Time for a deep breath

Preparing for a performance at any level can be tiring, even down right exhausting. Performing with a group of 10, to non-traditional belly dance music, with costumes to make and steps to perfect could, in essence, suck the life out of you. However, if you can find that sweet spot between creative inspiration and group collaboration, the experience is different. It's an exciting, joyful ride that leaves you a little breathless at the end. Such was my feeling after this weekend.

Friday's show marked the debut of my first big performance and choreography since leaving Troupe Mirage, and showcased Baharat Belly Dance Ensemble. I took the name of my student troupe and expanded it a bit. It was the perfect solution for me because right here and now, I need a group over which I have creative control...just to keep me sane. So, I took students from my class and brought in dancers from the community that I respect and enjoy (as dancers and friends) and mixed up a whole new concept. Consider it my version of a belly dance hook-up. Minimal obligations for invited dancers, limited commitments, but maximum rewards!

The wonderful part of this journey was the enthusiasm and professionalism of all the dancers. They showed up early, stayed late to practice as needed, volunteered to help out and kept me posted on their schedules on a regular basis. And the relief I felt in knowing that everyone would follow through on their promises was priceless...really priceless. There were so much time before we performed (we got to close the show) where I had nothing to do...nothing! I just could sit and relax. No stress or worries! In fact, minutes before we went on stage I found myself counting dancers (there were ten of us you know...), not because I was afraid someone would go missing, but because I needed something to think about to occupy my time. And like counting sheep, counting dancers actually had a calming effect on my nervous (actually excited) energy.

And the costumes! Seriously very hot. We chose a take on menswear, but with a girly twist to go with our Michael Buble song. My favorite part of the whole costume making experience (yes we made all of these), was the group effort. I can say that in every costume there is a little piece of each dancer. We picked a couple of days for a sewing marathon and banged out costumes in an assembly line process. One person cut, another stitched, another ironed. Buttons and other bling were carefully added by another person. It was a community effort and such a bonding experience. And just what I needed to give my creative spirits a lift this year. I plan to do more collaborations and involve other dancers in the community. Right now, I need a little sleep, a little rest and nice big breath!

Jukebox Belly Dance

Baharat, my student troupe is growing and changing a bit. It's become Baharat Dance Ensemble and includes my intermediate and advanced level students as well as guest dancers. This offers me the opportunity to invite dancers from the community to help me round out a choreography or work on special projects. It's a belly dance hook-up of sorts! Short term commitment, no other strings attached...fun and excitement for everyone.

The debut of the ensemble will be January 22, 2010 at Austin's Belly Dance Association (ABA) Jukebox show. This show features ABA members bellydancing to all non-Middle Eastern music. Think rock, pop, techno, country...whatever they want! The exciting news is, we'll be closing the show and we've worked sooooo hard on a Michael Buble number that will be the perfect ending for a fun and innovative evening.

Want to attend? Well, if you are already an ABA member, you and your invited guest get in free to the "I Survived the Holidays" party in the lobby from 6:30-8:00, where ABA will have snacks, drinks, and the photo albums that have archived our long existence (28 years!) on display. Show starts at 8pm, doors open to the public for ticket sales at 7:30pm, at the Dougherty Arts Center, 1110 Barton Springs Rd.

My new anthem

So what happens when you're told as a belly dancer that there will be a show coming up but the catch is not using belly dance music. Well, the wheels start turning, you consider all the possibilities and then--wham--inspiration hits.

Last fall when Austin Belly Dance Association announced a "Jukebox" belly dance show in January, I was excited about the possibility. My students were more than eager, and their music suggestions were numerous, varied and frankly a little overwhelming. I was torn between something jazzy and a Janet Jackson song when a little bit of serendipity came into play.

The lovely Naima, who's blog I read on a regular basis, posted a video with this song. Seriously, it was like God speaking to me when I watched it (maybe not in such a serious tone)...but it felt like divine inspiration. I've always loved this song and I've always wanted to perform it, but never had the right venue, or the right group of dancers...until now.

So here we are three months later, the show is this Friday and damn! It's been all-consuming, between the practices and the costumes (wow...the costumes...including fedoras), but it has been , uplifting and so inspirational. And yes, I stole several of Michael's moves for the performance (in particular see minute 2:37 below). We've got ten dancers, we're closing a really big show at the Dougherty Arts Center and we're going to kick butt. I've never seen a group of women so excited about what they are performing, wearing, and the amount of cleavage involved.

I've decided this is my anthem for the new year. So if you see me and wonder how I'm feeling, please refer the clip below.

Funk Update

I've posted off and on this last year about feeling like I'm in a dance funk, and in the recent months I've been working on how to get out of that funk and on to to other things. I've realized several things in the process. First is I've been performing way too much given all the other things going on in my life. I work a full-time job, teach 2-3 classes a week, take 2-3 martial arts classes a week...and oh, then there's the laundry. On top of all of that, I've been performing 20-30 times a year.

Most of the performances haven't been strategically planned, they just get scheduled or rather I get asked to dance, or I think 'how fun' that would be. For many dancers, this would be wonderful and exciting, but I really have moved beyond the phase where I feel that I should dance at every possible opportunity into a phase of selective solos.

That being said, I've got a solo planned tonight at Patsy's Cowgirl Cafe. Yeah, don't laugh...this is Texas. It's a quirky little place that I haven't danced at since last November when I had a really nasty stomach virus (not related to the restaurant) hit me literally less than an hour after dancing. It's a fun venue and you get to eat queso after dancing!

But, here I am still at work trying to get in the mood. And, after deciding this summer I would no longer put myself in this position, I'm actually a little miffed at myself. I've been working so diligently on my 'plan' for this fall to get back in the groove and focus more on my creative energies, my dancing and myself and this one just isn't fitting in.

My biggest dilemma for the evening? What to wear and what to dance to. Here's the TMI portion of the post: I haven't shaved my underarms and don't want to because I want to get them waxed next week (which is big news for a woman who's always shaved). I have a couple of more casual/fusion outfits with sleeves that would be perfect for the venue, but I'm not feeling the fusion-y dance vibe. I've been feeling very cabaret classic lately. So I may just go with the more traditional song and less traditional outfit, 'cause I'm thinking the cowgirls may not know the difference :-)

Start Packing Early

Okay, for the early birds among all of you dear readers, here is the Fall 2009 Mirage schedule, hot off the presses (or email actually). Now you have no excuse for being absent at any upcoming shows, right?

Sept 10, 2009
Sept 24, 2009
Oct 8, 2009
Oct 22, 2009
Nov 5, 2009
Nov 19, 2009
Dec 3, 2009

Glow versus Sweat

There's an adage that women don't sweat, we perspire or glow. Well, I hate to ruin the illusion, but we do sweat and this last weekend was a prime example! It all started with a two and a half hour martial arts class in the park Saturday morning. Next I moved onto errands, running around and heading home to rest, shower and get ready for a show that night. My students and I were performing at Desert Passion's monthly show and even at home practicing it took forever for the house and myself to cool off. Unfortunately the trend continued at the show where the combination of a large crowd and air conditioning that wasn't working well created the equivalent of a sauna. Even my veil seemed soaking wet and took extra effort to move.

Thankfully during the group cane number I didn't lose my grip and whack some poor audience member...although the people sitting close to the stage were a little nervous! Here's a picture of me with my beautiful girls who make up my student troupe, Baharat. And no, it's not the shine of a camera lens or extra glitter...we really were past the glowing stage and I, at a minimum was quite drippy. The lovely Tiffany is in turquoise, Alejandra in red (I know, it looks pink here...but it is really red), and Malika in fabulous fuchsia.

Side note, fabulous shiny holographic metalskin costumes look great on stage but don't breathe...at all!

Sunday was no different on the sweat-front as I spent the day on a marathon teaching tour. I left a little after 11:00 a.m. and didn't return until close to 9 p.m. I was subbing for two of Sherry's classes in addition to my two. Between the hip drills, shimmies, veil work and drum solos of the day there was a lot of sweating on my part. The good news is a quick shower will clean me up...bad news is there will be several Austin ladies who wake up quite sore tomorrow (sorry!) and probably cursing the name of Najla!

This week hopefully will be less sweaty, but equally as fun. We have our last Mirage show of the semester, which always feels a little bittersweet. It's like the end of the school year and you're equally excited with the time off from classes but also know you'll miss the class mates. Good thing we still see each other frequently...including a couple of road trips this summer.

Baharat Belly Dance Ensemble

Baharat is a term used to describe a blend of Arabic spices. When I was looking for a word or phrase to describe my student troupe, the term seemed to fit just perfectly. They are a mixture of sweetness and sass, and their enthusiasm and love of this dance is just contagious. The troupe consists of students in my Intermediate level class which meets on Sunday evenings. Attendance in the class is mandatory for troupe participation, and class time is spent working on choreographies, technique, solo preparation as well as improvisational skills. If you wish to attend the class but don't want to perform, you can certainly do that as well!

In January, 2010 Baharat Dance Ensemble debuted as a collaborative venture that includes my current intermediate students and guest dancers. This mix of dancers from the community allows me to bring in talented dancers to round out performances and allows my students to work with other lovely ladies. So, look for more events this upcoming year!

Someone should read her own blog!

Now I'm laughing, really laughing. I just wrote about feeling moody before the show and then went out to the blog to see the post. The funny thing is the last time I posted I mentioned I was moody as well! And, I'm not all that moody of a person, I'm usually upbeat.

So, grousing and griping aside...I'm officially working myself to the pumped up and excited phase. In fact, I may skip out of work early just to devote extra effort to that endeavor.

I'll blame it on the weather

After our brief foray in spring and summer temperatures (we're talking 80's here), we're now back to the dreary cold (okay 40's and 50's) and rain. I'm not too excited about the gray skies, but since central Texas is in a drought, I'll take the rain. However, for reasons we could not predict, we're down to half of the troupe for our show tonight. That's right...out of eight dancers we have four that will dance tonight. Thankfully we've got four guests scheduled as well so I'm not scrambling this afternoon trying to find people to dance on short notice. The irony of it all is I thought about not going to the show.

I've been in a little bit of a dance funk lately, and I've been busy and preoccupied with many other things. I rarely miss shows, and the last time I chose not to dance but just come watch I was regretting the decision immediately and dancing in my chair. This week, I couldn't come up with any good reason to sit out the performance so I figured that some time between leaving the house and 7:30 p.m. I would start feeling inspired. And as much as I love dancing, some times it's a bit of drudgery.

However, it probably has less to do with the idea of dancing and is more related to the obligation of being somewhere at a set time. The good news is that with fewer dancers tonight I can do a little longer song. So right now, I'm going a little moody with one of my favorite numbers Bitswanna Beek. It's that odd length, too long for six-minute sets we usually try to stick to, and too short for longer performances in other venues that require 8-10 minutes. And even though I just groused a little about going somewhere to dance, I know I'll really enjoy the show because this music makes me feel a little languid, a little loungy, and more than just a little sultry ;-)

Feeling moody

Or perhaps just waiting to feel the right mood, or at least a song to match the mood. Although I love having a regular dance venue, I often find myself waiting until the last minute to make a decision on song and costume. Now, I do practice at home and I do think about songs and performances, so I'm not completely unprepared. For me, when I have more than one option from which to choose, I try to wait until the right mood strikes.

For example, I had planned on doing a sword number for quite a while. I have a couple of song options, but still hadn't decided on the costume. Last weekend I danced at Kick Butt Coffee with Z-Helene and Rick Fink. It's a monthly gig they have, with live drummers and completely improv dancing. In fact, the second half of the show consists of audience members calling out a 'theme' for you to interpret with another dancer. Zanjabil (from Mirage) and I had to deal with 1) tigresses in the mist; 2) battle of the redheads; 3) spontaneous combustion; 4)something else I forgot...all at once. We had a running dialogue during the dance that went something like this:

Me: Are we tigresses yet?
Zanj: I think we're dueling
Me: Is it time for spontaneous combustion????
Zanj: Maybe...

It was loads of fun and really makes you think on your feet. For the first half however, I wanted to do sword...it's been on my list for a while, and I really want to explore dancing to sword in a close, tight, space...and all improvisation. I did sword however, and it was all improv and the drumming was much faster than I anticipated. There were several problems with my performance. 1) the drumming was soooo much faster than I anticipated; 2) my hair was way too slippery that night; and 3) I was too stubborn to just give up, put the sword down and move on. I know, one of the first rules of using props is to not fight it...if the prop doesn't want to play, just move on...but, unfortunately I didn't. In fact I tried even harder to do choo-choo shimmies, rib work, and balance the sword...all at once. Can't say that I was very proud in the end!

So hot off the heels of that performance (and I even had students in the audience, yikes!) I planned on doing sword again this week, just to redeem myself. The problem is, I'm not in the mood. I'm feeling quite cabaret today and feel the need for some sparkles and girliness. A little less dangerous, but at times...oh so wonderful!

So come join all of us at Mirage this Thursday (Feb. 5) for our second show of the season. The first one was such a blast...I'll try to get photos again and post them, but I may be distracted by the rhinestones ;-)

Family slide show

If you think about all the time we spend together as dancers, we really are an extended family, one that grew a lot last year. So, just pretend you came over for dinner, we've finished dessert and I'm bringing out slides of the family vacation. Thanks to Valerie for the lovely shots, and if you missed the show just know that we had wayyy too much fun without you, hah! We were missing Dana Winn this week (sigh), but she'll be back in February after finishing some work related training...remember, we are beautiful and smart and we have to work at both constantly! Without further ado, our first foray into the spring 2009 season:

Part of the troupe performing our opener (and yes, Eva Tennessee was feeling particularly fabulous!). We did this number (half choreo, half improv) last semester and decided to give it one more try. The goal is to look coordinated...at specific times. We're still working on that one though ;-)

The entire gang at the end of the number, and for the astute reader you'll notice that I did lose my veil wrap early on. For the creative ones in the group, just imagine hot pink, four-yard silk. It was stunning...and you should imagine it the same way.

The beautiful Katarina opened the show performing her first official 'duet' (wink, wink). She normally does very percussive, drum-solo pieces but was actually feeling much more lyrical last night. Hmmm...wonder why...could it be that fabulous glow she's sporting these days? We can't wait to meet the new kitten this spring and introduce her to the stage as well.

Zanjabil did a wonderful performance incorporating floor work (intentional this time), veil and some great combinations at the end. I can't believe it's just been one year since she joined the troupe...our baby has grown up (sniff, sniff) and looking so smokin' hot!

Then it was time for me, and I decided at the last minute to perform a cane number. What are some of the rules you shouldn't break when performing? Try dancing to a song you don't know really well, with a prop that is new, in a costume you haven't worn before. Well I 'went rogue' and just broke all of them in one fell swoop! Oddly enough this is the only pic where I'm not laughing out loud. Apparently the whole situation kept me amused while dancing. Can't wait to see this video!

Our first guest of the evening was one of my intermediate students (you'll probably recognize the veil). I was soooo proud of Tiffany because she decided on Sunday (yes, four days before the show) to perform...impromptu...and with veil. Major kudos because this was her second solo ever, and the first one was entirely choreographed. I think she was secretly waiting for the chance to try out her new turquoise holographic costume because that's not something you can pull off at work...or even cocktail parties.

Sherry brought out the sex kitten charm again, wearing one of her (and our) favorite costumes. Funny thing is, I remember when she joined the troupe and we all suggested she accessorize more...now we can't stop the glitz and glam on her (and would not dare!). Who says engineers aren't hot????

Nisaba always charms the crowd with her enthusiasm (and usually zils). I'm loving her new hair style which is a little hard to see in this photo but very sassy and cute in person!

Alana Shea performed as our second guest, and it was appropriate since this was her second solo on our stage. Her style is a wonderful fusion of various dance forms combined with some really beautifully athletic and graceful movements. We'll certainly have to see her on our stage again soon!

The always beautiful Jeanette pulled out the charm and coquettish moves that she has really perfected in this dance form. And of course, no one does purple as well as she does!

Our last Mirage soloist of the evening was Eva Tennessee. She is also celebrating her one year anniversary of joining the troupe. I remember this time last year, she was so worried that her style wouldn't be traditional enough. It's taken a little coaxing (actually...not much) for her to just really do what she does best, which is 'modern belly dance'. This is what happens when someone with a modern dance background moves into belly dance, and it is pure art!

Our last guest of the evening was Rania. It's been quite a while since she joined us as a guest, because up until recently she's been a member of the troupe. It was a little bittersweet because we'll miss having her around. She's just spending more time on her dance practice and performances, and troupe practice was a tough commitment to work in. She'll still be back for more dancing and always has an open invitation to come perform at shows so don't be surprised if she pops up again (soon I hope!).

The final act of the show was a trio consisting of myself, Sherry and Zanjabil. We wanted to perform the same choreography that gave me such grief last year. I love it dearly, but it was a difficult one to work out, and I am entranced by the final result. When we get it posted on YouTube, I'll let you know. This by the way, was the same number we performed in the Middle Eastern Troupe Competition last August and won second place (we barely missed first!). Elena Lentini was one of the judges and she told us "you have found the mystery, fabulous". I could have cried with those words...Elena is so amazing and talented and it was such an honor to hear her compliments.

Parallel worlds

We started our spring semester last night, and as usual I was more concerned with packing, prepping and loading the car versus dancing. In fact, when one of my co-workers said she was going home, taking a bath, changing into sweats and then eating dinner I thought 'how wonderful' that sounded. A little later in the evening I did wonder how many women that same night were sitting at home, in their sweats, eating dinner wishing that they could be off doing something more exotic...like belly dancing. I guess exotic and exciting is in the eye of the beholder ;-)

Merry Christmas Baby!

It may be a little late for a holiday greeting, but not too late to watch some of the fun we had last December at our year end show. It's become a little tradition of ours to include a special holiday belly dance number, and to give it all the serious creative energy we can put into one performance. Here's our nod at a truly, 'American Cabaret' number.

Enjoy, and don't forget our Spring season starts this Thursday at 7:30 p.m.!

Meet Egyptian Barbie

Now, if the notion of Barbie conjurs up unpleasant thoughts from your childhood and you're ready to head out and join some radical feminist group to rally against the barbie name...just stop, take a breath and let me explain. When I'm talking about Barbie, I'm talking about that gal who is sweet and charming and always dressed to perfection. You want to play with her, invite her to meet your friends and above all else, rummage through her closet. So, meet our Egyptian Barbie, Rania.

Being around Rania is contagious, dizzying and delightful...she's playful and fun in person and on stage...and from the looks of her latest costume debut, even her outfits channel the Barbie persona. They behave perfectly and add a sweet, charming element to her dance...a perfect companion to a dancer we all love and adore! So put aside any judgments you have about the B-girl and enjoy one of our favorite gals in action!

I would kill for those legs and abs...

Really, if I could swap body parts with anyone I would head straight over to Katarina and take those long legs, tight behind and flat abs off her hands (or body rather...). I have several items I would gladly exchange if it was ever possible. I know it may not be appropriate to covet another dancer this way, but gosh darn it I can only dream. In our troupe, we've learned that if you think trying on costumes is fun, try dressing Kat up in costumes...ten times the fun and none of the disappointment of a poor fitting costume. And to top it off, she's witty and smart and devilishly coy.

This last show she lit up the stage, and the room with her kick-butt drum solo and intoxicating smile. I can't remember the last time I've seen anyone have so much fun on stage...wow! She loves her drum solos and always picks music that really get the crowd going. Her performances are sharp and peppy whereas I'm always in the mood to do something slow and moody. For that reason alone (we'll leave her body out of this now)...I envy her willingness to go all out on each number. Plus, she's just one of my favorite people. Yeah Kat!!!!

The show, the show!

So, I am a woefully poor photographer, I'll easily admit it. My biggest problem is that I forget to take pictures...so when I do have photos that come out clearly...I get very excited. I also get a little sad when I realized how many other beautiful moments I failed to get on film. Bad photojournalist...bad! To the dancers I didn't get photos of...I'm so sorry, but I got a little distracted with Sherry, Katarina and Rania and my batteries only last so long. *sigh*

That being said, here are some moments from our show on March 6. And keeping to our semester tradition, we still didn't have all nine Mirage dancers at the show. It's funny, our biggest concern about having a troupe so large was our fear of too many dancers at one time...the truth is that it has allowed us some scheduling freedom we didn't have before. And, each show has such a different flavor and style to it because of the ladies in attendance. It's really quite interesting! This show, we were missing our long-time members Nisaba and Jeanette (I think this was a first!) as well as Dana Winn...everyone was missed, but they will be extra-rested for the next shows.

Okay, enough preamble...here's the scoop on the show. It was short and sweet...and everyone was hot, really hot!!!!! The audience would have been unable to tolerate a longer show because of the fabulous performances...they would have left gasping for air and breath...we love our audience but we just don't want to risk their safety...so we kept the show short. You cannot say we don't practice 'safe shimmies', now can you?

Our guests include the Jasmine and Maribel. Jasmine first performed on our stage last semester when we had a live show with Belahaar. She's smart, sultry and such a sweetheart as well. Rumor has it that when she finishes school she'll be leaving Austin...I'll just pretend to be in denial until it happens...and in the meantime go watch her dance again. You should do the same.

Maribel has of course graced our stage before, but it's been quite a while...our schedules just didn't seem to sync up. She honored us by closing the show and had everyone dancing behind stage to her beautiful music. (Which I have apparently only on tape...I believe it is Amany Blue). If I had to come up with one word to describe her, it would be 'juicy'. In a nutshell her shimmies have their own law of gravity...even Newton would be jealous about the perpetual motion of her hips, When my hips grow up, they want to be just like hers!

I've also have a photo and a clip of Eva Tennessee...who is blazing her own trail of 'modern folkloric' belly dance here in Austin. One viewing of this video will have you hair tossing every time you dance now!

There really was no debate

Okay, our show was scheduled for the same night and time as the Clinton-Obama debate here in Austin, and literally the debate was being held just a few blocks away. I put on a brave face and kept telling people don't worry about the traffic, it's on the other side of campus, and of course, we'll have good audience! Well, as I walked up to the Texas Union this evening the most incredibly long line of students had wrapped around the building and up the street. Apparently they were going to show the debate live in the upstairs ballroom and it was open to several hundred students.

So here I am lugging the biggest suitcase in the world (for our backdrop) and my little suitcase (for my costume) through the crowd and all I can think is please, let there be room for us inside, or at a minimum maybe the line of people waiting for the debate could just snake through the Showroom...they wouldn't be bored waiting and we would have an instant crowd. Well my concerns were for naught because one I was inside all was normal. And the best part about the evening? We had a really great show and a really good audience to boot, all in all an enjoyable time for everyone. There really was no debate for us, we were the best ticket in town. Great music, great variety...lots of props and styles of dance. Yesireee...it was the best place to get a sampling of all things wonderful about belly dance.

Now for those of you who didn't make it (you know who you are) here's your recap, take notes...there may be a quiz in your future...at a minimum enjoy the pics! (By the way, please ignore the speakers in the background, we normally cover them up...but they just got missed this time, I promise we'll be more diligent in the future).

Nisaba opened the show (with zils of course), and I absolutely love this picture of her...it really captures her smile and essence! The funny thing is she and Eve had picked the same music for the evening, and the truth is the two performances were so dramatically different you wouldn't have known that it was the same song twice!

Next came Dana Winn doing a beautiful number with Isis wings. You should have heard the crowd gasp when she came out with them...and the image of her in gold and red against the backdrop was stunning! I managed to take a short video of her...pardon the shakiness (I'm still learning this stuff) and I can't explain the poor sound quality here...however, I still like this!

Jeanette was next...and did one of her all time favorite numbers (Habibi Ya Eni), and I think to the original version of the song. Very classic Jeanette...playful, cute and upbeat. I've included a picture (it's a pose she does so well) as well as a short video clip (the quality on this one is a little better), remember to sing along.

Zanjabil did a short number to Gabe's Cat off the Light Rain CD. Oh my gosh, this song takes me back to my baby belly dancer days!!!!!! Jeanette taught this choreography to us in class, and I did this as a duet with Shane (yes a male student) with zils on the Mirage stage. I may have mentioned that event before...it was not a pretty event (zil-playing wise) but this was the song that brings it all back. The funniest part? Jeanette still remembers that choreography (and danced it behind the stage) close to ten years later...too funny for a woman who may not remember what happened 30 minutes ago, but still very impressive! Of course, Zanjabil did a lovely job and interpretation of the song which will help me get over the scars of that previous performance...I'm sure of it!

I believe I danced next, and to a song I wasn't that sure about. I was trying out a new costume and wanted something fast. However this costume has some of the longest fringe I've ever had and fast doesn't work well with it, there is just too much hang time. When I tried to do faster hip movements I was literally whacking myself silly with the fringe...so a fast song and the need for slower movements to accomodate the fringe's personality may have not been the best combination. I've been debating on selling this costume and I'm still on the fence about it...I love the color and I got a great reaction from the audience on it...but it's the darn fringe, it makes me look like I have no torso! The verdict is still out on this one...

A little side note here, Elizabeth was another guest dancer for us, but I didn't get a picture of her (I'm sorry!). She's awfully sweet and has danced with us several times before, in fact she gets major brownie points for doing the December Ararat gig with us, and freezing in the process.

Final Mirage dancer was Eva Tennessee doing a hot cane number. For a gal who doesn't have much traditional belly dance under her belt...it doesn't show. She really takes well to the folkloric styles and I love the emotion in all of her movements, yeah!

Our headliners for the evening were Midnight Breeze, a troop from the San Marcos/Wimberly area. They are great fun to watch, and as a bunch of dancers...they really are some of the nicest ladies you'll meet. Always entertaining, and a real crowd pleaser. Unfortunately I don't have pictures of all of them...and my camera batteries died before their last set (sorry ladies)! But here's what I do have (and I included one I took from behind the stage...which is what we see frequently).

The only down side of the evening was our three missing Mirage gals. Rania is uber-busy with her work and took a little break, Katarina was home sick, and Sherry had a 'column emergency' to deal with in her alter-ego engineering world. Hopefully next time we'll all be together...okay, now I'm off to bed!

Is it worth the effort?

I often ask the question, "Is it worth the effort?", and by effort I mean the prepping, the traveling to and from a show, the changing from mere mortal to belly dancer and the dolling up we all do in order to dance for 5-10 minutes? I have to admit there are some days when it just seems like too much work, but the truth is...I honestly do think those few minutes are worth every bit of effort, I just have to remind myself of that fact from time to time.

Case in point. Mirage was asked to come dance at a gig through University of Texas called Act Local, Think Global tonight. They asked us to dance for 10 minutes. Four of us (myself, Jeanette, Dana and Ginger) were available and so we said sure...why not...it's a way to get our name out and also help out UT's Informal Class program who so graciously gives us a performance venue for free. The original information and instructions were simple, show up at 6:30 in costume ready to dance. We decided on doing two numbers back to back, and I had already prepped by putting them on one CD. We would dance around the audience, do our opener number, remove zils (while noodling on stage), do our choreography and noodle off. (I'll define noodle in another post...)

However, the event coordinator emailed me early today asking if we could dance longer...which really isn't a problem, however she just couldn't define "longer" which meant I was stuck trying to figure out what we could add (is it 5 minutes or 10?), who would dance, what order...how should we transition and hmmm....I guess I need to burn another CD. So, all day long I pondered the possibilities (while listening to whatever music I had on hand in the office) and the other dancers and I emailed back and forth with suggestions. But it was all for naught, at the end of the day...nothing changed, and we were still on for the original 10 minutes.

Next I had to leave work (earlier than I had originally planned), find a parking spot, lug my bag in, and then work on transforming (in a short time) from Chris the busy professional to Najla the dancer (sometimes the distance between the two is long...but thankfully not tonight). We checked out the stage (which incidentally was a 360 degree view...no front or back) and talked through some changes (dancing back to back, altering our ending poses, etc.) to make sure we were ready.

When it was finally our time to dance, all of the tedium that goes with prepping for performances just melted away (at least for me), and once I heard the music start (thankfully it was pretty loud) and we started zilling (and zaghareeting...) the energy was contagious. Then, off we went twirling, spinning, shimmying and hip-dropping into the crowd. The cool thing is most of them probably hadn't seen belly dancers up close and personal. So, with a crowd of about 200-300 people, we certainly were the center of attention. And...boy oh boy...there were more cameras snapping away when we danced that Clinton and Obama's press campaigns combined. All I hope is that they get a pretty picture of me...I'm always captured in photos in really odd poses or with strange expressions (which by the way don't seem apparent if you watch my videos...).

And there we were, with the rush of the dancing, the pleasure and enjoyment of the faces of the crowds, and the glee of dancing with people you really like! So, for the record if you wonder whether or not all the work and effort are worth it...especially if you only get to dance for 5-10 minutes, I'd say yes, yes, yes!!!!

In Case You Missed the Memo

Okay, we officially started the spring Mirage season on January 24 and there were some questions about the weather and the possiblity of freezing rain or sleet for the evening. So, being the ever diligent (okay maybe not so diligent but randomly inspired) person I am, I sent the following information out to the Austin Belly Dance list serve:

To: abd-announce@yahoogroups.com
From: cbailey00@gmail.com
Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:27:31 -0600
Subject: [abd-announce] Mirage Inclement Weather Policy

Okay, I'm sure all of you have been home trying to research the Mirage policy for cold weather, rain or other possible inclement weathersituations. This has to be top of every one's list because the only reason you would miss the first show of the Mirage 2008 season (and the debut of three new members) is if you were snowed in...and still searching for that particular statutory reference. So to help you save time and energy (you'll need it for applauding at the show) here it is:

• Belly Dance Code, Section 658.027(f)(1)(iii):Unless otherwise prohibitedby city, state and federal building closures, the show will always go on!
• Belly Dance Code, Section 227.959(b)(6)(vii): Audience members who brave chilly, and possibly rainy conditions to watch a Mirage performance will betreated to fabulously hot dancing, multiple shimmies, warm fuzzy bunny slippers, and hot cocoa**.

I also included a disclaimer about the slippers since I really wasn't prepared to hand out masses of bunnies that evening, but my hope was the weather wouldn't hold people back, and we would have a great show. The day came for the show, it was cold and dreary but no freezing rain...no road closures and I thought we should have a nice (possibly quiet) start to the season.

Well, perhaps it was my focus on the weather, or my teasing nature that got us into trouble...but we had a show that was far from quiet and routine. In a nutshell, the music never quite behaved, we had two dancers out sick, and the audience got a special treat from me...courtesy of my bra hook breaking.

So, what's the lesson here??? Maybe it is to expect the unexpected, or to roll with the punches, I'm not quite sure but I do know that by focusing too much on one thing (weather...audience...) you may miss out on other important issues (costume hooks and CD equipment). I will say that our guests were just stunning (Yeah Sharla and Eshta), our new gals were such troopers, and the audience was a good sport. We have pictures to share with everyone...but alas the lovely Katarina has them on her camera. So, when I get copies uploaded I'll be happy to share them with everyone. Until later!

Breakin' Boards for Belly Dance?

Okay, so I have to first apologize for the length of time between my last post and this one. It's not that I don't have things to write about (I actually have a lovely list of topics); it's that I probably have too many things to write about, and haven’t spent the time to sit and write. I do promise to catch everyone up, and share all sorts of belly dance goodies; however, for this post...we're going to take a little detour. Now, you may be wondering what boards and belly dance have to do with each other, but sit tight and I'll explain.

You see, last week I broke a board with my bare hand for the second time in my life (and no, I don't have a problem with anger management). The first time was a terrifying, overwhelming experience laced with the very real fear (in my mind at least) of breaking my hand. I consider myself to be fairly tough, but let's be realistic...compare your hand with all its little bones to a very solid looking 3/4" pine board, and you'll understand my trepidation. (As a side note, Sherry, the Engineer in our troupe told me afterwards that the bending strength of that board was between 900 and 1500 pounds per square inch, yikes!)

It actually took me several tries and lots of reassurance to crack that puppy, but I did it for the first time last December and the photo is my memento of the event. In fact, I still have a hard time believing I actually did it! I broke that board, not because I was testing for some martial arts belt exam or even just trying to show off my fabulous punches (which by the way, are much less girly than they used to be). The whole board breaking process was an exercise in understanding how our mind creates obstacles, and if we can trust our bodies to be in proper alignment, grounded and centered than one punch is all it takes to split that board.

Now, I don't encourage anyone to actually attempt this without proper supervision and training (hint...use a really well trained martial arts instructor) but there are some great lessons to learn that do apply to belly dance.

Both dancing and martial arts require you to be grounded, centered, aligned, relaxed and resilient. If you’re lucky you have the experience of feeling totally alive and connected with your body and your surroundings while dancing or moving through a form. It’s when the music resonates within your body, your movements and motions are simply the expression of those beats and that energy, and you just surrender to the moment and dance. The audience and the stage simply melt away, there are no distractions or hesitations, and you feel 100% present to the moment.

Martial arts’ training focuses on being present to the sensations of your body, and connecting. In dancing we often spend a great deal of time focusing on technique or movement or speed, but sometimes we forget about the intention, the feeling, the movement and the utter joy. When I learned that I would have to break another board last week, there was no anxiety, fear or trepidation. Just like the familiar feeling when the music and your movements melt together, the notion of slamming my palm into the board seemed very matter of fact (although I still needed expert supervision).

And the lesson learned? For me, it is practicing the basics, your fundamentals, the core of your movement whether it is dance or martial arts. Beyond that practice, you have to let go, surrender, release, and trust. So, I encourage all of you who dance (or those who just watch) to allow yourselves to be present to the moment, let go of fears and anxieties, relax, connect and above all else…breathe.

By the way, if you want to see more martial arts and belly dance, come watch our show this Thursday. We have live music with Sonya and Belaharr, lot's of fabulous dancing, and I'll be trying to practice what I'm preaching here (wish me luck!)