Ozel Turkbas

I've been wanting to do this for a very long time. This is one of the old proofs from Bryant Graphics that I've always wanted to make into a 70's style Bellydance album cover.

For more about the original, one and only Ozel Turkbas check out this How to Make Your Husband a Sultan
article.

Viva cheesecake images from the past!

~N

PS- enjoy the new "lefty" layout.

Playing With Fire

Now playing: TormentedRadio.com
mood: Mochi rice cakes with sweet bean jam

I found this spifty pic on tribe.net of a cool fire trick/prop. And this pic of Elijah Sound.
Go and be amazed!

~N

Naima Dances to Warda

This is an old video clip. Enjoy

Burr

Now Watching: Invader Zim season one
mood: Fried Chicken, corn on the cob, tators 'n gravy

Hola!

Hope everyone had a good Christmas holiday. We went to the in-laws and returned to find out furnace not working. It appears to be a blown fuse. All the stores were closed on Christmas night so we've spent the past hours bundled up with the electric heater. It's not too bad. It is a lot like the basement bedroom at the in-laws, cold, but definitely tolerable.

This Saturday is Sashi's workshop. I'm going to scrounge through the "Money Pumpkin" in hopes of enough cash to go. Maybe I will see some of you there. =)

~N

Why We Like Sashi

Why we like Sashi...Here she is performing with "pierced wings" a combination of tribal fusion and piercing the skin found in ritual dance. People gave her crap for doing something so "vulgar" in a BD performance. But I believe if no one experiments, mixes the new and old, nothing will ever evolve. Will you ever see me dance with piercings? Heck no! I'm a wuss! Don't forget Sashi will be back in Springfield next weekend for a Gothic BD workshop. Check out AraceniaDesigns.com for info.

Now playing: the Cure – Japanese Whispers
Mood: nothing much, really

So I’ve been having trouble with my female parts, more so than normal anyway.

Yea! What a way to lead into a post! Giving you the opportunity to turn back now! This post has nothing to do with Sashi. I just kinda mashed it all together. Wham Bam Thank You Mama.

Well, not bad trouble. I mean who likes having their period. But anyway, long story short, I have only had one period in the past year. Meanwhile, I’ve been to the Dr. and had lots ‘o blood tests, a PAP and pelvic exam, and an ultrasound. All of my parts are in order and most of my tests came back clean. I have elevated androgens causing super oily skin, acne, hair growth (in not so fun places as if I were a 14 year old boy going through puberty,) grumpiness when I don’t eat, gaining weight around my abdomen, and little to no periods. Now I am going to an Endocrinologist to try and figure out why my hormones are out of whack. As I said, my tests came back ok, but my Dr. has explained I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), and has decided to treat me similar to those with insulin resistance. It seems my glucose/blood sugar and insulin levels are ok, so I’m not hypoglycemic or diabetic, but if I am insulin resistant my cells aren’t using the insulin properly. Which can lead to other wonky stuff like elevated androgens that can in turn mess up my female parts and equal PCOS.

The one and only time my cycle was normal was the 4 years I took birth control pills and was a complete and utter PSYCO BITCH! And even scarier I didn’t know it. They also gave me migraines. But aside from that, if you have ridiculous mood swings (like psychiatric style,) yell and cry for no reason, your relationship with your significant other has greatly deteriorated, headaches and such ALL OF THE TIME you are most likely taking birth control and are a PSYCO BITCH! <- personal opinion from personal experience, must be capitalized for emphasis. I stopped the birth control and “woke up” from my PSYCO BITCH haze. Not to say you should do that, but if you have checked off most of the things on the “What is a PSYCO BITCH according to Naima,” then maybe you should get a second opinion.

So I’m rambling now. I wanted my next post to be a dance video clip but I played Xbox360 instead of filming. I started a new character on Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Wee Hoo!

I am on day 3 of taking this new medicine Metformin. I asked my Dr. if it would make me a PSYCO BITCH. He said that the number one side effect is diarrhea. And I’m like, “Bring me some Gatorade and bring it on!” ‘Cause I mean really, diarrhea is way better than being a PSYCO BITCH. It has made me feel slightly different but I couldn’t tell you how, just different. I have also noticed waking up from dreams a lot. Normally, I just wake up and have no recollection of dreaming, but all 3 nights every time I’ve woken up I remember dreaming. Can’t remember them now mind you, but it is a bit out of the ordinary.

Go here to learn about PCOS in a way that my blabbering just can’t provide.

Today is my hubby's 30th birday. Must go now =)

~N

Coming Soon

Now playing: Tormentedradio.com
mood: chicken nuggets and spicy BBQ sauce

Hi all, I wanted to let you know that I am working on some video clips that break down the common shimmies out there, their differences, and basic how to.

It will be like Naima's shimmy cliff notes! Not the book on shimmies but it will give you the gist.

Shimmies to look forward to:
Basic Shimmy
Straight-legged/Egyptian Shimmy
Twisting Shimmy
3/4 Shimmy
Umi/Omi (aka Tahitian Shimmy)
Vibrations
Glute Shimmy (I suck at this one)
Choo Choo Shimmy
Rhonda Kamel Shimmy (saw her do it once, don't know what else to call it)

...and whatever else I can think up. I plan on filming these together and then breaking them up into digestible segments to post here.

'Cause I figure, if I can't go out and take workshops and such to learn new stuff, I should pass on what I have already learned. (Thanks to Ananya for letting me bounce my ideas off her.)

I also got off my butt and updated my tribe.net profile. I don't go out there very often. Once every few weeks maybe. But if you are out there and want to link up, now you know where to find me. =)

~N

Happy Holidays

The Island of Dr. Moreau

One last thing for the night...
Remember that post I made talking about Fairuza Bulk bellydancing in The Island of Dr. Moreau? Well, I keep forgetting you can find ANYTHING on youtube.com and here it is! You will have to fast forward to about 4:15 in the video for the dance part. The video quality isn't perfect either, but hey, bellydance in the movies!

Posse Bonus

"Naima freezing her but off in the rain, in a rowboat" pic by Jman 2006 Ueno, Tokyo

Naima on tribe.net
Naima on Twitter

I started bellydancing in 2000 after watching a movie that featured not bellydance, but Indian/Hindi dance. I began to research dance online and stumbled across the catch-all phrase of bellydance, or belly dance, or Raqs Sharki, or Oriental Dance, or whatever you'd like to call it, (no one's keeping track right?) And as they say, "The rest is history." I have studied with many teachers and many styles, but I prefer to be called an "American-style" bellydancer. I am NOT an expert in any bellydance related subject, and I always try to respect each style and the scholars thereof in their pursuit of accuracy. Summed up, bellydance makes me happy in all of its many forms. View my Blogger profile here.

Here is some super facinating Naima trivia:

Bellydancer since Jan. 2000

5' 3" - a good day

Dyes her hair but it is all real, no extensions

Real boobs too. TMI, LOL

Lives in Missouri, USA

Self-proclaimed goof ball

Wakes up grumpy

Stays grumpy most of the day

LOVES food

Expert on personal opinion

Is a Desk Jockey

Married

Favorite place to travel - Japan

Was a Girl Scout

Likes bad jokes and heavy sarcasm

Past-times include sitting on rear, sleeping, eating, listening to music, reading, surfing the net, and Bellydancing (She is so cultured!)

Can cuss like a sailor that only knows 5 cuss words

Little bit of a Goth girl

Prefers Aquafina and Sony products

Dislikes reality TV

Cat person

Doesn't like when people touch her nose <-will seriously freak out!

Bad speller

Enjoys checking the mail

Over 30

LOVES food - I know, said that already

And now bonus pics I took while playing around with my camera settings. I call this, "Things Naima sees everyday."

My little helper, Sanchez (AKA Beebin)

My other helper, Rupert

The front porch and the 1971 Pontiac Lemans

My backyard

My little helper, Beebin, helping me take pics out the back door.

A lunch of tasty ramen on my work desk.
I decided I was no longer in the mood for ramen and fixed Cocoa Pebbles instead.

The stacks of CDs on my work desk for my listening pleasure. Front stack is BD music, the back stack is "other".

The refridgerator, a temple for all things tasty.A catnip plant on the window sill in the kitchen. Helpers get treats!

I hope you enjoyed this random tour into Naima-land. I am off to bed.

~N

Bellydance in Japan

*UPDATE* 12/12/07
I found this word AMERIKANTORAIBARU on a Japanese Dance studio site for an American Tribal class. Sound it out...American Tribal. How cool is that?

Here is also a link to another Japanese dance company. Looks to have a much more Classical Raks Sharki influence. www.dancearab.com

The more link hopping I do the more neat stuff I find.

---

Now playing: Rupert purring (not a band...real live animal)
mood: something greasy

Two of my favorite-ist things (yes, that's a word) Bellydance AND Japan!

• Belly Dancing in Japan article
• www.lisa-school.com the studio from the article
• www.raksmiho.com a Tokyo Tribal Troupe
• Japan Bellydance Tribe on tribe.net
• Mishaal Dancer and teacher in Tokyo
  

And for variety... a video of Sarashukra another Tribal Troupe



Got more Japanese Bellydance links? Post them in the comments.

~N

FYI: for pages not in English, you can paste the web page's address in a Google search. When it lists the link in the search there will also be a "translate this" link. Click it and it will give you a translated, albeit messy, page to view.

Sashi Workshop in Springfield

Sashi will be in Springfield, MO the weekend of Dec. 29th for a Gothic Fusion workshop.

Get info at Aracenia Designs

"Big" Bellydance

Marilyn Monroe full figure icon

Now playing: Tori Amos - American Doll Posse
Mood: no more bananas with peanut butter...i think i OD'd

I my quest to put together info and exercises about stage presence I have thought quite intensely about how self image affects stage presence and how important it is to the end result of your dance. And I've concluded that no matter how good of a dancer you are, if you can't get past yourself, you can't reach your BD potential.

Anyway, I was excited to find Big Bellydance, a website that promotes/supports plus size and full figure dancers. It doesn't really have much info at the moment but is supportive nonetheless. There is also some full figure Q&A Here.

Unfortunately, I find that there is very little info available on this subject and next to no info on self image and respect that pertains to BD. Most of what I've found is where to buy bigger sized costumes and how to dress to hide, accentuate, look slimmer, look sexier in your costume than any real discussion on why women (of all figures) are drawn to BD and what they go through mentally. The other stuff I found has a heavy new age overtone or just rolled up with pilates, yoga, and pregnancy.

BD puts, at least American women, in a very vulnerable place. And each of these women are working to feel better about herself in some way, whether body image, performance anxiety, appreciation, self expression, belonging to a group, and so on.

I have said in the past that all Bellydancers are nut cases in some way, and I don't mean that in a derogatory sense. But, we (Bellydancers) all seem to have our hang-ups that we use BD to deal with (me included).

So, hum, where am I going with this?

I guess I'm trying to say BD should be seen as therapeutic and that I wish there was more available out there for the women and men who need its support.

But then that would lead to a who is right and who is not, mess. Dance therapy taught inappropriately by non-therapist. Oh well, the yin yang of the universe and stuff.

~N

More links kinda sorta related to this topic:

Belly Dance Therapy
Beinthenow.org
The Healing Power of Dance

Costume break down

Green Fairy

Now playing: pretend
mood: cheese burger

Ananya and I were dressed as "muses" for this weekend's Absinthe party. There was also a visit from the Green Fairy, aka. Aracenia. Who says you can't wear your underwear on the outside?

~N

The problems with Naima’s Bellydance Blog

Now playing: Counting Crows – August and Everything After
Mood: spaghetti O’s with some garlic powder and cheese melted in.

The problems with Naima’s Bellydance Blog:

1. She spends lots of time writing big long posts that have nothing to do with BD. She has to delete them and start over trying to stay on task. This is a blog about Bellydance after all.
   
   
2. She thinks more in pictures, colors, smells, and grunts than words which makes writing words about BD difficult. (I.e. “Red peppermint, sunlight, merf, blue diamonds and purple horseshoes,” …Which doesn’t make sense OR could be a really nifty new breakfast cereal.)
   
   
3. A crappy camera. Blogs, while filled with words to read, kinda suck. Pictures make them better.
   
   
4. Not enough hours in the day. There are 168 hours in a 7 day week. [168 – 65 hrs work – 56 hrs or so of sleep – bathing – chores – wasting time – travel – drinking coffee - using the bathroom = lack of motivation.]
   
   
5. She has ZERO monies. Zero monies make it hard to go on BD adventures or buy fun new products to talk about.
   
   
6. She is currently writing in the third person about herself for no reason. She is sure that gives her more thumbs down than thumbs up. (She also can’t remember if punctuation goes inside or outside of the parentheses and is too lazy to bother looking it up!)!
   

Working on my workshop notes has really got me thinking about the dance in abstract terms. Most people would be working on movements and interpretation of their feelings. All of my ideas are stuck in my head and I think I am going to bust a vein. I mean, I’m starting to think of things in Latin terms and names and I don’t even know Latin. Residual cold medicine I guess.

I actually have some spifty things to post in the next few days. As usual, bare with me.

~N

BD Full Circle

pic: Naima in a blur of battery powered Christmas lights

Here are two spifty posts I wrote last week while ramped up on cold meds but never posted. Have fun!

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Now playing: the Dresden Dolls – Yes, Virginia
Mood: fried eggs and bacon, toast with grape jelly, milk

Ways to improve your holiday dance season:

BD themed Christmas music by Brothers of Baladi, (good background music for those holiday parties).

Dig out your red and green costumes, and accessories.

Wear a Santa Hat, toss mini candy canes from Santa Hat, use Santa Hat to put tips in, put Santa Hat on others. (Santa Hat = handy and fun!) *see the BIG gooftastic pic of me on the sidebar ->

String battery powered LED Christmas light around yourself, (FYI – put the battery pack into an old knee-high sock and pin this to the inside of your belt. This helps keep the battery pack all in one piece from all the shimmies.)

Throw on some jingle bells, metallic tree garland, or mardi gras bead necklaces, anything that is metallic and shiny.

Dance with a tray of candles. (Fire = holiday cheer!)

Last week I managed to convert 16 BD albums over to MP3. While doing so, I had a flash back to the movie “Return to OZ,” where there is a scene that I thought one of the characters plays an instrument that sounded like a kanoon. So I Googled the movie for images. I found a pic of the character in the movie, Princess Mombi, but she is playing something more like a sitar. I went to www.imdb.com to see who the actress is which brought up a list of all characters. I saw Dorothy listed, who was played by Fairuza Bulk, and I clicked on her profile. Come to find out, “Fairuza” means turquoise in Farsi and that her mom was a bellydancer. It came full circle. Nifty, huh?

Which makes sense, ‘cause if you ever watch the remake of The Island of Dr. Moreau, they introduce Fairuza’s character by showing her dancing for like 2 seconds. And if you pay attention you will see she is bellydancing. Extra nifty, huh?

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Now playing: Stefy – The Orange Album
Mood: meatloaf and mashed potatoes

I’m feeling slightly accomplished in BDville today. Last night I had some unrelated sewing to do, but also fixed a gold BD dress and worked on the skirt and sleeves of my “never finished” yellow costume. I also did some work on my workshop handouts and choreography notes. Go me!

AND, since I’ve recently been converting my new BD albums to MP3, I figured it was time to get rid of the old ones. I gathered up around 35 CDs and 7 cassette tapes priced at $1 or $5 to sell at the May workshop. I may even dig out an old costume piece or two to part with. I have too much neglected stuff. It is time for it to find a new and loving home. I know I could post this stuff online but I prefer not to hassle with shipping and such. People are also more likely to part with their money when there isn’t an extra $5 for shipping tacked on. All the more reason you should come to the workshop!

?N

(haha, I went to type ~N, but typed ?N...gonna be one of those days)