Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Belly Whisperer Interview

Something cool I found online to make with those little gold safety pins we buy to hold costumes together but that never really work.

My interview was posted over at The Belly Whisperer blog over Thanksgiving holiday. If you haven't checked her out, RetroKali posts good stuff and often. There is actually stuff to read there. Unlike here. I gave up on that years ago...the whole using my big-girl words. In sentences no less. I think it is from taking standardized tests as a kid. They were timed and in order to get through the whole test I learned to be a good skim reader. Now reading a paragraph any longer than the one I'm writing now starts to become tedious. I'm getting anxious just thinking about the people who take the time to read all of this. AHHH! It's not stopping. The paragraph is just getting longer...

Ok, really I just try to catch up on blogs during work breaks. Not enough time. I do like books with just words.

And pictures.

~N

Now eating: Chicken curry
mood: west coast swing

Monday, November 29, 2010

Costume How-to


Complete tutorial on how to make a simple cabaret costume from 3 hip wraps on Kiyaana's blog:
Pink Paillette Retro Bellydance Costume.

~N

I've had Thanksgiving turkey 4 days in a row, (sometimes more than once.) Let's see if I can add something new to my diet today.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Hopes and Dreams

Hips so awesome they create balls of light. Like a Japanese anime!

I forgot to mention the coolest part of my costume. I used one of the Husband Person's old shirts to line the bra and belt cutting the front out so that I could keep the shirt pocket intact. It just fit sideways on the back of the belt.

The Husband Person asked, "What are you going to put in there? Your ID?"

"No," I said, "My hopes and dreams."

Belt pocket with button. (click to enlarge)

~N

Just Finished: Fable II
mood: Jared Leto

Sunday, November 21, 2010

New Costume in Action


Pics from Saturday night's Greek Night 11/20/10 by Janice T.

I busted balls to get the costume not done, but wearable, for Greek Night. I have some trim left to add and the arm bands to finish. I also need to add a 2nd tighter set of hooks on the belt. It was so loose I had to strap it on with only safety pins. My boobs look totally awesome in that top pic.




And pics of the blue glitter dot costume that I revamped. Glitter dot is still completely itchy-scratchy even with a lining. The belt was loose on it too and held on with pins. I must have lost weight since sewing them on.





~N

Now playing: Fable II

Monday, November 15, 2010

Almost There


Quick pics. I think I want to redo the bra fringe and make it a little less wide and a little more thick. I think I might keep the clothes pin clipped to the side. (just kidding)



Matching necklace made with ribbon and left over interfacing.

~N

mood: No Bake Cookies

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Dance-Tastic: How not to embarrass yourself



"You can still look good even if your dancing is so-so." LMAO

~N

Now watching: Naoki Urasawa's Monster
Mood:  Mashed potatoes and gravy

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

WHA...?



Bellydancing on ice by Greek dancer Alexandra.
Next dancers will be walking on water.

~N

Now watching: Glee
mood: aspirin

Monday, November 08, 2010

Friday, November 05, 2010

Damn, that Bitch Can Spot!



Now that I've taken some salsa classes I'm beginning to notice the difference between the dance steps and the "stupid human tricks." Most of the glitzy competition stuff has a lot of shines and crazy lifts, splits, etc. versus good ol' salsa steps. But I still enjoy watching it.

Anyway, I'm posting this salsa video for two reasons. First, that yellow fringe costume is hot! Second, check the spinning at 1:35min. Damn, that Bitch can spot! I say that will all respect and adoration. It's like her head isn't even attached to her body.

~N

Now watching: Red Shoe Diaries
mood: cheesecake to ease my monthly female woes

Wednesday, November 03, 2010

Killer Ziller Progress Thus Far

This is what Bellydance math looks like.

*UPDATED - The DVD in this post is Killer Ziller by Cheeky Girls Productions. These BD videos are very well produced (by dancers) and are reasonably priced. I have 4 of them and like them all.*

Well, I'm not a "Killer Ziller" yet but I am making progress. I started by only using the Killer Ziller video's drill section. This is 15+ minutes of straight zill drills of 13 different rhythm patterns. To other beginners I recommend moving your arms in and out of your standard BD arm poses, circles, etc. while drilling patterns. I was temped to hold my hands close to my body facing each other just like the video. Once I started moving my arms I began missing beats and getting sloppy sounds. Changing the position of your arms changes the position of your hands. Which in turn changes the way you strike the zills together. Think of it like when you first learned to shimmy standing in place. Hooray! Then you tried to walk and shimmy and it all went to hell in a hand basket. Yeah, something like that.

Once the drills got boring I started drilling the patterns in the combination section without dancing. Just zills. This gave me continually changing zill patterns to practice instead of the same one over and over. I've now moved onto learning the dance combos and zilling at the same time. My brain is slowly starting to multitask the two together.

I was told once it is best to learn dance/zill combos at the same time. I was also told to stay away from dance/zill combos and just zill what feels natural and not be robotic. I see the wisdom of both. This first way forces you to pat your head and rub your tummy at the same time until your brain adapts. The second way lets you do what is well, natural. I've also been told to play using the dominate hand more, such as R-L-R  R-L-R. While others have told me to alternate between hands, R-L-R  L-R-L, because it is faster and makes for nimble hands.

For me, I need the combos and to play with a dominate hand. I noticed after learning the first Killer Ziller combo I can kind of zone out and not think about zilling or dancing but actually listen to the music. I'm not having to count 3-1-3-1-3 or 3-3-7 in my head. I've started with the combo and now it is turning into the more natural thing. I perfer playing with a dominate hand because when I would alternate, and miss a beat, I would get confused as to which hand I hand left off on and have to start all over.

On a side note, I've tried doing basic triplets to my Greek music and done nothing but Big Fat Greek FAIL all over that. My hands don't have the endurance to go at the fast paced speeds of the livelier party music. All of the practice music in Killer Ziller is slow to medium paced. It would have been nice to have a set of drills for endurance. I guess I can work that out on my own.

~N

Now watching: Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam
Today's quote: ""Very very good. A complimentary victory lift has been activated in the main chamber." - GLaDOS

Batman + Bellydance = Awesome Sauce


See bellydancing at the 0:59 minute mark

According to Shira.net:
Batman Episode Season 2. Hizzoner the Penguin
First Aired November 2, 1966
Dancer Little Egypt

~N

Now: Back to work
Mood: OMG food! My stomach literally growled just as I was writing this.

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Halloweek

Wedding favors 10/30/10

I take the week of Halloween off every year. This year I spent almost the entire time playing Fallout 3: New Vegas. I managed a little bit of beading and a little bit of dance practice. I am pretty much over the bronchitis but my ribs still hurt when I dance.

Saturday, the Husband Person and I attended a wedding reception where he ran the sound equipment. On Halloween, we turned off our porch light, ate candy, and played New Vegas all night. And that's it. Spent my vacation in my pjs.

More costume detail pics for your viewing pleasure.




~N

Now playing: New Vegas!
mood: I'm ready for Thanksgiving dinner, how about you?!