Bla bla bla

Scaring the children...?

Leilah — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:51:50 GMT

Last night I performed my dark tribal fusion solo at the Student/Teacher show and COMPLETELY fucked it up by forgetting the entire first part of the choreo. I have no idea where I went wrong but I was a whole 6 or 8 counts out. I got the very start right and did manage to catch up for the end part, but no idea what I did in the middle! I guess I will have to wait to see the video to figure it out. I'm proud of myself tho cause nobody realised I'd made a mistake - my improv skills have obviously improved. One up side of the evening was other dancers telling me my eye make-up looked great, but the REAL highlight was my cab teacher telling me that my eyes/expression was making the kiddies in front row nervous. YAY ME!!! I must have been putting some real energy into 'the look' with being so pissed off at stuffing up my choreo. ;-) What were kids doing up that late anyway... Do you think being able to scare children now qualifies me as a bonafide gothic dancer?

Best of Tribal Fest

Leilah — Sat, 31 May 2008 05:37:56 GMT

Copied from Black Sheep tribe: http://bsbd.tribe.net/thread/7a8588f0-ea64-4395-b149-59fcf492e6ea#1a4e0180-7bf4-4713-a873-c336180e3d91 1. Best costumes on stage- name only your top two faves. - Shakra - Asharah 2. Best music selections in a performance. Again only two. as above! - Black Lambs - SuperKate 3. Funniest stage moment that made you bust your side laughing. Only one now. Since others have mentioned the horse head I have to say Karim and his leather pants! 4. Vendor who had you coming back for more, procured your wallet from your purse and gave it back empty. That was a tie between Black Lotus and Melodia. 5. Favorite workshop at TF. Shakra 6. Most awesome item you saw whilst browsing the shopping. hmmm, EVERYTHING!!! 7. Best meal you enjoyed at TF whether on site, off site, at a friends, whatever. Black Sheep pot stickers 8. Person you most enjoyed running into at the fest. Nisha 9. Most inspiring person at TF whether on or off stage. Sashi 10. Oddest thing you overhear at TF. The story about the penis thieves 11. Best music you bought at TF. Collide 12. Fave day or night at TF and why? Every single one! 13. Person who gave you the warmest fuzzies at Tf this year and why. Laura because of her proposal to Bonnie 14. Hottest dude at TF this year. My dude! For coming with me, being a volunteer and recording performances for me. 15. Best performance by a troupe you havent heard of or seen b/f this year's TF. The Sexy Scallywags and Verbatim 16. Who you most missed at TF this year- Teacher? Friend? Troupe mate? Performer? My dance partner, Sarah 17. Most blissed out, spiritual, foofy-la-la, hippy-dippy moment you experienced at this year's TF. Motif, and Laura's proposal 18. Nicest compliment you received at TF this year. That everyone thinks New Zealand is an amazing place and wants to visit 19. Best nature or scenic or day trip experience you enjoyed this year. Our road trip after TF and visiting the wolves at Wolf Mountain Sanctuary 20. Honorable mention- your choice! Everyone who made the two Kiwi Tribal Fest virgins feel so welcome!

Last night in the U S of A...

Leilah — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:19:31 GMT

Well our trip has finally come to an end and what a final week it has been! We've been from Lucerne Valley to see more wolves, down to San Diego, up to Orange County and finally up to Monterey where we are staying tonight. Tomorrow we just have the (fairly) short drive back to San Francisco airport for our flight home. Wow! The Wolf Mountain Sanctuary was amazing. We got really up close and personal with some socialised wolves, and some not so socialised wolves! We have great photos and video footage of both of us being licked, head-butted, and generally being 'welcomed' into the pack. Mark ended up with a very sore arm and shoulder when two of the pack decided he was the best stomach scratcher they had ever met! It was just an unbelievable day. Friday afternoon we drove down to San Diego, which I liked more than San Fran. We went to the San Diego Zoo on Saturday and I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be - I think Auckland Zoo would be on par, if not better. Anyway, the highlight of being in San Diego was staying in Old Town and getting to have Sunday brunch/lunch with Laura and Bonnie - what a blast! They are two of the loveliest people you could ever wish to meet and Laura had us in hysterics with her stories. Sunday afternoon we drove from San Diego up to Orange County where Sashi lives. It was fantastic to catch up with her again and I even had the opportunity to take one of her classes - such a blast! She is so funny, but has some mean and nasty warm up/stretching moves. Let me tell you my legs are still hurting from the damn 'dynamic stretching' she had us doing - bloody works tho! We had a really lazy day on Monday, which was a public holiday here, just hanging out and watching movies. One of her cats has a fetish for long hair and of course fell instantly in love with Mark. This morning had us leaving OC at about 6:30am to head up to Monterey, via Los Angeles - let me tell you Auckland rush hour traffic ain't got nothing on that! It wasn't too bad really as they have a separate 'car pool' lane, which means if you have two or more people in your car you can use it and the traffic in that lane moves much quicker than in the other 4 or 5 lanes. Once we finally got past LA and found the Pacific Coast Highway it was a great drive. Really nice coastal scenery, but its no where near as stunning as home. Monterey is a really lovely place and we got to watch a sea otter and some seals playing just off shore while we were having dinner. We are hoping to have time to visit the Aquarium here before heading back up to the airport. We've just finished re-packing our luggage and had to buy two extra bags than what we came over with - thats what you get from shopping at Tribal Fest and buying 7 pairs of Melodia, plus goodness knows how many tank-tops, t-shirts and all the other touristy "stuff" that we have picked up along the way!

Somewhere in California...

Leilah — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:49:03 GMT

You know you are in America when the Hummer is a small vehicle. I'm not kidding. Some of the 4x4's here are HUGE. Even the lift-kits have lift-kits!!! Anyway, since Tribal Fest we have driven from Sebastopol, back to San Francisco to change rental vehicles (NEVER do a road trip in a Ford Escape - very thirsty vehicle!), then down thru Los Angeles to a little town called Julien to visit the California Wolf Centre and now we are back up in Victorville and heading to Lucerne Valley tomorrow to the Wolf Mountain Sanctuary. Phew! I have no idea how many miles that equates to but we've done all that since leaving Sebastopol Monday afternoon. Going to the California Wolf Centre today was truly amazing. This was the first time either Mark or I had seen wolves for real and it stunned us both. We have some great photo's and video footage. I can't wait for tomorrows trip out the the Wolf Mountain Sanctuary - apparently we can get up close and personal with the wolves there. We are hoping to be in San Diego on Saturday and are planning on going to the San Diego Zoo on Sunday, then its back up the Pacific Coast for our flight home on Wednesday..

Well, that was Tribal Fest...

Leilah — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:37:52 GMT

Holy crap! I don't even know where to start... I really was going to blog every day of the festival, but the last three days of it were pure madness! Too much stuff going on and no where near enough sleep. Friday was the beginning of the 3 days of performances and there is just too much to mention! We did record quite a few, but had problems with the battery dying on the video camera so we missed out on recording a lot that I'd like to have. I don't have the program in front of me and my mind is a complete blur so I've no idea who performed when! The Saturday show started at 10am and I unfortunately missed a few great acts as I was busy stalking the Melodia stand outside. OMG! Talk about a feeding frenzy! I managed to get pants for the girls who asked me and bought 4 pairs for myself. Yes thats right FOUR - don't worry I can completely justify each and every pair. I took a picture of all 7 pairs laid out on the bed. ;-) Saturday night show ended with the Indigo - not only were they incredible they brought the Brass Manizari (sp) Band with them! It was a total hoot and I have 90% of it on film - the damn camera battery died just before the end, which involved cup cakes. ;-) Sunday was amazing as well. I had a workshop with Tempest, which was brilliant and then spent the rest of the afternoon watching the show - Rachel's solo nearly made me cry and Kami Liddle was spectacular, as were many of the other dancers who names have unfortunately blurred into one big mess in my tired brain. Highlight of my entire week/end was meeting Sashi and spending time with her and meeting her friends. That woman is amazing, beautiful, funny, talented and I'm so lucky to be able to call her a friend. I've met so many fantastic people (who I have to find on Tribe so I can keep in touch with them) and both Mark & I have enjoyed ourselves so much we have already talked about how we can do it again! Current dream is next year Gothla, year after Tribal Fest! ;-) My favourite photo so far is with Bonny and Laura, which wins the award for the worlds cheeziest photo! Oh, another highlight was getting to witness Laura proposing to Bonnie on stage at Friday nights show. I will have to organise a Show & Tell session when I get back so you can see my loot, photos and the show footage. Anyway better get going - I'll up date you all on yesterday's trip from Sebastopol to south of LA later on.

Tribal Fest - name dropping - day 2

Leilah — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:19:33 GMT

Wow! Day 2 already. I've just come from a drum, dance and trance gathering that was organised by Tempest, so if I waffle a bit please forgive me. Well I didn't rush there this morning ;-) We started out a bit later and went to this amazing supermarket called Whole Foods and stocked up for the day. Lots of fresh fruit and veges, lots of organic food, drinks - we even found some organic jelly beans (which I've just finished off). The strawberries are probably the best I've ever had! Now for today's Name Dropping session... Well the day started off with seeing Rachel Brice (from afar as she was teaching) and then Tempest, who I was too chicken to introduce myself to until this evening. Next was Zoe and then Mardi Love.. We ended up sitting at the table next to Zoe and Mardi for dinner tonight. I did the second Shakra workshop with Asharah dancing next to me (also cool and very friendly) and then this afternoon I met Sashi. <sigh> She is such a lovely person and is really keen to visit NZ. The Shakra workshop was fantastic and the girls taught us some of the choreo they are performing tomorrow night, so we got a sneak preview! The combos are really creepy and are great fun to get into. The girls are super friendly and I have some funny photo's of them thanks to Nisha using my camera. ;-) I did Sashi's workshop this afternoon, after doing a bit more shopping (I did restrain myself today) and lying under a tree for a couple of hours cause it was too damn hot! Sashi is increadable in person and yes I'm still gushing about having met her - the drool puddle is at dangerous levels. ;-) Her workshop was great and she taught the first part of a choreo her troupe did last year, and its to a piece of music that I already have and love. I was talking to her after the workshop and she suggested Mark & I go to Tempest's gathering and I'm so glad we went - it was part dance, part ritual and part trance - all to live music with two brilliant musicians. I could go on about what a wonderful person Sashi is, but that could get a bit much - don't want to sound like a stalker! What a day! Tomorrow afternoon is when the performances start and I don't have any workshops on so me and the video camera will be glued to the stage, apart from the odd trip outside to see if any new vendors have arrived. I heard a rumour today that Melodia may set up Friday afternoon so I will be keeping an eye out for that!

Tribal Fest

Leilah — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:30:21 GMT

OMFG!!! I'M AT TRIBAL FEST!!! Actually, it hasn't really sunk in yet... We arrived in San Francisco on Friday and spent a couple of days wondering round and shopping (of course!). I would attach photo's, but the laptop and the little camera we bought duty free refuse to talk to each other, so no pics sorry. San Fran was great, but too many people and too much concrete for my small town likings. The amount of homeless people was really hard to deal with as well. Its lovely down by the harbour and the views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz were spectacular. Driving here is scary - all the buggers are on the wrong side of the road! Let me tell you its weird and gets weirder when you make a right turn from the right side of the road. We drove from San Fran to Sebastopol on Tuesday. Going over the Golden Gate was cool and luckly I couldn't see over the edge due to the pedestrian lane - that bridge is HIGH UP!!! Sebastopol is a great little town, kind of like a mix between Waiheki Island and Byron Bay. ;-) Oh and the 4x4's here are HUGE!!! I don't mean Range Rover huge I mean HUGE! There is a heat wave here at the moment so today the temperate was 32 degrees and tomorrow the forecast is for 38! Thats a 100 fahrenheit in case you are interested. The locals have said this is really unusual and temps don't normally go this high here. Both Mark & I are sunburnt - I swear we have burned standing in the shade. Tribal Fest... OMG OMG OMG OMG!!! We got there super early this morning cause I was too excited to sit in the hotel room any longer. ;-) We arrived about 9am and the vendors were only just arriving and setting up. There are heaps of vendors and they are all set up outside with the most amazing stuff. My first workshop wasn't until 1pm so I had plenty of time to shop - very, very dangerous. I was doing ok until I came to Black Lotus Clothing... I won't tell you how much I spent, but lets just say I'm going to be coming home with one less pair of specialty Melodia's than I'd planned on. My first workshop was with Shakra and was really good. For the last half hour of the workshop we split into two groups and did an exercise with the Shakra girls which involved listening to a piece of music and then telling the group what images it brought up for us. We then put a "story" together based on what the group had come up with, then talked about what sort of characters this story would have. We then assigned characters to the group members and then ran out of time! ;-( It was a brilliant introduction to story telling with dance - its something I've wanted to do, but didn't know where to start. I've got a second workshop with them tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it. Ariellah! <drool> I was in the same room as Ariellah AND SHE TALKED TO ME <swoons> Yep, my second workshop was with Ariellah. ;-) That woman is AMAZING. To see her in 'real life' as apposed to watching her on DVD was brilliant - she is a truly stunning dancer. It was a really hard class and the aircon wasn't working in the room, so you can imagine what it was like inside with 32 degree heat outside. By halfway through half the class were just sitting on the floor taking notes - me included. Its really hard to dance like that with no air. It was a great class and I have some HARD drills to practice. I did get a photo with her at the end ;-) Not to name drop or anything but I did meet Kajira today, and saw Kami Liddle, Maduro and Mavi... Oh and I spoke to Ariellah again on my return trip to Black Lotus clothing... Tomorrow I'll be stalking Sashi (I have a workshop with her in the afternoon) and trying not to spend any more money! Some of the big vendors (Melodia, Tomba Studio, Geisha Moth) don't arrive until Saturday. Apparently the Melodia stand is an absolute feeding frenzy - I get the impression that people camp out in their spot Friday night just to be in first. Thank goodness I don't have any workshops booked for Saturday! Anywho, its 10pm, my legs ache, I'm sunburned and its only the first day of five - I'm LOVING it! Sounds like there is a bellydancer party happening by the hotel pool...

Rest in Peace Sir Ed

Leilah — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 23:31:58 GMT

Sad, sad news. Our beloved Sir Edmund Hillary died this morning - he was 88 years old. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10482156 One of the most amazing New Zealanders to ever have lived. I'm simply stunned that someone who seemed nearly immortal has gone. He kapiti hono, he tatai hono. Haere ra. The living are guided by the sayings and examples of their ancestors. Farewell.

Tribal Fest 08

Leilah — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 07:31:20 GMT

Well, its starting to get real now. I've bitten the bullet and paid for 6 workshops. Hopefully we will be able to afford the flights now. ;-) My poor savings account (and credit card) just isn't going to know what hit it!!! I've signed up for Shakra, Ariellah and Sashi, in that order, all on day one - in hindsight I don't know if my poor brain will be able to cope, let alone my body! Note to self: must ensure bib is packed to stop drool from causing puddles. Don't want to get the bottom of my Melo's soggy. Thursday is Sashi and Shakra again (again!) and Sunday is with Tempest. OMG I feel like such a wanna be groupie! I'm so happy I could just howl!