Memorial Day Morning: The Nawaar Dance Company, Desert Rain & Friends will dance, drum and make general merriment at the 2026 BolderBOULDER 10K. This annual tradition is a Boulder classic! Come and join the fun!

More About The 2026 BolderBOULDER10k & Belly Dance Hill

The BolderBOULDER 10K was founded in 1979 as a small, local 10K, and since has grown to be one of the world’s largest and most respected community running events. In the various waves you’ll find everything from serious world class athletes competing for the best times and notoriety to folks joining in for the celebratory and fun nature of this race dressed in outlandish garb and costumes!

With the festival like energy, entertainment along the whole route, including Elvis Presley impersonators, artists, performers and yours truly, Tribe Nawaar, Desert Rain & friends, there’s something for everyone in this 10k!

For Monday’s Memorial Day BolderBOULDER 10K we’ll be dancing, drumming and making merriment on ‘Belly Dance Hill’ near the intersection of Folsom and Valmont.

Visit our Facebook event for our merry making at this year’s Bolder Boulder.

Logistics

The streets along the race close at 6am for the Memorial Day run, so, if you aren’t running in the race and are just coming to have fun with your belly dance peeps be sure to plan accordingly.

-Location: Belly Dance Hill is just south of the intersection of Folsom & Valmont in front of the town homes at 2695 Folsom. Check out the BolderBOUDER route page for transportation and race route.

Join Us

We’ll have open dancing using the basics of the FCBDstyle format to live music.

Dress in your favorite ATS/American Tribal Style ensemble and don your comfortable running shoes (to show solidarity with the runners!) Feel free to bring your craziest sunglasses, sunscreen, drum and other music makers too.

We do ask that everyone register in advance to help us make this the best event it can be. Registration closes May 14th, 2026

Email, call or ask questions in class.

We want everyone to have all their questions answered and understand best ways to participate.

The History Of Belly Dancing At The Bolder Boulder

Belly Dance Hill Origins

“It all started on a chilly Bolder Boulder morning in 1982. Five of my Oriental dance students donned warm attire and joined me at the top of the hill on Folsom Street, just south of Valmont, beginning the
tradition of entertaining along the route of the popular road race.

Our little band of finger cymbal-playing performers danced for hours and hours, as the elite racers zoomed by, followed by wave after wave of citizen runners and walkers. We stayed until the last weary stragglers passed by. It was an exhausting day, but fantastically fun to see the surprised and delighted expressions as thousands of Bolder Boulderites crested the hill and spotted us for the first time.

In the early years of the race, with fewer runners, there were also fewer rules. It wasn’t unusual to see a leap frogging group – runners hopping over
each other along the route. Costumed Marx Brothers and Blues Brothers dallied and danced with us before continuing on their way. The zany lawn chair brigade stopped in front of us, executing their display of synchronized maneuvers.

Our group was asked to perform in the C.U. stadium as part of the 1986 post-race festivities. In keeping with the spirit of the Bolder Boulder, running shoes had by that time become part of our costuming tradition, a rather incongruous and comical feature with our sparkly, jingly outfits. But rather than wear shoes at this special event, we decided to dance barefooted in the stadium – better for performing choreographed dances. As everyone in this town knows, the weather is very unpredictable on Memorial Day weekend, and that particular race day was hot, hot, hot. Before the first dance was over, our feet began to burn on the sizzling astro turf. We put shoes on, finished our performance, and headed off to soak our blistered feet in tubs of cold water. What a memorable Memorial day that was!

The 1987 Bolder Boulder was particularly significant for me, as I was in the last stretch of my pregnancy. I sat on a chair drumming with the drummers, as dancers danced and runners ran. All that music and lively activity must have encouraged my babe to come out into the world and see what was going on, for he was born the day after the race! As a personal
ritual, Zander and I ran the race together when he turned thirteen. I rejoined the Tribe the following year and continued on until 2002 when we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of participation with the Bolder Boulder. One of the original dancers, Nara, was with us – as always. She was the most dedicated member of our group and never missed a race. In all
those years I cancelled once because of rain, but Nara showed up anyway!

After our celebratory year, I passed the tribal torch to my dear friend Lisa, who continues to organize the eclectic gathering of dancers, drummers, and old friends who show up each year. Whenever possible, I run the race now, just for fun, and enjoy the entertainment from the “other side.” Panting my way up that tough hill on Folsom, the sound of drums and cymbals spurs me on. As I reach the top and come upon the colorful Tribe in running shoes and wild sunglasses, I always ask myself why I’m working so hard – I could be dancing instead!”

~Shireen Malik (founder of the Bolder Tribe) 2008

Our Belly Dance Hill’s Musical Past & Present

“When Gregg Hansen & I moved to Boulder in 2000 we got involved in the belly dance community, him as a drummer, and me as a dancer. As I drummed more and more I mixed my role as both a drummer and as a dancer together. As time evolved, Gregg, through life’s journey became less dedicated to the early mornings and I continued and have been one of the main drum recruiters ever since. I love being in belly dance attire and dancing behind my big African drums. To me it is a positive image of the Empowered Feminine archetype”

~Margie McSweeney

Continuing The Belly Dance Hill Tradition

Lisa Goodrich, director of Desert Rain (Colorado’s 1st ever ‘tribal’ belly dance company), continued the tradition and officially took charge of corralling the dancers and drummers in 2002. With her interest in ATS/FCBDstyle the aesthetic and style slowly began evolve into what it is today; a community of belly dancers all dancing in an improvisational format using the original ATS format and costuming. Some dancers split off to form their own group further into the race.. so now lucky runners get twice the dancing fun!

In 2023 Lisa reached out to Jennifer Secrist Goran to ask if she could take over running it. Jennifer, the director of The Nawaar Dance Company, had been participating as a dancer on an off for years and helping in the background with the social media aspects. Short answer: she said yes and here we are.

The Future Of Belly Dance Hill

Today, the long time runners refer to the location at Folsom & Valmont as ‘Belly Dance Hill’. We love seeing their smiling faces as they make it over the hill and are greeted by live music dancing and the occasional zagarheet. Over the years many of our local dance and drum friends have made guest appearances. Some, like our friends Bohemian Caravan, from Fort Collins, get up in the wee hours every year to join us every year because they are seriously hard-core and awesome!

Jennifer is excited to be carrying this tradition into the future, with new and seasoned students, fellow troupe mates ..and our dedicated musicians and dance friends.