I had the pleasure of interviewing Margaret Lion, founder and leader of the Different Drum Belly Dance Troupe, who will once again be performing at GenCon this year!

In addition to performing, these lovely and talented ladies will be hosting classes for beginning belly dancers, as well as incorporating the art into LARPing.

1.) What is your role in the group? I am the director and founder of the troupe Different Drummer Belly Dancers. Web site: www.ddbd.org. My primary reason for creating the troupe was so that I could dance to rock’n'roll with like-minded dancers.

2.) What’s your schedule like at GenCon this year?
This year will mark the 6th year we have performed at Gen Con!! Our big performance is before the Costume Contest of Saturday. (This happens usually at 3:45 pm or 15 minutes before the Contest begins.)
We also do roving performances on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.

I will be teaching classes on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. There will be two classes on Thursday and Friday which will be beginner/introduction classes. One is listed under SPA activities and one is listed under LARP (as I love to LARP and often incorporate my dancing in to my LARPing).

On Sunday there will be an advanced class that any one who has had any belly dance, including people to took a class with me during the week, can attend. There I will teach a simple choreograhy and everyone has a good time!! In fact, everyone always has a good time because belly dance is fun!!

We also have a booth in the Exhibit Hall and are usually found next to the entertainers – big names included. Come on down to our booth too as it will be active for the entire event.

3.) Are there videos available of your performances?
We have a YouTube channel and we are always interested in watching our performances.

4.) What about the other members?
Also, don’t let Melissa fool you! She is a woman of many talents and she belly dances!! She is a member of my student troupe, Calypso’s Pearls. Check out her bio here: http://www.ddbd.org/pearls/bios/melissa.html.

Tags: convention, Conventions, gencon, interview, media