STUFF I'VE SCRIBBLED FOR TRIBE FRIENDS
IN A LYRIC MOMENT

For the Kult Of Kazuki


Into space we go,
our ship festooned
as a message of love
to those on Mars or Venus

That this is a
Kazuki Sky.

Our ship is painted
in writings of Nippon,
telling all that we will bring
Kazukiness to their place
Hiragana to the stars
for those on Venus or Mars

For this is a
Kazuki Sky.

vzn 6/07


For the Hedonist Fuego

Venus' hand
offers prizes to some
and with each prize
she attaches some tears.

From Venus' hand
comes wet and warmth
but the prize of love
comes with some fears.

The hand of Venus
strokes and caresses
as passions prize glows
in lovers beds

But Venus removes
her loving sanction
When jealousy rears
its ugly heads.

vzn06/07

For B V

BuhBuh Bee
BuhBuh Bee
BuhBuh Bee
Baybeh, Baybeh, BAYbeh.

Bee
Baybeh
Bee
Baybeh!
Bee!!

BbBbBbBbBbBbBbBbBb

BING

Oooooh...

My cookies are ready.

Beautiful, baked cookies...

MMMMMmbbBBbbbbbbb....

fin.

Par Le Val 12/06

For the Eye Of LuTay

We walk the path with heartbreak.
Take its hand to smell the flowers,
watch the children play in the park,
see the swans floating on the pond.
And Heartbreak
lets go of your hand to see,
who is next
and what
it could take from out of your pocket,
other than that locket that said
forever.

vzn03/07

For Poisoned Spoon:

Hickory Dickery Dock
Don't touch me with that cock.
See cock? Touch one?
Your fun now done,
Slickery Dickery Cock.

Vzn - 2008

Coaster Porn (for FDHB)

building, Building, BUILDING....
Climbing and gripping the rails as your hair lashes about...
sweat pouring from your brow
Oh yes...

Look down the length of it...
dig your nails into it...
GRIP it!!
That's what its made for.
Oh yes...

how strong and hard it looks...
Rigid, and yet it bends.
You HAVE to trust it now...
in this moment...
before it plunges down.
All you want is to ride it like it was going someplace.
Oh God...

It flings you about...
it lifts you into the air...
it pushes you down into your hip bones and holds you there.
It teases you because it won't let you get away...
Oh no... can't get away... not that you want to get away...
the ride isn't over yet...

It turns your head to look down...
down at the dark tunnel looming ahead.
It pauses for a brief moment...
It is at apex...
it is gathering strength...
You are at apex...
You are breathless...
waiting for that thunderous plunge...
down.
.
.
Oh YESssssss.

Mister V - 08

Male Bellydancers suffer from what I call "The Lizard Boy Syndrome."

You remember the Lizard Boy at the circus? He's one of the sideshow acts because of his scaly all-over skin. The fact that he does high wire work, acrobatics, contortion, sword swallowing and sings with the voice of an angel (he went to Juilliard!) is irrelevant because people can't look past the fact that .... HEY, he's the Lizard Boy, look at his scaly skin!

No matter how much talent he may otherwise have, people will not see it because they are focussing on one facet of his being.

Same thing with male dancers. People spend so much time getting their knickers in a knot because it is man dancing that they don't pay any attention to the skill he displays and reduce him to a one-trick pony. And as an artist the Lizard Boy never gets considered any kind of serious talent. He may get invited to all kinds of shows, but he is not on par with any of the other performers, he's a novelty act, because... HEY, he's the Lizard Boy.

Male dancers need to not fall into the trap of thinking they are good because someone comes up and says "Wow you really danced well." When what they really mean is "Wow, you look HAWT!"

Despite the fact I'm a total Luddite (go look it up!) i have finally got moving pictures of myself up on YouTube.

The first one is actually not me alone, but The Arabesque Dance Company's Traditional demo reel that includes scenes from our huge show of Egyptian folklore called Asala.

www.youtube.com/watch

The next two are me from The Dark Side show held in January 2007. I'm dancing to a Western Croatian Rom (Gypsy) song, so I didn't dress in my usual tribal costumes. This is two parts. (Thanks to Steph for shooting and uploading to YouTube.)

Me doing a drum solo to Helm's Maqsoum Musings at BellyUp Studio's Christmas party in 2007. Again, in two parts:

Just a few great shows with Sofia, Maral and myself that are up on YouTube.

First is our dance at the BellyUp Christmas party in November 2007. Tarboosh Restaurant had a wonderful floor (excellent food!) and the audience was super nice. Thanks to Alex for his camerawork. Music: Santa Maria de Buen Ayres by Gotan Project.

After that is Shades Of Araby dancing at Mish Mash Belly Bash in Guelph. We got lost getting to the show, but fortunately arrived just in time to get dressed, get make-up on, drink some water then get out on stage. Music: Skudrinka and Dodetium by Wolgemut.

Finally we have our fun Tribal Fusion choreography Astrosexy as performed on stage at Shimmy For A Cure in Erie, Pennsylvania in 2008. Music: Astrosexy by M-Flo.

Friday JUNE 20TH, 2008.
Solo. ("Dum Uh Nos" by Suleiman Warwar.)
Albright-Knox Gallery.
Buffalo, NY.
(Finally can dance at this show sponsored by the delightful Nedra in one of my favourite art galleries. BuffBuff girls galore at this show.)

MAY 31st, 2008.
With Shades Of Araby (Astrosexy by Mflo.)
Shimmy For A Cure.
Erie, PA.
(Charity show in Pennsy!)

MAY 10TH, 2008.
With Shades Of Araby ("Tabla Rise" by Blood & Fire)
+ Solo. ("Likan" by Blue Planet.)
Hipnosis.
Burlington, ON.
(Charity show for Halton Women's Centre will feature some the professional teachers from Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton and beyond: Arabesque's Denise Mireau, Joharah, my old friend Robin DeDanann, Emilia and more. This was a LOOOnnng show. By the time I hit the stage the first time I was already exhausted. We did Tabla Rise which is slower for the second set and it was okay as well.)

APRIL 23rd to 27th, 2008.
Solos, duets with Shades Of Araby.
Wednesday April 23rd - Remix 2007. Shades Of Araby (duet with Sofia)
Thursday April 24th - Main Stage. The Righteous Rogues of Raks. ("El Wad Albo.")
Saturday April 26th - Gala Stage. Arabesque Dance Company. ("Arab Habibi" & "Bene ou Beinak.")
Sunday April 27th - Open Stage. with the glamorous Melissa Gamal. ("Msafer.")
International Bellydance Conference Of Canada.
Toronto, ON.
(Well... Just like last year, it hasn't started and I'm already overwhelmed. Like last year, I had only planned to dance once at the conference, with SOA. Now I'm dancing once with SOA, once with the Righteous Rogues, once with Arabesque Dance Company and "Valizan Ali Akbar al Gamal" will dance with "Melissa Gamal" on Sunday. Should be a fun year though. I'm on the "Men In Bellydance" Panel and I get to hang with Jim Boz and Unmata's Amy for a few days each. *Had a blast, just like last year. Got to meet and hang with the cool Turkish dancer Mr. Ozgen Ozgec, hung out a lot with Jim Boz... always fun, Picked up Amy and Kari from Toronto Airport and pretty much didn't get to see them again until I took Unmata's workshop. Unmata blew people away during the conference. Missed out on a few things like Ranya Renee's breathwork workshop and Lopa Sarkar's Bollywood workshop, but that's okay. And I danced myself into the ground.)

APRIL 19TH, 2008.
With Shades Of Araby ("Astrosexy" by M-Flo, "Trinket" by Beats Antique)
Inversions.
Toronto, ON.
(Audra invited us to take part in her show. She is trying something a bit experimental: We all get to do one song of our choice, then we all dance to the same song that she chose. In the spirit of the night, we are trying something a bit experimental, yet ATS-y too. This was fun. Lost my turban during Trinket, but it flew off on the beat, so it was all good. :) Our reverse chorus seemed to work as well. Really would like to experiment with that a bit more.)

APRIL 12TH, 2008.
With Shades Of Araby ("Skudrinka" and "Dodetium" by Wolgemut, "Snake Dance" by Blue Planet)
Blackthorn Medieval Feast.
Guelph, ON.
(An old SCA buddy, Aelric Blackthorn invited us to perform at his medieval feast where we will appear as honoured guests from his trip to the Middle East as a crusader. That was a load of fun, even if I stressed out a bit. Danced with my new sword for the first time and pulled some gasps from the audience. Not bad for something I haven't practiced in a few months. Got to reconnect with some old SCA friends to boot, so it was a fun day.)

Sunday APRIL 6th, 2008.
Solo. (Turkish hiphop with a name I can't pronounce.)
Rhaehana recital.
Cambridge, ON.
(Another little Sunday afternooner with Rhaehana. Danced with my students from the Cambridge class and had a total blast. They all dressed up for the dance, and it was pretty good. Can't wait to teach them more.)

MARCH 7 to 9th, 2008.
With Shades Of Araby ("Astrosexy" by M Flow.)
Tribally Yours/Tribellement Votre
Montreal, QC.
(Shades of Araby return to Le Centre Marcel Dulude on Montreal's South Shore to take workshops at Tribellement Votre. Teachers this year were Unmata, Bellyqueen and Kajira Djoumanha.

If anyone ever needed proof of our devotion to our art, this event would be the proof! We drove 12 hours (Montreal is usually only a six hour drive!) in the worst blizzard the region had seen in 30 years. Driving at 40 mph to Montreal is no fun whatsoever, trust me on that. Doing it in a snowstorm makes for some serious white knuckle driving. We passed at least five cars in the ditch, including a rolled over SUV that had hit a minivan. As a result, we didn't make it to the hotel until 4:30 a.m.

If we thought the weather was bad the night before, we woke up to find out it had gotten worse. White out conditions with the snow blowing sideways. :( We skipped the first workshop on Saturday because we needed the sleep.

This was where we debuted our new tribal fusion choreography, Astrosexy, a bit of Japanese HipHop that Maral really liked. We also had our new white costumes for this. Mine wasn't quite finished, despite Maral handsewing in the car, and me doing some work with the sewing machine two hours before the show. But I was presentable. No bits flashed! We made quite the splash in the show because the music is upbeat. That and the girls got to paddle my backside during the choreography! I like to think our dance brought a happy mood to people who knew they would have to shovel their cars out after the show.

The dance was the highlight of the weekend though. First they closed the entrance ramp to the highway on us, then Maral and I got stuck in a snowdrift on the way back to our hotel. We lucky to have roving gangs of Quebeçois boys who helped pull us out, but it meant another VERY late night.)

NOVEMBER 23rd, 2007.
With Shades Of Araby ("Skudrinka & Dodetium" by Wolgemut.)
Mish Mash Belly Bash
Guelph, ON.
(First time dancing in Ishra's Mish Mash show, and it was a load of fun. Again, there was a small mishap. We got lost getting to the gig. We ended up somewhere north of Guelph in Fergus and drove past a lot of cows in the dark to get back where we were supposed to be. Luckily we were in the second half because we arrived just as the show started and spent most of our time getting dressed. However, we got superb footage of the show thanks to Alex sitting in the audience, and we got a compliment from Wolgemut on YouTube for our interpretation.)

Sunday NOVEMBER 18TH, 2007.
With Shades Of Araby ("Santa Maria de Buen Ayres" by Gotan Project)
Rhaehana recital.
Cambridge, ON.
(A little Sunday afternoon something for Rhaehana that went delightfully well. As usual, it wasn't without a mishap. We were heading out the door to get on stage and I held the door open for the girls. As i backed up to let them through, I gashed open my Achilles Heel on a low shelf and then proceeded to bleed all the way through the performance. Blood, sweat and tears I tell you... ;-))) We did Santa Maria and it was singularly spectacular to watch, even from where I was standing! I missed the cue for a spin, but the two girls spinning while I stood and mugged for the crowd looked grand.)

NOVEMBER 14TH (WEDNESDAY), 2007
Valizan (Saraab by Simon Shaheen, Alf Leyla Wa Leyla, Maqsoum Musings by Helm)
Harem @ Casbah Lounge. 306 King Street West.
9 p.m.
Hamilton, ON.
A rare home show! If ever there was proof that Tribe has been a networking tool, this is it. I've only ever met Eshe on Tribe. She (waves at Eshe!) put together this midweek show with some totally talented folks. I'm honoured to have been included! The talented and stunningly beautiful Melissa from Arabesque (under her new name Maysaa) will be there along with The Tabla Guy, Gurpreet Chana and Meaghan Shields from Toronto.

WOW! That was smashing fun. Ya... Casbah Lounge was only about the size of a broom closet, and the Battle of the Bands [Picture pimply teens shrieking badly while trying to cover Slayer...::shudder::] happening in the Main Room did not help with our music, but MAN I think I did pretty good! I felt good about the performance. The best part was getting to improvise to the Indian Tabla guy Gurpreet. He played and I channeled a little Indian/Tribal fusion.

OCTOBER 13TH, 2007.
With Shades Of Araby ("Salamat Ya Om Hassan" by The Sami Nossair Orchestra)
Harem Scarem 4
Windsor, ON.
(Going West again to dance in Kathy and Victoria's show. This time with the girls.)

SEPTEMBER 27TH to 30th, 2007.
With Arabesque Dance Company.
International Bellydance Congress
Bognor Regis, West Sussex. England.
CANCELLED. DOUBLE PHOOEY!! Great. In one week, all the fun travel stuff got cancelled. We didn't get the government grant to fly us over to perform, so no England for Arabesque. Why am I paying my taxes?

SEPTEMBER 14-16th, 2007.
Shades of Araby (Santa Maria (de Buen Ayres) by Gotan Project.)
Tribal:PURA. Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
(Because I apparently didn't get enough Fat Chance training the weekend before, I go back to Milwaukee where Trillium Tribal is hosting a Pura event with Carolena, the Fat Chance Troupe !!!! Megha AND HELM!! The rare chance to see Helm live was just icing on the cake. All three of us are now going. Moria is coming as well. And two of the BuffBuff girls, Leslie and Diana, are going too. What a spectacular weekend. The workshops were full but a load of fun, and the show ranged from excellent to moving. SoA made up for the horrible time we had in London by nailing almost everything. There was one move I tried to cue three times and Sofia missed it every time so I gave up. But otherwise the show was spiff. Got to see FatChance Bellydance on stage live and enjoyed every minute of them dancing to Helm. Wish I could have seen Carolena playing with Mark Bell, but I got the general idea. Got to hang out at the Safe House after and collect another "spy glass." Met some very cool new people to boot and really want any excuse to visit Milwaukee again. The people are friendly and the city itself is a building geek's dream. )

SEPTEMBER 7-9th, 2007.
No performance.
Taking Fat Chance Bellydance General Skills Certification.
Toronto, ON.
(Three days of Carolena and Megha! Zilling was the only major challenge, since I had studied everything else. A load of people for whom this was clearly their first time. That was a bit of a downer, but I did'nt let it stand in the way of polishing my ATS skills.)

AUGUST 28th
Solo (Maqsoum Musings by Helm)
Roula Said Hafla
Toronto, ON.
(Just a quick drum solo before I run to rehearsal. Gonna be a long day!)

AUGUST 16th to 18th, 2007.
With Arabesque Dance Company.
Araband Live!
CANCELLED. PHOOEY! After a wet unfun Pennsic, I was hoping Montreal would make up. Nope. :(

AUGUST 8th, 2007.
Solo. (Hopefully, "Pobjednicki Cocek" with live instruments!)
Cure Sallee.
Slippery Rock, PA.
(Wow! Khafif, Jim and Lynette and a guy on a trombone played the song live for me and all I can say is "Wow!" It was a slow by a bit and I couldn't quite hear them at times, but this song is even more super when played live. Crowd was helluva receptive when I stood up to dance, and I didn't fall on them, so I guess I did good. Missed a few elements in the dance, but still it was a good show. I really hope I get the chance to dance with them again on this song.)

JULY 29th, 2007.
With Arabesque Dance Company ("Kalaatny Ya Booy" & fight scene by Arabesque Orchestra)
Peruvian Festival
City Hall, Toronto, ON.
(Celebrating Peruvian Independence day at Toronto City Hall. One of the new guys, Cason, made his debut in this choreo. We did damn good in front of a huge audience outdoors at City Hall. We also reworked the choreography at the last moment to get it to work for three instead of four. So Me, Cason and Tim Spronk added the fight scene in and it totally worked without losing any energy. The only thing we did wrong was probably repeatedly clubbing the big Peruvian Flag with our Tahtiib sticks. It was hanging in the middle of the stage and once we started fighting, we kinda forgot it was there. Ooops.)

JULY 21st, 2007.
With Shades Of Araby. ("Santa Maria (Buen Ayres)" by Gotan Project.)
Dark Fire
London, ON.
(A celebration of Gypsy culture looking at how Gypsy culture spread through dance, from Indian to bellydance to flamenco.

This was not a highlight of Shades Of Araby's dance career. While we looked spectacular in our new matching costumes, and Maral's mantilla-inspired head covering was a great new look, we gave a performance that might approach at best as being described as mediocre. From missed cues to the act before us spraying the stage with beads from a broken necklace, and the perennial problem of the guy in the booth starting our music too early, we struggled.

I was particularly disappointed because of the calibre of some of the talent at the show. Marisol Centurion did superb, passionate Flamenco, Chad Walasek from M-Do in Toronto did flawless kathak (though he too suffered from the Sound Man's curse!) and of course, my good bud Prince Andrew brought the house down with his Indian classical dance and bellydance sets. He even got to dance in improv with Ishra.

And then there was us. Knowing we can do better is what hurts the most. :(((( The show was a bit long, but the afterparty was great for networking. Hung out with the irrepressible Isis from Sarnia and her male student Brian Slaughter. Watch out for him, once he polishes his technique he'll be unstoppable. We got to talk to Ravi Naimpally who it turned out is the writer for Tasa. You'll remember I danced to Tasa's song "Koruna" in Buffalo. We talked about marketing music for the Tribal scene and he was quite interested. Cards were exchanged and he gave us two of his newer CDs. )

JUNE 16th, 2007.
With Arabesque Dance Company. ("Kalaatny Ya Booy" by Arabesque Orchestra.)
Arab Federation 40th Anniversary
Toronto, ON.
(What an awful performance at the one venue where we shouldn't be awful! The band totally screwed up all night long. My tahtiib music was played at 1/4 speed, which rendered it pretty neutral. But they did worse for the girls. )

JUNE 1st- 3rd, 2007.
Solo. (Kalaatny Ya Booy by Arabesque Orchestra. The Hip Sheikh by Karminsky Project, The Sultan's Dance by Solace, Saraab by Simon Shaheen & Quantara, Dum Ah Nos by Suleiman Warwar.)
Valizan Workshop
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
(Didn't have a ton of students, but the ones that did come seemed to be having a blast! And the Tahtiib workshops didn't end with broken spotlights or art, so it was all good. Started the show with the Tahtiib stuff, snagged my stick in my sleeve right near the beginning and realized that the stage was actually too small for what I was about to do. Especially when my stick hit the back of the stage during a spin. Oops. Second set was the exact same set from the Oakville gig. Lane and Kristal were in the audience cheering me on, but I think Saraab was the biggest hit. People seemed totally mesmerized as I started with veilwork and then did a lot of trancy moves to this trancy song.)

May 27th, 2007.
Solo. (The Hip Sheikh by Karminsky Project, The Sultan's Dance by Solace, Saraab by Simon Shaheen & Quantara, Dum Ah Nos by Suleiman Warwar.)
Oakville, ON.
(Wow! A restaurant gig for Joharah in Oakville. This was a first for me. I've never done a restaurant gig before. And I had a wee bit of difficulty because I was dancing in the centre of five tables of people, so I did a lot of quick turns to give everyone some face time. Robin DeDannann came with a table full of her students, so they recognized the ATS stuff I was doing. And I think they were a bit surprized by the non-ATS stuff that is pure Valizan style. :) And boy, two ten minutes sets was a challenge. And I must be nuts, because I put Suleiman's drum solo as my last element. Not sure where I pulled the energy for THAT! )

APRIL 18 to 22nd, 2007
THU. APRIL 19th. Mainstage with Shades Of Araby. (Skudrinka and Dodetium by Wolgemut.)
FRI. 20th. Solo on Open Stage. (The Hip Sheikh by The Karminsky Experience.)
International Bellydance Conference Of Canada
Hungarian Canadian Cultural Centre.
840 St. Clair Ave. West
Toronto, ON.
(DAMN! That was so much fun. I ended up dancing more than I had planned. I did my show with Shades Of Araby on Thursday night. I did my solo Friday afternoon on the Open Stage and got to dance to Karminsky Experience despite the fact it was a bit long. It didn't go as well as I would have liked for a few reasons. The stage was WAY off the ground, small and had a nasty looking fan right at eye level. I think I was a bit too aware of its presence and it threw me off my music. I had only planned for those two performances, but two weeks before the conference, Yasmina Ramzy decided the Arabesque Men would be dancing Tahtiib as well. So after my afternoon show on Friday, I had an evening show on top of it with the guys. Details on that in my blog. I also was handed the opportunity to dance with the great Tamalyn Dallal on Saturday night at the Gala show. When you add in two appearances on camera (again... details will be in my blog) you will understand why I'm totally exhausted this week. But good exhausted! :))

MARCH 10-11th, 2007.
With Shades Of Araby. (Skudrinka & Dodetium from Wolgemut.)
Tribellement Votre.
Montreal, QC.
(Another fun workshop and show. I was a bit alarmed at six hours of workshops each day. Oy Vey! Two hours of Frejya, two hours of Khafif and then two hours of Zoe Jakes. Too much! The show was great. The theatre in St. Bruno was intimate and huge! We had a small problem with our music starting too early (I walked off the stage to start again and they botched it the second time too...) but Shades Of Araby did pretty good. The finale, with all the Tribal troupes onstage dancing at the same time was a load of fun. I was a bit disappointed that there was no afterparty, but considering how exhausted we all were, it was probably just as well.)

FEBRUARY 17th and 18th, 2007.
With Shades Of Araby (Cokertme by Turku, Dodetium by Wolgemut.)
Jim Boz Workshop and show.
(Despite my nervousness, we did a good job in the show! One member was recovering from sickness, so we only had one rehearsal to listen to Cokertme and it didn't go great. We maybe got though dancing it once. But in the show, it was smooth like buttah... butter with a lump in it. We had one goof up that was probably not horribly noticeable. :)))) Dodetium, however, we nailed! And at the afterparty, got to improv on the fly with Maral and then with Maral and Sofia. THAT was a breakthrough for all of us, because now I know they can do it with live music.)

SATURDAY February 3rd, 2007.
Perhaps with Shades Of Araby. (Live music!)
(Aft.) ATS workshop @Khizmet's Studio. (Eve.) Northern Oasis Hafla.
Both Kitchener, ON.
(I love the Northern Oasis haflas because it is a chilled out chance to just enjoy good company and move without an audience, make-up or too much costuming. Props to Safiya and Nott.)

SUNDAY January 21st, 2007. (Dancing on the sabbath?! Sacrilege! SINNER! REPENT!!)
With Shades Of Araby (Table Rise by Blood and Fire, and Dodetium by Wolgemut)
Cabin Fever Show.
Ghostlight Theatre. Tonawanda, New York. (BuffBuff forever!)
(It was fun introducing the Shades Of Araby girls to the BuffBuff girls. The show was a load of fun and, save for one miscue on my part, we did pretty damn good!)

THURSDAY January 18th, 2007
Solo. (Pobjednicki Cocek by Blehorkestar Bakija Bakic)
The Dark Side Show.
Tranzac Club, Toronto.
(Danced in Audra's Tribal show and went with Western Croatian Gypsy music. And I dressed up like the blackest Western Croatian Gypsy you'll ever see in this lifetime! Had fun with it and it seems it came off pretty good. I think I want to try and dance this with the troupe at some point.)

TUESDAY November 28th to SUNDAY December 3rd, 2006
With Arabesque Dance Company
Asala. Full-show of Egyptian Folklore, including Tahtiib and Port Said.
Premiere Dance Theatre. Toronto, ON.
(This started off pretty bad for me. I wrecked my knee because I was constantly dropping down on it, and we hadn't practiced doing the various stick work with the galabiyas on, so the sticks kept snagging in the sleeves. Grrrr... However, all the weekend shows were pretty grand, especially the matinee shows that were out and out kickass shows. I really hope Yasmina releases this as a tape, because it really documents the variety of styles of dance in the Middle East. )

*Want a sampling of the show? Take a look at this clips reel on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch

SATURDAY October 28th, 2006
Solo (Won't be doing Gaia Vs. Death because time ran out to work on it. Instead I'm doing something I'm going to dedicate to my father. Music: Roots Of Coincidence by Pat Metheny.)
Aziza workshop & Bewitching Bellydance Ball.
Kitchener, Ontario.
("Condolences" was one of those things one can only perform once. The Bewitching Belly Dance Ball was pretty much the only place it could ever be performed. It was me purging the demons of my grief over my father's death. Frederick Galbraith was the one who instilled my great love of music (he was a percussionist at one time) and I combined it with my love of bellydance as a tribute to his passing. The dance, all improvised, went excellent. I set a mood with the opening graveyard scene and then wondered why, later on, the audience wasn't clapping or going with me, but why would they? I had set an atmopshere of funereal respect, and they were showing it by playing their role. I teared up a bit as I stepped off the stage, but Aziza herself made me feel better when she said "That was brave.")

SATURDAY October 21st, 2006
Solo performance. (Viper & Ai Vis Lo Lop)
Harum Scarum 3
Windsor, Ontario.
(I had a great audience that shared their energy with me and got a very good performance in return. And hanging out with Najla and Vicki is something I always love to do.)

SUNDAY October 15th, 2006
Not performing, just groovin' on the dancefloor to live Arabic music during the open session at Layali Arabesque.
Layali Arabesque featuring the Men Of Middle Eastern Dance: Jim Boz and Prince Andrew. With Yasmina Ramzy there to give the Arabic Men something to look at. ;-)
Gypsy Co-op. Queen St. West, Toronto.
(Another day of fun from beginning to end. After "Bellydancers Gone Wild" at Christina's On The Danforth on Saturday night (and three ouzos later) I am sore, but Layali starring Jim, Andrew, Yasmina and special guest Tito was amazing. I need more weekends like this!)

SATURDAY October 14th, 2006
With Arabesque Dance Company
Tito Workshop weekend and Show
Estonian House, Toronto.
(A challenging workshop followed by a kickass show! Tito was singularly spectacular and Arabesque rocked the house as well. Arabesque men did Port Said with the full orchestra and it was one of our better ones at that.)

WEDNESDAY September 27th, 2006 (Dancing on a school night?! BLASPHEMY!!)
Attempting Coruna Solo for the first time.
Tempest's Durga Tour
Club Diablo, Buffalo, New York
(Coruna was okay, but I need to work on it a bit. I zoned out halfway through and I'm not happy with that.)

Vee's bellydance motto: "The Future Belongs To Those Who Shimmy"

"Your World Is Small."

"Heartbreak is the worse tattoo ever."

"Ain't being a human being fun? I could do it all my life..."

From the movie, Apartment Zero: "Every man is allowed One Hundred obsessions in his lifetime."

After being asked by an idiot why Black people live in ghettos:
"Because all the White people have the park benches. Black people have sense enough to put a roof over their heads, no matter how crappy a roof it may be."

"Real men do whatever the hell they want."
After being interviewed and asked for the umpteenth time about how bellydance was such a feminine art and why I'd want to do it.

"And I care, why? And you're still talking, why?"

"Now stop saying that! Just because I don't eat what I see in the candy store, doesn't mean I don't appreciate good candy!"

"It isn't brain surgery, its dance! Nobody dies if you make a mistake. Try again..." — to students. Often.

"It definitely takes regular practice to get spinning, spotting and whirling (geez... Sounds like bellydancer laundry... Do we dance like Tide?"

This one isn't mine, It is attributed to Langston Hughes, but I've been heard saying it too (substitute any alternative lifestyle for the word Black, as you will):
"There's nothing wrong with being black... Its just damn inconvenient."