My Blog

Letter to my MP

Bridie — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:37:57 GMT

Dear Mr Jones I am writing with regard to the recent amendment to the Criminal Justice Act concerning curved bladed swords. This amendment, which came into force on April 6th 2008, makes no distinction in its wording between blunt or sharp swords, or their cultural origins. I am a semi-professional bellydancer living and working in Wrexham. One of the traditions of Middle Eastern dance is the balancing of sabres or scimitars in both men's and women's dance. I have been practising and teaching this art for five years. I and my troupe perform regularly round the Wrexham area and beyond, at charity events and public gatherings, demonstrating this dance form to great acclaim. The swords we use are props: imitation Turkish scimitars, which are blunt and specially balanced for dancing. They are carried to and from rehearsal and perfomance in scabbards or bags, are never left unattended, and members of the public are never allowed to touch them. There are dancers across North Wales and the rest of the country who teach and perform this dance. A colleague of mine from Nottingham has been in touch with Jonathon Batt at the Home Office to clarify the position of bellydancers within the legislation. Although we may be able to perform with our swords, being in possession of the requisite Public Liability Insurance, new dancers will no longer be able to purchase these props. Consequently, the art of sword-dancing in England and Wales is in danger of dying out. I am one of the organisers of an International Gothic Bellydance event, Gothla UK (www.gothla.co.uk), which attracts over 100 dancers and dance teachers from Europe and the USA, many of whom use swords and daggers as part of their performance. We are holding this very successful event in Leicester for the second year running this summer. I have been in negotiation with venues in Wrexham, as I was considering hosting the event in the town next year, but unless an exemption is made to this legislation, I will be forced to hold the event in Scotland or Ireland where they take a much more logical view of swords as props. I urge you to request an exemption be made for Middle Eastern and Tribal bellydancers, along with other forms of sword dance, such as Highland dancing and Morris dancing, lest these interesting and exciting dance forms die out, due to performers not willing to risk prosecution for wanting to practice. My family have been supporters of the Labour Party for decades, and my parents were active members of the Party in Wrexham, but I am finding it increasingly difficult to give my support to a government who constantly makes seemingly knee-jerk reactions to situations without fully investigating how it may affect previously law-abiding citizens. Yours sincerely Bridie Przibram co-director Nawari Dance Group www.nawari.org.uk http://youtube.com/watch?v=lkRnrKL0MiE

Moving to Nottingham?

Bridie — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:59:59 GMT

'Im indoors is on his annual quest to gain employment with Games Workshop. If successful, this would entail a complete up-sticks to a new domicile in or near Nottingham. Please can people give me lots of good reasons why this would not be a good idea? I would be leaving behind my elderly mum, my fledgling and enthusiastic dance troupe, and occasional well-paid employment as a theatrical costumier.

OK, know I understand what all the fuss is about.

Bridie — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 17:51:59 GMT

So I bought myself a pair of Melodias. The fabric is great. The cut is gorgeous, and the styling great. I am a fan. OK?

Gothla UK

Bridie — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 08:51:57 GMT

Oh My God, it's happening *tomorrow*! I can't believe that 9 months of planning and emailing and chatting and dancing and panicking is about to be over in three days time. I've been totally gobsmacked by the reaction to our festival. It's grown from a idea of getting a bunch of UK Goth bellydancers together for an alternative hafla, into an international event with teachers from the US and event-goers from Germany, Scandinavia and Ireland. Total strangers have sent me large amounts of their cash even though they have no clue who I am (well, they do now!). We've been interviewed on the radio and for practically every bellydance magazine in the country. S and I are performing on the same bill as internationally recognised dancers: the butterflies in my stomach are those really huge ones you only see in tropical butterfly houses! I think I might explode if I'm not careful. I'm glad Ian is coming with me so he can drive to Leicester, as I'm not sure I'll be safe in charge of a vehicle by tomorrow afternoon. To all my readers who are coming over for the event: travel safely, and come and say hi if we haven't met before. See you on the Dark Side ;)

Bellydance existential angst.

Bridie — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 17:35:07 GMT

My first blog entry here. I have an LJ, but I don't think many of my LJ friends would be interested in this! My burning question just now is why am I here? What am I doing this for? I got into bellydancing because I wanted to learn to dance, and started to perform as part of a troupe which I really enjoyed. Then I was introduced to Tribal style, which I totally fell in love with and wanted to join a troupe, but there wasn't one, so I had to start my own. As there are only two of us, we realised that the only way we were going to grow was to train up our own students, so I started teaching. The other woman in my troupe/duo is having life problems at the moment and does not seem to be as focussed as she used to be. We have a small gig coming up in two weeks time which I may have to do on my own, which means coming up with 20 minutes of solo material in two weeks! I go to workshops, and occasionally to haflas, which are few and far between in my area, but I don't know if I should be looking for more. How do you guys get your gigs? Especially if you are only semi-professional? I don't just want to lurch from one hafla to the next, paying £10 or more to perform for 5 minutes, then sit through an hour of other peoples' students dancing (Yeah, I know it's cruel, but it's how I'm feeling just now.) This started out as something I did every Thursday evening to keep fit, then I got a taste of the high life, and I want more, but don't know how to get it! OK, rant over.