Question to Dancers

Pic: bellyrolls @ Visioncon 2005

Now playing: The Rough Guide to Bellydance

mood: mac 'n cheese with weenies cut up in it, like Maw used to make when I was little

So, I'm trying to put together my notes for the workshop in May, and while the gist of the workshop will be about stage presence and choreography, I'm curious as to what you, as dancers, want from a workshop.

For me, I can go to just about any workshop from any teacher and get something out of it. But there are different types of learners, needs, etc. out there. So when you go to a workshop what are the top 3 things that make the workshop worth while?

Please leave a comment to this post. Be as simple or detailed as you like.

Thanks
~N

CD reviews

Instead of reading nothing here...go to read some BD CD reviews
shimmyblog.org

~N

Sashi Pics 'n stuff

Pic of Sashi 11/16/07

Now playing: Mankind is Obsolete – Trapped Inside
Mood: French onion soup in a sour dough bread bowl, hot tea with honey

I have the hacking crud…AGAIN!
Since last Monday.
Don’t ask. I don’t know. I’m just crawling with disease. Please shoot me.

Sashi was fab this past Saturday. Ananya and I spent time on the phone trying to figure out how to put together some costuming for Sashi because her luggage was lost by the airport. But alas, it showed up and the day was saved. Good thing too, ‘cause Naima and Ananya size is not “one-size-fits-Sashi.”




Seeing her dance with the vinyl face mask was both creepy and really cool. It made you really focus on her eyes. It reminded me of wearing beak-like masks similar to the one worn by Helene Eriksen (sorry, can’t find a pic) for a Persian number and you could make all kinds of distorted faces and frown and no one in the audience could tell. I was able to see the heavy ATS influence she has along with her gothic fusion style. Comes from studying in California I bet.

Maharet was there too. She and her husband just closed on a new property and she is pretty sure she is going to change the venue for my May workshop to this new place. It will save her lots ‘o monies. If so, I will post it once details are solidified.

Here is a random BD event I got in the mail, spread the love…

· Dec. 1st, 2007, Open House @ Cartouche’s Belly Dancers’ Garage
1344 Massachusetts St. Lawrence, KS., 12pm-5pm.

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Remember to give thanks bellydance is in your life.
Do a little dance. Eat a little turkey. Take a little nap. Have a little pie…ok, lot of pie. Do a little dance…

You get the idea.

~N

according to Naima

pic: Naima @ Visioncon 2005, by Sa'dia

Now playing: Rasputina – Cabin Fever
Mood: coffee and cigarettes, and pie! Like those people at the Waffle House who sit in the corner and chain smoke, drink coffee and have pie. I feel like that, (kinda weird ‘cause I don’t smoke).

I was part of a political/philosophical discussion about bellydance with a fellow dancer and a non-dance friend of ours last night. The non-dance friend asked why, if our personal opinions where so different, why we don’t start our own dance groups... and I laughed at him.

We tried to explain to him that at its base form, its truest form, well, bellydance is just folk dance. By the people for the people, so to speak. But once it becomes business, a commodity, suddenly there are rules, suddenly there are rights and wrongs, there are cultural interpretations. It is my way vs. her way. It now has to fit into a pretty box in order to be bought and sold. It is no longer by the people for the people and strife and bickering ensue. Throw women into the equation, who are naturally catty and paranoid, (yes we are, even if we don’t mean to be), along with the ideas people have that bellydancers are also strippers/prostitutes and the whole thing goes to hell in a hand basket.

There was actually much more depth to the conversation than that. I talked enough to make my throat hurt about why bellydance is such a complex animal. You know, why on earth bellydancing would have its own politics. And finally he asks why we bother. And without skipping a beat I say, “Because it makes me happy.”

Even though it makes me happy and I hold it with highest respect I am more than positive that my dance makes others unhappy. Whether I dance the wrong style, or in the wrong costume, to the wrong music, or am not of the right culture, or I’m too American, or too sloppy, or short, or fat, or thin, or ugly, or proud, or grumpy, or cocky, or goofy, or uneducated, or I spell it with one word instead of two, or whatever.

But see, that’s just it.

It’s my dance.

Just as much as it’s your dance, and her dance, and yes, even his dance.

Bellydance is the only thing I can think of that when you strip it down to its barest form anyone can use it to express themselves. There really is no limit to gender, age, body type, or culture. The only varying factor is the dancer’s emotional state. As in, how she feels about herself and how she interprets that into her dance.

(ah, the bellydance gospel according to Naima, LOL! I am beginning to ramble).

I really spend a lot of time thinking about it.

A LOT.

It’s kind of scary. I don’t really want to say how much I think about it out loud, or on a blog, ha ha.

Scary…

~N

Memorare

(photo of Gita by Raven at Springfield BD Meetup)

Now playing: Fiona Apple – When the Pawn…
Mood: Lamberts …fried okra, country fried steak, throwed rolls, mmmm

I went to Gita’s memorial Saturday. I saw some old friends.
Haleema said, “We should stop meeting like this.”
Very true.

The memorial was very nice, but I was crying within the first 5 minutes and ended up out in the lobby for most of it. I cry very easy and then my head puffs up for the next 24hrs. I can watch a sad movie on TV and the next day it looks like my husband beat me by the way my eyes get red and puffy.

Later in the evening there was a celebration of life party which was much more light hearted. The family put together a slide show and video of Gita which was super neat. The pics from the 40s and 50s were particularly fun. Then of course there was dancing. After which I left to go to work at the club. There were some oldie but goodie numbers some of the girls danced to. I will have to dig through my music again. OH! And I swear I will beat Jemina up for her dresses one of these days. And I know she reads this…You better keep watch over your shoulder.

This weekend Sashi of Ascend will be at Ground Xero (1109 E Commercial, Springfield, MO) on Friday, Nov. 16th for Blotmonath IV. Cover is $7, 21+ only. Check her out here:

Easy Emergency Tummy Cover

Now playing: Sherefe – Opium
Mood: coco pebbles

Here is a spifty way to make an emergency tummy cover out of a pair of pantyhose for next to no money. Aside from taking pictures and watching TV while I did this, it only took 15-20mins. Here you will cut the legs and crotch from the hose, turn them 90 degrees, and attach straps so you can wear them from under your bra over your stomach and under your belt.


You do need a few things before hand but once you have them you are pretty much set any time you need a tummy cover. I suggest you try this once when you have free time. That way you can find out what works best and be prepared for an emergency in the future.

• Buy yourself a pair of clear, removable, adjustable bra straps (see pic). You can keep these in your dance bag so you will always have them. Mine cost just under $5 from the local fabric store. I also believe you can find these at places like Walmart, Kmart, Target, and such with the lingerie.

• Needle and thread - Any thread and needle will do, even from a travel size sewing kit (which you should keep in your dance bag). I used yellow because that was the first color I grabbed. It will not show so it doesn’t matter.
• Pair o’Scissors
• One Pair of panty hose. I don’t have any special recommendations here other than they need to have a seat/waist area like those on control top hose instead of just sheer from toe to top. Also, when you wear them naturally, you should be able to pull the waist band all the way up to your breasts. I am short waisted so all pantyhose fit me like this. If you have a long torso or are fuller figured you might have to play around with bigger/taller sizes. Remember we are cutting the legs off. What is important is the seat/waist area.
• A few safety pins

Step 1 – Try on Hose
Put on the hose and make sure the waist band can be pulled all the way up to your breasts fairly comfortably. It shouldn’t pull too tight in the crotch, snag, or rip. If it doesn’t stretch enough, try a different pair of hose until you find a pair that does.

Step 2 – Cutting Stuff
Cut the legs off of the hose below the crotch (see pic). Then cut from one leg hole straight across the crotch to the other leg hole. Now you are left with just the upper part of the hose in a tube shape. I know it looks really small like it won’t fit. Don’t worry it will stretch.

Step 3 – Try on Hose Again
Slip into the tube with the seams lined up along your sides instead of the front and back. Make sure the waist band can still be pulled all the way up to your breasts and the bottom stretches below where your belt line will be.
Mark, or make note of, where the straps should go. This is not a fine science, just kind of eyeball it. Remember, the straps will attach to the waist band in front toward the outside of your breasts, whereas the straps will attach more evenly in the middle of the back to prevent sagging. (This means the straps will be attached further apart in front so boobs will fit in between and closer together in back so it doesn’t roll down and “back-fat” show.)

Step 4 – Thread Needle
I recommend treading a long piece of thread through the needle and knotting the ends together (see pic). This way you get double the thread for every stitch you make.

Step 5 – Sew Things
Loosen the adjustable straps so they are as long as possible. Now line one of them up on the hose and whip stitch the hook tightly into place where you previously decided/marked to the waist in front and then to the back (see fuzzy pic). Repeat with the other strap. Don’t worry about mistakes. All of this will be hidden under your bra. You can always cut the thread and redo it. Don’t forget to knot the thread before you cut the ends so it doesn’t unravel once you are done.


Step 6 – Try on Hose Again - Again
That’s it you’re done! You can adjust the length of the straps so they line up under your bra. You can secure the bottom of the tummy cover with a few safety pins to your undies, skirt, or belt, whatever works with your costume. I used 4 mini safety pins to pin it to my dance bloomers, one in front, back, and both sides. Remember, this is an emergency tummy cover for when you need a little more coverage on the fly, such as a workshop, or an “I feel fat” day. It isn’t meant to last forever. Once it starts to rip or get funky, cut your straps off and save them for the next time. You can also spot fix any small snags with some clear nail polish, eyelash glue, or other clear drying adhesive to get you through in a pinch.

Here is my panty hose tummy cover worn under a regular bra. Unfortunately, it does not cover "arm pit fat" as seen in the bottom pic. Oh well. When I figure that one out I will let you know.

~N

Drowning in Music

Now playing: everything bellydance

Mood: sushi

At what point do you have too much music?
I would say when you spend more time going through it than you do dancing to it. A few years ago, I started converting all of my music over to MP3 in order to save space. You know, lug around 6-7 albums or just one CD with all of those albums on it. I have 17 MP3 discs full of music and another 20 or so CDs that are still on original hard copies not yet converted over.

If you like math, that means I have well over 100 BD albums. Mind you, this doesn’t count any of the remixes or cut sets I have made over the years with different songs spliced together for performances or CDs from old group performances that have music that belong to other dancers.

And, if you really like math, you can take that number multiplied by the going $ rate of CDs (don’t forget import prices,) and come to the conclusion that if my house ever burned down…well, I’d be less than pleased.

The ironic thing is, probably half of my collection is of the same 20 or so “classic” songs that are on EVERY bellydance album ever made. Not to mention, after the 50th or so tabla solo, they all sound pretty much the same.

I digress.

I went digging through my collection looking for a song on one of my videos that I KNEW I had but of course had no clue where to look. I only took me listening to the first 20 seconds of each song on about 25 albums to find it. That and running back and forth to the VCR because after half a dozen songs, I’d get a new song stuck in my head and not remember what song I was actually looking for.

Oh hey! Greek night was Saturday. Kind of just blew right past me there. It went Ok. It wasn’t the best or worst crowd we’ve had. Dani danced the intros and outros with Sa’dia and me just to get her feet wet. She did very well considering she just got this gia-normous (giant + enormous = made up word) tattoo the day before from her right hip all the way around, up her back to her left shoulder. Seven hours of work I think she said. She only made wincing faces a few times when we were trying to strap her into a bra.

The second set was kind of a mess. They started the music way before we were ready. We went running out from the back and all 3 of us had a bra malfunction of some kind. Sa’dia had two sets of bra straps. Only one set was hooked. The other set were just dangling at her sides. My bra wasn’t haltered and the straps just slid right off my shoulders. I danced around with my arms up for most of the intro to keep the straps on until Aicha and I could sneak out of the room and hook the back up. Dani’s bra back came completely undone before she even made it out of the kitchen and missed the first song and a half while Nick (the waiter) helped her pin it back on. Aside from some costume malfunctions, we made it through without showing any boobage. Dani even made a few tips.

Oh, LOL, I almost forgot. I have a confession. Every time I turned my back on the audience at Greek Night, I was totally distracted by the TV hanging from the wall behind me. During the first set there was a football game on. During the second set it was That 70’s Show. That was terribly unprofessional of me even though no one noticed, but funny when I think about it.

Going back through all of my music like this reminds me of the place I was at when certain songs were fresh in my mind, choreographies and such.

And, I keep thinking, “God, I was such a novice then!”

But then I think, “Wait, what about now? What happens when I look back on myself at this time now in a few years? Will I still think I am a bumbling novice then too?”

Great…I’m a bumbling novice RIGHT NOW and don’t even know it!

Last but not least…

A silver filigree hand of Fatima pendant courtesy Ananya. It matches the earrings she gave me. HOOOOO!

Dear My Friend

Nov 7, 2007 6:17 AM

Dear My Friend

I am sorry that an answer becomes slow.
The email from you is very nice.
I strongly hoped that your business went well.
I thought that your business was busy and hesitated about sending an email.
Your message is very happy.
My father intends to launch new business soon.
My family pray for your health and business prosperity.

S, S, H, and R =)

Now playing: Oriental Fantasy Vol. 7,8, &10
Mood: hot chocolate cake fresh out of the oven.

2 new fresh, hot out of the oven posts on the way!

~N

Gita Update

Memorial Services for Marguerite "Gita" Copeland will be held this Saturday, Nov. 10th at 1pm.

Gorman Scharpf Funeral Home
1947 E Seminole St
Springfield, MO 65804
(417) 886-9994

Jemina said it would be at the "south side" Gorman Scharpf. I googled the address so you may want to double check with the funeral home before heading out.

Btw, Zahava had said she was 84 but the obit said 76? I am confused.

~N

Gita

 Gita

When I first became interested in Bellydance I started researching it online, bought a teaching video, and such. I finally contacted Yasmine, a local teacher, who invited me to see Troupe Sarrab perform at a multicultural fair. I got there late and had trouble finding my way into the main auditorium. There was already a dancer on stage. She had a short grey bob haircut with a dark colored outfit and simple hip wrap. She was smiling this big fantastic smile like either she had just shared the best secret with everyone or had the best dessert ever made. She was so happy and content, as if she was just hanging out and playing hop scotch to pass the time. At the end of her performance she blew the audience a big kiss and waved. She was the first real-life bellydancer I ever saw.
That was on a Monday. By Thursday I was in class. I have been dancing ever since.

I found out yesterday (Friday) that Gita passed away on Thursday. She was 84.
I found out through a friend of a friend of a friend.
I guess no one thought to tell me.
I am very sad.

You just have to remember, sometimes you can change people's lives. Even if she never writes about it in her blog, or tells you thank you, or knows that it even happened until it is too late.
You just have to keep dancing.

~N

Hiding

in the liquor closet to use the mirror for my make-up at the Samhain Soiree'.

Thinking

So, I had this whole other post ready to go but yesterday I found out that the grande dame of our local BD community has terminal lung cancer, and I don’t really know how I feel about it. I found out last Friday she had recently been admitted to the hospital but I just didn’t realize why.