'Tis the season to set goals for the coming year. Here are the dance-related ones that I'm looking at:

* Create 2 new choreographed dances to Egyptian classical songs to use in my solo performances.
* Finish the research on how to build a sprung floor so my contractor can build one in the new room we're adding to our basement.
* Start learning Arabic.
* Get caught up on the teacher/performer directory on my web site.
* Work on the backlog of videos and CD's waiting to be reviewed for my web site.
* Learn how to use my new sewing machine so I can use it on dance-related projects.
* Create some kind of curtains/drapes for my new basement dance studio to add a touch of elegance.
* Finish the 9-part series of articles based on my Mahmoud Reda interview and send them off to Zaghareet Magazine for publication.

If I can finish all of the above, I'll be very pleased. None of these are trivial.

I estimate that each choreography will take a minimum of 15-20 hours to create, plus require several additional hours of rehearsal to integrate it into my body and allow it to flow. And of course, once I've perfected these, I'll need to perform them!

The sprung floor research is something I've already put a ton of effort into, I'm hoping the additional effort required will be no more than 3-4 hours.

Of course, learning Arabic will be a huge project. In addition to English, I'm fluent in French, am semi-fluent in German, and have some limited ability to understand Spanish, so I know what it takes to learn another language, and I know it's not easy to do. Arabic will be even harder than the languages I already know because it's so different from the European-based languages. I would like to learn Arabic well enough to have simple conversations with families I meet in Egypt.

The web site work will take many, MANY hours to do. The teacher/performer directory alone will probably take me a minimum of 60 hours of work to get caught up on, and of course new requests for additions and updates flow in every day. I can't even estimate how long the backlog of videos and CD's will take to work through. I typically spend a minimum of 5 hours on every video review, and 3 hours on every music review. And there's a lot of them.

I'm looking forward to learning how to use the new sewing machine. It is embroidery-enabled, and my husband got me new software for Christmas that can take a scanned image and convert it into an embroidery design. I have a feeling I'll go a little crazy embroidering towels, T-shirts, and other items.

My new basement room isn't done yet. I doubt it'll be done by the end of January at the rate it's going. I'm going to put mirrors on one wall, but I also want to create drapes that can be used to cover the mirrors. That way, if I want to have a hafla or something I can use that wall as a background, but pull the drapes shut to eliminate the distraction of the mirrors. It'll take me a long time to make enough drapes to cover a wall that's 20 feet wide, though!

For my Reda articles, I've already written the text for all 9, and I have sent the first 5 to Reda for review. He sent me back his requested corrections, which I have made. I have sent the first 3 off to Zaghareet. Part 1 has been published, Part 2 will appear in the January/Februrary 2007 issue, and Part 3 will either also appear in that issue or in the next one, depending on how much space Sharina has available when she puts the January/February issue together. So for Part 4 & Part 5, I still need to organize the illustrations to go with them - screen shots showing the dances described in the articles. For Parts 6 through 9, I need to take one more look at them, then send them off to Reda for his review. Accuracy is VERY important to me on this project, and that means getting Reda's feedback. Once I hear back from him, I'll need to incorporate any changes he recommends, then come up with the accompanying graphic images, and send it all off to Sharina.

So, all of the above items will make for a VERY busy 2007. It should be fun!