives and relationships too. She challenges us to look at where our sense of worth is coming from and what happens when we stop allowing someone else’s response, attention, or approval to determine how we feel about ourselves. If you’ve ever wondered, “Am I good enough?” because the applause wasn’t there, the class wasn’t full, or the recognition didn’t come, this conversation is for you. Because the goal isn’t to stop enjoying validation. It’s to stop needing it to know your worth. 🔹 Need a boost of joy, sweat, and community? Dance with us in the SharQui Virtual Studio! Get started at sharqui.com/online ( https://sharqui.com/online ) 🔹 Stop hustling and start filling your classes: sharqui.com/teach ( http://sharqui.com/teach ) 🔹 Email me at oreet@sharqui.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com

August 26, 20265 min

Instructors - Stop Throwing Everything At Your Students At Once | 121

Hey Instructors! So, your students had the move… until you added arms, direction, travel, or a turn. So what happened? In this episode, we’re talking about cognitive overload, why “easy” movement may not actually be easy for your students, and how to layer movement in a way that helps people follow, succeed, and actually enjoy the class. Because great teaching isn’t about giving students everything at once. It’s knowing what to give them next. 🔹 Grab your seat for my FREE training, How to Teach Classes Students Come Back To Without Spending Hours Memorizing Choreography Every Week , https://sharqui.kartra.com/page/SBB 🔹 Need a boost of joy, sweat, and community? Dance with us in the SharQui Virtual Studio! Get started at sharqui.com/online ( https://sharqui.com/online ) 🔹 Stop hustling and start filling your classes: sharqui.com/teach ( http://sharqui.com/teach ) 🔹 Email me at oreet@sharqui.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com

August 19, 20265 min

The Biggest Lie the Dance Fitness Industry Ever Told Instructors |120

What if the biggest lie in the fitness industry is that earning a certification automatically makes someone a teacher? In this episode, I challenge one of the most accepted ideas in dance fitness and group fitness : that learning a format is the same as learning how to teach. If you’re a dance instructor, group fitness instructor, or fitness professional who wants to create classes where students feel confident, capable, and excited to come back, this episode will change the way you think about teaching. Because certifications teach formats. Teaching is a craft. 🔹 Grab your seat for my FREE training, How to Teach Classes Students Come Back To Without Spending Hours Memorizing Choreography Every Week , https://sharqui.kartra.com/page/SBB 🔹 Need a boost of joy, sweat, and community? Dance with us in the SharQui Virtual Studio! Get started at sharqui.com/online ( https://sharqui.com/online ) 🔹 Stop hustling and start filling your classes: sharqui.com/teach ( http://sharqui.com/teach ) 🔹 Email me at oreet@sharqui.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com

August 12, 202615 min

The Grit Of True Growth For Dance & Fitness Instructors | 119

If you caught Marisa’s first solo episode, you already know she has a way of making you stop, think, and look at your life from a completely different perspective. And this episode is no exception. Growth sounds exciting... until you’re actually in the middle of it. Am I right? Because real growth isn’t always graceful. It can be uncomfortable, messy, frustrating, and full of moments where you wonder if you’re making any progress at all. In this episode, Marisa talks about The Grit of True Growth and why the challenges you’re facing may not be signs that you’re failing - they may actually be signs that you’re becoming. So grab a cup of coffee, take a walk, or settle in wherever you’re listening, and dive into this episode with Marisa. 🔹 Grab your seat for my FREE training on how to cut your prep time in half , at: https://sharqui.kartra.com/page/SBB 🔹 Learn more about SharQui Beat & Block coaching so that you get more people staying in your classes, at: https://sharqui.kartra.com/page/SBBScoaching 🔹 Need a boost of joy, sweat, and community? Dance with us in the SharQui Virtual Studio! Get started at sharqui.com/online ( https://sharqui.com/online ) 🔹 Stop hustling and start filling your classes: sharqui.com/teach ( http://sharqui.com/teach ) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com

August 5, 202610 min

Why Your Fitness & Dance Business Won't Grow Until You Do | 118

Have you ever felt like your business has hit a plateau, no matter how hard you’re working? In this honest solo episode, I share a moment when I questioned everything. After more than 30 years in the fitness industry, I found myself wondering if anyone was interested in what I had to offer anymore. That experience led me to an unexpected realization: maybe my business wasn’t the problem. Maybe I had simply outgrown the version of myself that built it. In this episode, we’ll talk about why business growth often requires personal growth, how self-worth influences the decisions we make as entrepreneurs, why what helped you succeed in the beginning may now be holding you back, and the powerful questions that can help you move forward with clarity and confidence. Whether you’re a dance instructor, fitness instructor, studio owner, or entrepreneur , this conversation will challenge you to stop searching for the next strategy and start asking a much more important question: Who do I need to become to build the business I truly want? 🔹 Grab your seat for my FREE training, How I Teach 7 Classes Per Week Without Memorizing An Ounce of Choreography, https://sharqui.kartra.com/page/SBB 🔹 Need a boost of joy, sweat, and sisterhood? Dance with us in the SharQui Virtual Studio! Get started at sharqui.com/online ( https://sharqui.com/online ) 🔹 Stop hustling for pennies — start teaching with power. Your journey starts at sharqui.com/teach ( http://sharqui.com/teach ) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit oreet.substack.com