Sitting in my car, I sponge the sweat off my face, remove a stray safety pin and struggle to pull off my bangles. They leave a residue of pink dye and glitter behind. Phew, another energetic kid’s party done. These parties are so much fun, but also hard work! This is Claire in the photo with me - she recently celebrated her 14th birthday with a Bollywood workshop. She and her friends were an absolute delight to teach. As I performed my ‘Jai Ho’ routine, they sang the words for me, then gave me a huge whoop of applause when I finished. It’s a great song for girls that age, as they all know and love it. I also love entertaining the real littlies. Quite often they run to the door to greet me, squealing with excitement. Though I once had a little boy yell, upon my arrival, “Mummy, look, it’s a clown!” Entertaining little children can be the hardest work, due to short attention spans. It’s like a juggling act - dance, game, perform, game, dance - to maintain their interest. I’ve learnt that 6-year-olds just love to dress up, but that within 5 minutes most hats and scarves will be strewn across the floor. Surprisingly, they never seem to tire of limbo under a sparkly cane - hold it between two shimmying adults and they’ll run around and under for ever! Even better if you have 3 canes in a row. It’s a good way for me to take a breather, and to get any nearby adults involved in holding the canes. Another favorite game is my own invention, ‘Freezing Genies’, which combines elements of musical statues, musical chairs and some fun dance poses. Kids of all ages seem to enjoy this, and I haven’t had a tantrum from anyone who’s ‘gone out’ yet. Entertaining The Kiddies Belly-and-Bollywood Style! By Jewel Skye and Emily Jewel and Claire Children’s Party Workshops Bellydance & Bollywood! Phone: (03) Office hours Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Jewel Bellydance Melbourne, Australia How to print your FREE children’s party invitations I find teaching at kids parties so rewarding – the way children dance with such unselfconsious abandon is great to see, isn’t it? And it’s great to have such appreciative audiences in your workplace. Just let me go home and have a little nap afterwards! For little genies and teenage dancing queens who love to dress up and dance!  Full costume for the birthday girl  Colourful scarves and bindis for all guests  Gift bag for the birthday girl, including a coined hip scarf and music CD  Learn some groovy moves along with a fun routine.  Dance-based games for the littlies  A performance by Jewel  Best suited for children aged ~6 yrs+. Parties run for 45 mins-1 hour, depending upon age.  Set price $230 for any number of guests (within inner Melbourne. Travel surcharges may apply) Page 2: Bollywood theme – editable text Page 3: Bellydance theme – editable text Edit text in Windows Powerpoint. Re-size text to fit if necessary. Print onto A4 paper. Jewel recommends using 80gsm paper or thicker for best results, and a high quality printer setting. Invitations are DL sized – they will fit into a standard business envelope.

Let’s Go To... Dear GUEST’S NAME, It’s CHILD’S NAME’s birthday and we’re going to celebrate in Bollywood style! Come join in the dancing fun on DAY DATE at TIME. We’ll be at LOCATION. Please RSVP to NAME at CONTACT DETAILS by DUE DATE. © Let’s Go To... Dear GUEST’S NAME, It’s CHILD’S NAME ‘s birthday and we’re going to celebrate in Bollywood style! Come join in the dancing fun on DAY DATE at TIME. We’ll be at LOCATION. Please RSVP to NAME at CONTACT DETAILS by DUE DATE. © Let’s Go To... Dear GUEST’S NAME, It’s CHILD’S NAME’s birthday and we’re going to celebrate in Bollywood style! Come join in the dancing fun on DAY DATE at TIME. We’ll be at LOCATION. Please RSVP to NAME at CONTACT DETAILS by DUE DATE. ©

Let’s Go On A Magic Carpet Ride To... Dear GUEST’S NAME, It’s CHILD’S NAME’s birthday and we’re going to celebrate with some Bellydancing! Come join in the dancing fun on DAY DATE at TIME. We’ll be at LOCATION. Please RSVP to NAME at CONTACT DETAILS by DUE DATE. © Let’s Go On A Magic Carpet Ride To... Dear GUEST’S NAME, It’s CHILD’S NAME ‘s birthday and we’re going to celebrate with some Bellydancing! Come join in the dancing fun on DAY DATE at TIME. We’ll be at LOCATION. Please RSVP to NAME at CONTACT DETAILS by DUE DATE. © Let’s Go On A Magic Carpet Ride To... Dear GUEST’S NAME, It’s CHILD’S NAME’s birthday and we’re going to celebrate with some Bellydancing! Come join in the dancing fun on DAY DATE at TIME. We’ll be at LOCATION. Please RSVP to NAME at CONTACT DETAILS by DUE DATE. ©