Reflections of a Chairlady – May 2026

Las Vegas – the city that never sleeps.

The lights sparkle so brightly that they almost blind you with their magnificence.

The sights, the smells, and the constant pinging of slot machines fill the air around you from the moment you step off the plane until the moment you arrive at your hotel room. It was the year 2014, and I had just turned 40 years old. For me, it felt like a major turning point in life because, honestly, I believed I was running out of time to complete the bucket list of dreams I still wanted to achieve. And one of those dreams was to dance on an international stage.

Now, you would think that being a dancer my whole life would have made this easy for me. But you would be wrong. Four years earlier, I had started learning the art of Tribal Fusion Belly Dance – a beautiful fusion of different dance styles blended with the traditional Egyptian art form of belly dancing. I spent a week training with dancers from all over the world. There were around 50 dancers, each incredibly talented, each bringing their own unique style and energy.

It was inspiring… but it was also overwhelming and intimidating.

There I was, a 40-year-old woman standing among dancers who were often ten or twenty years younger than me. Even the friend I had travelled with was ten years younger. I still remember the night of the performance.

We arrived at this beautiful hotel on Fremont Street called The Ritz. The outside of the building was covered in cascading lights that looked like water dripping down the walls. It was breathtaking. And yet, despite all the training, despite losing 24 kilograms, despite spending an entire year preparing for this moment… I was terrified. Standing in the wings before going on stage, I remember turning to myself and thinking, “I can’t do this”.

I felt like an imposter among all these beautiful, talented dancers. But then something happened. I walked onto that stage. The music began. And with every movement, the fear slowly faded away. In that moment, I realised something powerful: courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is showing up despite the fear. And how often do we stop ourselves from reaching greater heights because we convince ourselves we are not good enough, not young enough, not talented enough, or not worthy enough? Especially as women, we sometimes shrink ourselves before the world even has a chance to see what we are capable of. But the truth is, we are capable of extraordinary things.

Sometimes all it takes is one person willing to step forward, willing to be brave, willing to take the chance. Sometimes we have to become the catalyst, not only for our own growth, but for the growth and courage of the women around us. Because when one woman rises, she gives others permission to rise too. And perhaps reaching greater heights does not begin with confidence. Perhaps it begins with one trembling step onto the stage.